RAISING INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS AT PRIMARY LEVEL THROUGH STORYTELLING WITHIN A CLIL APPROACH

Abstract

In an attempt to respond to recent communicative needs in foreign language education, this project work investigates how storytelling through a CLIL approach can contribute to raising intercultural awareness at primary level. This project work explores the use of storytelling, which includes traditional stories and tales from a diversity of cultures, as a springboard for activities that promote intercultural awareness through the teaching of content derived from the stories in English as a second language. The concept of interculturality is explored in the context of primary education. Research data shows that storytelling is an effective tool to raise young learners’ interest and curiosity for other countries and cultures as well as to facilitate reflection about their own values, practices and beliefs. A further research question looks at the impact that this combination of storytelling through a CLIL approach has on raising intercultural awareness in young learners. Data collected for this project shows that students became interested in discovering about other countries and respective cultures. Students extended their learning of cultures to the mainstream lessons and at home with parents. The process covers the stages of discovery, critical thinking, self-reflection, acceptance and appreciation of a diversity of cultures through the context of English language learning. Storytelling allowed students to encounter the foreign cultures with a spirit of research by arousing their curiosity to explore the unknown. By becoming aware of other cultures depicted in the stories students also developed understanding of their own culture and how it is seen from outside. Therefore, it could be said that storytelling creates a strong basis which underpins intercultural success.