Interculturality in the english teaching and learning processes

Abstract

Introduction: Educational institutions are complex spaces in which individual subjectivities converge and where language plays a fundamental role. In this sense, English teachers must be mediators between the multiple cultures in a classroom. The ability to use the language in a socially and culturally appropriate way, plus the awareness that teachers and students must have in the classroom with respect to diversity and complexity, is the basis for building a democratic society. Objective: This literature review article aims to establish the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of interculturality and the teaching and learning processes of English through the student’s awareness and comparison of their own culture with respect to others. and through critical analysis of relationships between people across cultural differences. Methodology: Qualitative techniques are used for the selection and compilation of information through the reading and criticism of documents and bibliographic materials. Using various databases and after applying selection techniques to the identified primary sources, a sample of fifty scientific articles is formed. Results and discussion: After the thematic analysis, the results are presented in three categories: strategies used by teachers in the classroom to enhance intercultural competence, challenges they face, and the role teachers play as cultural agents. Conclusions: The study concludes that there are challenges and limitations when promoting intercultural competence in the classroom. Teachers are perceived as role models for students, which becomes a primary effort for them; but at the same time, a worthy job considering that schools are laboratories to begin the construction of a more democratic and diverse society.