LA NIÑA EN SU ESTADO REALIDAD Y SU ESTADO SUEÑO

2.8.3.1. Use of video and film

The value of films and television programs in teaching another culture is widely

acknowledged, in their ability to provide suitable and relevant models of

communication and an engaging insight into 'otherness', and therefore in promoting

motivation and intercultural understanding in students (Duffy & Mayes, 2001; Gross,

2007; Hammer & Swaffar, 2012; Kasper & Singer, 2001; Stephens, 2001). In

addition, the use of film has also been linked to the affective and cognitive

dimensions of cultural learning (Fox, 1994; Lonergan, 1990; Straub, 2002).

Hammer and Swaffar (2012) found that repeated exposure to authentic (video)

materials had a beneficial effect both in terms of students' intercultural awareness

and their ability to evaluate the target culture against their own. However, despite

some positive findings, they express a range of reservations: namely, that the use of

different materials may lead to different outcomes; that replicability would have to

be ensured in order to generalise findings; and that further investigation was

necessary to confirm their view that authentic materials devised for a native audience

were best to help students develop (inter)cultural competency (Hammer & Swaffar,

2012).

2.8.3.2. Use of literature

When considering the use of literature in developing learners’ intercultural

understanding, it is important to take a wide definition of text materials which goes

beyond literary texts (Coyle et al., 2010; Kearney, 2010). Different genres are also

useful to consider in offering a wide range of representations of the ‘other’ culture;

for instance, for Obergfell (1983), fairy tales form an inherent part of a society's

culture, and as such provide a suitable and important source of material for the

teaching of the target culture.

Reeser (2003) argues that culture can be conceptualised through literary texts. For

Lázár (2007), culture permeates all texts, in the same way that it does with language

and discourse. She goes on to ask, therefore, why more is not made of the culturally-

rich resources that literary texts represent.

An issue frequently raised is that of the perceived level of difficulty, especially

where linguistic competence of learners is concerned, when accessing literary texts.

Lázár (2007) also notes that, while teachers and learners have recourse to films and

music more readily when planning for cultural exposure in lessons, literary texts,

when suitably selected, adapted and used as a ‘springboard’ for carefully scaffolded

tasks, can provide a wealth of insights into the target culture as well as its language.

This notion of scaffolding is further developed by Kearney (2010), who reminds us

that in using texts as a tool for developing intercultural understanding, both learners

and teachers need support: learners through the use of carefully scaffolded tasks, and

teachers in how to best design these to benefit their students.

2.8.3.3. Use of online materials and the Internet

Many agree that the potential for new technologies to both increase motivation and

intercultural opportunities for learners should be considered and utilised (Berwald,

1986; Coyle et al., 2010; Deneme, Ada & Uzun, 2011; Driscoll & Simpson, 2015;

Furstenberg, 2010; Gano & Garrett, 2004; Klee, 2009; Springer, 2002; Sudhoff, 2010; Zielke et al., 2009). In addition, the use of technology can offer an easy to

access, rich source of materials to whet students' appetite for finding more about the

target countries and culture (Coyle et al., 2010).

While educational change is notoriously slow to come about, when we take into

account the pace of change in today’s globalised, technological age, educators will

need to adapt and will have to pick up the pace to meet the demands of our learners

and societies (Coyle et al., 2010).

However, Furstenberg (2010) argues that the use of technology in the classroom

requires clear guidance, from making students aware of the suitability of materials

accessed, their reliability and in training them on how to make the information their

own. In considering this, Huhn (2012) further contends that the use of technology

should be seen as an essential dimension to include in teacher training programmes,

and Klee (2009) goes as far as positing technology as a key factor in securing the

future of language courses, in particular in higher education and through distance-

learning.

2.8.3.4. Suitability and availability of authentic materials

Many advocate that authentic materials should form the main or only source for the

teaching of intercultural understanding in language lessons, and in particular in

lessons framed within an integrative paradigm such as CLIL (Coyle et al., 2010;

Kilickaya, 2004; Madjarova et al., 2001). However, Wright (2000) found that the

literature on the impact of authentic materials on students' perceptions of another

culture is still scarce. In addition, Chien (2013) found that it can be difficult and time

consuming to find authentic resources matching the age, interests and language level

of students, and Simpson (1997) further contends that there has often been a

correlation between the lower level of language competence of younger learners and

their perceived inability to access authentic materials. This view is also shared by

Hennebry (2014b), who in her survey of language teachers, found that participants

expressed a concern that learners were not sufficiently proficient at a linguistic level

in order to access cultural materials.

Furthermore, simply relying on the use of authentic materials is not enough; this

must be situated in such a way as to facilitate a prise de conscience of one's own

culture and to enable alternative and alternating prises de position to accept and

experience different viewpoints as well as, and beyond simply comparing and

contrasting these (Bennett, 1993; Byram, 1997; Kramsch, 1993; Sudhoff, 2010).

Therefore, Coyle and colleagues (2010) argue that, while authenticity is central to

successful learning, this must go beyond the mere use of authentic materials in

lessons, but instead, should focus on authentic purpose, that is, that the learning

should not confine itself to the linguistic dimension, and therefore, neither should the

teaching. It is also essential, as El-Hussari (2007) points out, that issues of diversity

are taken into account when selecting authentic materials, and these should be taken

from a range of target language communities. In addition, materials need to be

continuously reviewed to take into account the contexts, the learners, and the

constraints in which they may be used, and in doing so must also consider careful

task design (Coyle et al., 2010; McGrath, 2002).

2.8.4. Which materials are best for the teaching of intercultural