exploring intercultural awareness in the primary modern language classroom: the potential of the new...

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Exploring Intercultural Awareness in thePrimary Modern Language Classroom: ThePotential of the New Model of EuropeanLanguage Portfolio Developed by the IrishModern Languages in Primary SchoolsInitiative (MLPSI)Frédérique Rantz a & Pascaline Horan aa Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative, Kildare Education Centre,Kildare Town, Co. Kildare, IrelandPublished online: 05 Jan 2009.

To cite this article: Frédérique Rantz & Pascaline Horan (2005) Exploring Intercultural Awareness in thePrimary Modern Language Classroom: The Potential of the New Model of European Language PortfolioDeveloped by the Irish Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative (MLPSI), Language and InterculturalCommunication, 5:3-4, 209-221, DOI: 10.1080/14708470508668896

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Exploring Intercultural Awareness in thePrimary Modern Language Classroom:The Potential of the New Model ofEuropean Language PortfolioDeveloped by the Irish ModernLanguages in Primary Schools Initiative(MLPSI)

Frederique Rantz and Pascaline HoranModern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative, Kildare EducationCentre, Kildare Town, Co. Kildare, Ireland

This paper reflects a key concern for teacher trainers: how can primary languageteachers promote the development of intercultural awareness among their pupils? Itaddresses the concept of intercultural awareness as it applies to young learners andrefers more specifically to the context of the Irish primary classroom and itscurriculum. It argues that the European Language Portfolio (ELP) provides a valuableframework to develop and describe young learners’ experiences, awareness andattitudes in this area and outlines the role of the MLPSI ELP model as a valuablepotential instrument for both teacher training and teaching practice in this area.

Cet article aborde une question dont se preoccupent les formateurs d’enseignants delangue du primaire: comment l’enseignant peut-il allier l’enseignement de la langueet l’education a l’interculturel dans la classe de langue du primaire? Dans un premiertemps nous adressons le concept de ‘sensibilisation a l’interculturel’ en reference aupublic des jeunes apprenants du primaire et prenons tout particulierement encompte le contexte de la classe et du programme de l’ecole primaire en Irlande. Nousproposons ensuite le Portfolio Europeen des Langues (PEL) comme un cadre dereference utile pour les apprenants et les enseignants, servant a noter et decrire lesexperiences interculturelles et a suivre la prise de conscience et le developpementdes attitudes des jeunes eleves dans ce domaine. Nous presentons finalement lenouveau modele de PEL developpe par le MLPSI et expliquons son potentiel commeinstrument a la fois pour la classe de langue dans le primaire et pour la formation desenseignants de langue du primaire.

Keywords: intercultural awareness, modern languages, primary curriculum,teacher education, young learners

IntroductionThe perspective taken in this paper reflects the fact that we are involved in

teacher training and teacher education and that we constantly need to bridgethe gap between theory and practice, clarify concepts and use them to best suitour specific context and objectives.

1470-8477/05/03 209-13 $20.00/0 – 2005 F. Rantz & P. HoranLanguage and Intercultural Communication Vol. 5, No. 3&4, 2005

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This paper explains why and how a team of teacher educators from theModern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative (MLPSI) have developed anew model of the European Language Portfolio (ELP) � the MLPSI ELP model� with an enhanced intercultural dimension. We first articulate the key pointsof reference of our conceptual framework. We then draw attention to the ELPas a potential tool for charting and guiding intercultural learning and we lookat existing models of ELPs for young learners.

In our second part, we focus more specifically on our own context. Weoutline the curricular framework in which modern language teaching andlearning takes place in the Irish primary classroom and examine the relevanceof our definition of intercultural awareness to young learners � 10�12 yearolds � and to their language teachers. We outline methodologies used todevelop intercultural learning and the significance of the MLPSI ELP model inthis context. Details about the MLPSI, about participants in the design of theMLPSI ELP model as well as a glossary of relevant acronyms are given inAppendix 1.

It is fair to say that regardless of the research literature in this area, there isin practice a certain degree of ambiguity among language teachers regarding‘teaching culture’.

In most cases, the content of schoolbooks (and the way teachers havethemselves learnt about culture or ‘civilisation’ at school) influences, and evendictates, what pupils and teachers regard as ‘culture’. Several authors such asByram and Esate-Sarries (1991: 173) and Zarate (1986: 82) have remarked onthe fact that in such textbooks, the culture of the target country tends to berepresented as static and monolithic. In this case, the teaching objective ispurely one of developing knowledge about the specific culture of the targetcountry, or countries, reminding us of the ‘banking’ teaching tradition exposedby Ivan Illich.

In the context of language teaching, ‘cultural awareness’ usually means‘awareness of the specific culture of the target country’, which itself implies adegree of knowledge, a certain engagement with this knowledge and possiblya first step towards ‘understanding’ the culture of the target country.Regarding the perspective held on the target culture, Chambers (2004: 15),however, distinguishes between three distinct views: firstly, the monoculturalperspective � which refers to the target culture as being homogeneous, staticand possibly monolingual. It tends to play down all forms of diversity (ethnic,social, regional, generational). It also easily ignores the fact that the targetlanguage may be spoken in several countries. Secondly, the multiculturalperspective redresses the oversimplification and one-dimensional bias of themonocultural perspective. It is more inclusive of the cultural diversity presentin countries where the language is spoken. It does not however recognise fullyhow cultures change constantly as they come in contact with each other.Finally, there is the intercultural perspective that, in contrast, takes thisdynamic process of change into account, both at social and individual levels.

Chambers refers to the concept of ‘cultural hybridity’ borrowed frompostcolonial studies. In the Irish context this is also the perspective taken bythe National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism(NCCRI), which advises the Irish government in these matters and promotes

210 Language and Intercultural Communication

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change in all spheres of public life in this area. In education, it is theperspective taken, for example, by the INTO (primary teachers’ union) in itsguidelines on valuing difference, combating racism and promoting inclusive-ness and equality (INTO, 2003).

In view of that distinction, it can be argued that the concept of ‘culturalawareness’ may not do justice to a complex and dynamic definition of culture.In the first place it seems to isolate the target culture in what would beassumed to be a neutral or objective perspective, not one influenced by the eyeof the observer. The concept of ‘intercultural awareness’, in contrast,emphasises that cultures can only be defined in relation to each other. Itdoes this at a number of different levels: firstly, it implies both a ‘window’ onthe culture/cultures of the target countries and a ‘mirror’ where we discoverourselves in the process of discovering the other culture (see examples given inHuber-Kriegler et al ., 2003). It thus implies a dual or comparative approachwhere similarities and differences are identified and discussed and where it isimportant to go beyond the ‘surface culture’ of behaviours and artefacts to the‘deep culture’ of beliefs and values that lies behind it. In effect this meansconstantly asking the question ‘Why?’ and in following this process goingbeyond the ‘us and them’ bias. We become more conscious not only of ourcross-perceptions of each other (of ‘how we see them and why, and how theysee us and why’) but also how much we can actually discover about ourselvesif we get a chance to engage in a dialogue about these cross-perceptions andhow this may even change us in the process.

Further, intercultural awareness implies a conceptual shift from a specificfocus on the home culture and the target culture � and the individuals inthese specific cultures � to an awareness of the greater complexity of cul-tures, and cultural and social identity more generally. It values the indi-vidual in the culture, with reference to the concept of social identity (Byram,2000: 17).

Intercultural awareness implies a move from ‘ethnocentrism’ to ‘ethnor-elativism’, the ability to ‘decentre’, to see things from someone else’sperspective, to develop ‘empathy’ as well as an awareness of the interculturalprocess of change of both individuals and societies arising out of the dynamicsof encounters between them. Beyond the pure acquisition of knowledge,therefore, the concept of intercultural awareness implies the development of acombination of knowledge, attitudes, skills and values which all implydifferent types of learning, different pedagogical objectives and approaches.

Of particular relevance in this area are the studies relating to interculturalawareness and intercultural communicative competence (ICC) carried outsince the late 1980s and initially around the Durham project (see Buttjes &Byram, 1991; Byram, 1997; Byram & Esarte-Sarries, 1991) as well as a numberof more recent Council of Europe projects such as those presented in Byramand Tost Planet (2000), and Byram et al . (2002). In short, we may say that‘intercultural awareness’ combined with ‘communicative competence’ leads to‘intercultural communicative competence’, or ‘intercultural competence’. Thefactors involved in intercultural competence were identified by Michael Byram(1997) as a combination of attitudes (savoir etre), knowledge (savoir ), skills(savoir faire) and values and critical awareness (savoir s’engager ). Byram further

Intercultural Awareness in the Primary Modern Language Classroom 211

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refers to the role of ‘empathy’ and specifies that the skills involved or ability to‘decentre’ include: ‘interpreting and relating’ (savoir comprendre ) and ‘dis-covery and interaction’ (savoir apprendre ) (see Figure 1).

The Council of Europe’s Common European Framework of Reference forLanguage Teaching and Learning (CEF) links plurilingualism with intercultur-ality. It points out that ‘the linguistic and cultural competences in respect ofeach language are modified by knowledge of the other and contribute tointercultural awareness, skills and know how’ (Council of Europe, 2001: 43).As regards the ELP, according to its Principles and Guidelines (Council forCultural Cooperation, 2000) it ‘reflects the Council of Europe’s concern with. . . respect for diversity of cultures and ways of life’ and is ‘a tool to promoteplurilingualism and pluriculturalism’. However, in their guide for ELPdevelopers, Schneider and Lenz (2001: 36) note that empirically validateddescriptors for language learners’ intercultural and sociocultural competencesdo not yet exist.

In their recent paper ‘Have Portfolio, Will Travel: The InterculturalDimension of the European Language Portfolio’, Bruen et al . (2003) arguedthat

the ELP provides a framework within which the intercultural dimensionof the language learner can be developed (. . .). The ELP has the potentialto develop and reflect a student’s pluri-cultural awareness and compe-tences. However, this area has, to date, been neglected in the design ofELPs in favour of predominantly linguistic concerns.

Bruen et al .’s argument refers specifically to ELP models relevant to ‘anundergraduate degree programme, in particular one which incorporates asojourn abroad’. It was, however, worthwhile for us to test this argument inrelation to our own target group, the younger learners. If Junior ELP modelscan provide a valuable framework for charting and guiding the developmentof young learners’ intercultural awareness and skills, to what extent has this

SkillsInterpret and relate(savoir comprendre)

Knowledgeof self and other;of interaction:individual and societal(savoirs)

Education AttitudesPolitical educationCritical cultural awareness(savoir s’engager)

Relativising selfValuing other(savoir être)

SkillsDiscover and/or interact(savoir apprendre/faire)

Figure 1 Factors in intercultural communicationSource : Byram (1997: 34)


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been taken into account in existing Junior ELP models and how could thisdimension be more fully developed in ELPs aimed at this younger age group?

Our review of the three components � Passport, Biography and Dossier �of five recent Junior ELP models developed in Britain, France, Spain,Germany and Italy respectively revealed that all of these models tend tolimit themselves to asking children to ‘outline’, ‘record’ or ‘describe’ theirexperiences. Only two Junior ELP models ask children to ‘reflect’ on theirexperiences, and even then quite indirectly. For example the German modelincludes an entry for ‘What has surprised me in countries I have visited. . .’in its Passport-cum-Biography and the Spanish model requests childrento explain why they have chosen to gather particular objects in theirDossier (see summary table of our comparative review in Appendix 2).In the light of this review there is a clear discrepancy between a definitionof intercultural awareness as the rich combination of knowledge, skills,attitudes and values and what Junior ELP models have so far presentedyoung learners with.

Reviewing the literature linking cultural/intercultural awareness to lan-guage teaching and to teacher education in Multilingual Matters publicationsand Council of Europe Modern Languages Section publications, we canobserve that all the projects and studies which have applied the conceptsdiscussed earlier focus on older learners, either adolescents in postprimaryschools or young adults attending university or teacher training colleges. TheDurham project, which focused on ‘the effect of language teaching in youngpeople’s perceptions of other cultures’, is no exception to this rule as theprimary school children included in the study were only used as a referencegroup who had not yet started studying a modern language as comparedto the postprimary students who had taken part in three years of languagestudy.

We may therefore ask ourselves the question of the relevance of theconcepts described above to younger learners. Looking back on thetextbooks referred to earlier, we may ask: how many language schoolbooksadopt an intercultural perspective as opposed to a multicultural perspective,or even simply a monocultural perspective? More importantly, andirrespective of the content of school books, we need to ask ourselves: whichperspective should language teachers adopt in relation to this issue? Whatdistinction, if any, should be made between young learners and olderlearners, between primary and postprimary target groups in relation to this?What perspective on culture is the most appropriate in the primarylanguage classroom? And more specifically: what intercultural awarenessand how? Can we expect young learners to develop the types of knowledge,attitudes, skills and values that constitute intercultural awareness as definedearlier? We pose such questions in the context of the Irish Primary SchoolCurriculum and proceed to explore how the MLPSI ELP model can help inthis matter.

The revised Irish Primary School Curriculum articulates a wide rangeof learning principles that characterise the learning process that it envisagesat primary level and many of these are particularly relevant in thedevelopment of intercultural awareness in young learners (see full list of


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principles and relevant quotations in Appendix 3). They include ‘the child’ssense of wonder and natural curiosity as a primary motivating factor inlearning’, ‘the child as an active agent in his or her learning’, ‘the child’sexisting knowledge and experience forming the base for learning’, theimportance of the ‘social and emotional dimensions’ as factors in learning,the effectiveness of ‘integrated’ learning and the importance of developing‘higher order thinking’ (NCCA Primary School Curriculum Introduction , 1999:8). The curriculum strongly emphasises the balance that should existbetween the acquisition of knowledge and the development of conceptsand skills. It seeks in particular to develop in the child ‘the ability toquestion, to analyse, to investigate, to think critically, to solve problems andto interact effectively with others’ (NCCA Primary School CurriculumIntroduction , 1999: 11).

These principles are reflected everywhere in the curriculum but ofparticular relevance to the development of intercultural awareness are thetwo areas of Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) and Social,Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE). The revised curriculum inboth these areas takes into account economic, social and cultural develop-ments in Irish society. The European and global dimensions are empha-sised as well as the responsibility of the curriculum in promoting toleranceand respect for diversity. The Geography curriculum states that ‘one of thegreatest challenges facing teachers and pupils in the work (of learningabout other places) is our preconceived notions of other peoples andplaces’ (NCCA Primary School Curriculum � Geography Teacher Guidelines ,1999: 118). It recommends ‘an emphasis on enquiry, investigation andcritical comparison rather than the rote acquisition of description of exoticlocations’ (p. 117). The SPHE curriculum aims to promote self-awarenessand enable self-directed learning. The strand of ‘Myself and the WiderWorld’ in the SPHE curriculum aims in particular at developing in thechild a critical awareness of his or her own identity in the context oflearning about human and cultural diversity.

The process of developing intercultural awareness in the modernlanguage classroom at primary level must complement the interculturalawareness that is being fostered in the SESE and SPHE curricula, taking intoaccount the broad pedagogical principles on which the curriculum ingeneral is based. In the context of the target culture/s associated with themodern language being studied the development of intercultural awarenessmust therefore capitalise on the child’s natural curiosity about othercultures, emphasise the child as central and active in learning about culture,develop in the child not only knowledge but the ability to think criticallyabout the target culture/s as well as his/her own culture and take intoaccount the social and emotional responses of the child in dealing withculture.

The 1999 Draft Curriculum Guidelines developed for use in the teaching of amodern language at primary school level identified cultural awareness asone of three strands of equal importance in the modern language curriculum.It can be noted that this strand actually encompasses the ‘intercultural


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dimension’, as the draft curriculum emphatically states in its introductionthat:

The attempt to see the world as others see it greatly assists the promotionof personal and cultural sensitivity and can lay the foundation forunderstanding and tolerance between peoples of the world. . . . Explor-ing the culture of others often results in the learner looking at his or herown cultural heritage with renewed interest. (NCCA Draft CurriculumGuidelines , 2001: 5)

The delivery of the cultural awareness strand of the modern languagecurriculum in the context of the principles expounded by the revised PrimarySchool Curriculum is a challenge to both teachers and teacher trainers involvedin the MLPSI. Teachers seeking to go beyond what the revised curriculum calls‘the rote acquisition of description of exotic locations’ have been resourceful intheir use of materials and methodologies. These have included the develop-ment of a school correspondence exchange, the use of authentic materials inthe classroom, the use of traditional playground games, songs and rhymes,cookery days, a multisensory approach in relation to the arts, the hosting ofnative guest speakers and visits to the target country. However, even with theuse of such methodologies and materials the opportunities to reflect, react andcritically compare cultures are often overlooked or not sufficiently capitalisedon because of the lack of teacher guidelines or commercially producedmaterials that could help teachers to engage in classroom debate arising fromthe practical intercultural work already being done. Thus the MLPSI hasidentified the need for a tool to assist in the development of the culturalawareness strand of the modern languages curriculum, which is particularlyorientated towards developing intercultural awareness in the primary schoolchild.

In developing the intercultural dimension of the MLPSI ELP model wetook into account the particular contexts in which the Irish primary schoolchild would encounter the target culture/s. These could include the acti-vities mentioned previously. All three component parts of the MLPSIELP model contain an intercultural dimension, which could build andcapitalise on these activities in order to develop the child’s interculturalcompetence.

In My Language Passport the child can record and comment on his or herencounters with languages and people from other cultures. For example, thechild can react to encounters with the culture achieved through schoolcorrespondence.

In My Language Biography the intercultural component is presentedthematically as are the ‘language descriptors’, thus encouraging the modernlanguage teacher to include a cultural and particularly an interculturaldimension in every topic being explored in the language classroom. Sufficientspace is given for children to record on a recursive basis their reactions to aswell as accounts of aspects of the target culture/s that they have personallyencountered or learned about either inside or outside the classroom. Forexample in the section on The Body and Clothes the young learners are asked to


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complete the following drawing exercises which directly address the issue ofstereotypes:

‘People from..................... sometimes think that all Irish people look likethis: (drawing)’ and ‘I know a person from................. He/she looks likethis: (drawing)’.

Also in My Language Biography we have inserted a new component that allowsthe child to record aspects of the target culture/s encountered in all thedifferent subject areas of the general school curriculum: Maths, English,Geography, Visual Arts, Religion, etc.

In My Dossier the child is encouraged to record personal reactionsand responses to aspects of the arts from the target culture/s as well as tocompile a personal collection of cultural objects from the target country/ies. Using the tool of the ELP then, teachers and pupils are encouraged toengage with the culture in a more direct way and to strike a more equitablebalance between the acquisition of knowledge and the development ofconcepts and skills. ‘Rote acquisition of description of exotic places’ isreplaced by activity and discovery methodologies. The general becomesspecific. Opportunities of encounter with the culture are capitalised on asopportunities also for reflecting on the target culture/s. This in turn helps tofoster in the young learners the ability to critically analyse, to decentre and toempathise. This is the beginning of the child becoming an interculturalcommunicator.

ConclusionIn conclusion we would like to affirm the MLPSI ELP as a useful tool of

intercultural education for young learners that has resulted from a mergingof current theory on developing intercultural awareness and the practice onthe ground. The particular practice that has informed the development of theMLPSI ELP model is that encountered in the Irish primary modern languageclassroom by project leaders in the MLPSI. The MLPSI ELP model istherefore particularly suited to serve the needs of primary language teachersteaching within the Irish primary school system and also the needs of theteacher trainers working to develop intercultural awareness with theteachers. The MLPSI ELP model is also extremely relevant to the needs ofteachers wishing to develop intercultural awareness because it fullyencapsulates the principles of the revised Primary School Curriculum asdelineated earlier. In particular it complements both the SESE and SPHEcurricula, which aim to promote critical self-awareness in relation to thechild’s own culture, in the context of the wider world. We argue, perhapscontrary to the popular belief that young learners are not able to deal withthe complexity of an intercultural perspective, that with guidance such asthat provided in the MLPSI ELP model, many cultural experiences, possiblewithin the context of the primary classroom, should become opportunitiesfor intercultural awareness and skills development, at an age when theyoung learners are still open in their general attitudes towards culture and


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diversity. Using a tool such as the MLPSI ELP both pupils and teachers canembark on a journey of critical self-awareness and openness to the other.Looking to the future we see the MLPSI ELP model as a tool of interculturalawareness development that will have increasing importance and relevancein the Irish primary school system as the Irish primary school classroombecomes increasingly multicultural. The tasks of developing teacher guide-lines and providing in-service education to primary language teachersinvolved in the MLPSI remain to be done. Initial training days for teacherswill be held in 2005�2006. The ELP model as developed by the MLPSI,complete with teacher guidelines, will be available for use in Irish primaryschools in September 2006.

Development/diversity/intercultural education sources

Crosscare (the Catholic Social Service Conference). Celebrating Difference �An Intercultural Programme for Senior Primary Classes.Ireland � All Different All Equal, An Anti-Racism and Equality EducationPack for use with Youth Groups, Schools and Community Groups (1995).Dublin: joint publication YARD/NYCI/DEFY.Horgan, K. (1993) Team Planet: An Action Pack on our World and Ourselves.Limerick: Primary School Development Education ProjectNational Curriculum. On WWW at www.ncca.ie.

CorrespondenceAny correspondence should be directed to Frederique Rantz, Modern

Languages in Primary Schools Initiative, Kildare Education Centre, Priory Rd,Kildare Town, Co. Kildare, Ireland ([email protected]).

References

Bruen, J., Pechenart, J. and Crosbie, V. (2003) Have portfolio, will travel: Theintercultural dimension of the European language portfolio. Paper presented atthe Royal Irish Academy DCU Symposium, Intercultural Spaces: Language, Cultureand Identity, November.

Byram, M. (1997) Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence.Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Byram, M. and Esarte-Sarries, V. (1991) Investigating Cultural Studies in Foreign LanguageTeaching . Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Byram, M. and Tost Planet, M. (eds) (2000) Social Identity and the European Dimension:Intercultural Competence Through Foreign Language Learning. Graz and Strasbourg:Council of Europe.

Byram, M., Esarte-Sarries, V., Taylor, S. and Allatt, P. (1991) Young people’s per-ceptions of other cultures: The role of foreign language teaching. In D. Buttjesand M. Byram (eds) Mediating Languages and Cultures . Clevedon: MultilingualMatters.

Byram, M., Gribkova, B. and Starkey, H. (2002) Developing the Intercultural Dimension inLanguage Teaching � A Practical Introduction for Teachers. Strasbourg: Council ofEurope.

Chambers, A. (2004) Changing concepts in culture and language learning. In M. Smith(ed.) Readings in the Teaching of Culture. Dublin: ITE.

Council for Cultural Cooperation (2000) European Language Portfolio (ELP): Principles andGuidelines . Strasbourg: Council of Europe (DGIV/EDU/LANG (2000)33. On WWWat http//culture.coe.int/portfolio.


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Council of Europe (2001) Common European Framework of Reference for Languages:Learning, Teaching and Assessment . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Huber-Kriegler, M., Lazar, I. and Strange, J. (2003) Mirrors and Windows � AnIntercultural Communication Textbook. Graz: Council of Europe

INTO (2003) Intercultural Guidelines for Schools. Dublin: INTO.Schneider, G. and Lenz, P. (2001) European Language Portfolio: Guide for Developers .

Strasbourg: Council of Europe.Zarate, G. (1986) Enseigner une culture etrangere. Paris: Hachette.

Appendix 1

Glossary

MLPSI: Modern Languages in Primary Schools InitiativeELP: European Language PortfolioNCCA: National Council for Curriculum and AssessmentSESE: Social, Environmental and Scientific EducationSPHE: Social, Personal and Health EducationINTO: Irish National Teachers AssociationNCCRI: National Consultative Committee on Racism and InterculturalismDEFY: Development Education for YouthYARD: Youth Against Racism and DiscriminationNYCI: National Youth Council of Ireland

MLPSI

Since 1998 the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative has beenresponsible for the Introduction of a European language � Italian, Spanish,German or French � in Irish Primary schools on behalf of the Department ofEducation and Science. At present, 10% of Irish Primary schools haveintroduced a modern language as an integral part of the curriculum. TheMLPSI is based in and administered from the Kildare Education Centre underthe direction of Ms Anne Kelleher.

MLPSI team

The team involved in the design of the MLPSI ELP model submitted foraccreditation comprised of: Pascaline Horan, Kenia Puig-Planella, PatriciaRaffelt and Frederique Rantz with the collaboration of Maria Lorigan, LilyO’Donovan, Carmel Roche and Tanya Flanagan as Project Coordinator. Anearlier Portfolio version had been designed and piloted by the predecessors ofthis team in the MLPSI.

NCCA

The Draft Modern Language Primary Curriculum (1999) was devised by theNCCA, which is responsible for all curriculum and assessment relating to Irishschools.

MLPSI ELP model

This new Junior ELP model obtained accreditation from the Council ofEurope in November 2004.


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Appendix 3

The pedagogical principles of the Irish Primary School Curriculum

�/ The child’s sense of wonder and natural curiosity is a primary motivatingfactor in learning.

�/ The child is an active agent in his or her learning.�/ Learning is developmental in nature.�/ The child’s existing knowledge and experience form the base for learning.�/ The child’s immediate environment provides the context for learning.�/ Learning should involve guided activity and discovery methods.�/ Language is central in the learning process.�/ The child should perceive the aesthetic dimension in learning.�/ Social and emotional dimensions are important factors in learning.�/ Learning is most effective when it is integrated.�/ Skills that facilitate the transfer of learning should be fostered.�/ Higher-order thinking and problem-solving skills should be developed.�/ Collaborative learning should feature in the learning process.�/ The range of individual difference should be taken into account in the

learning process.�/ Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning.

Strong emphasis is placed on developing the ability to question, toanalyse, to investigate, to think critically, to solve problems, and to in-teract effectively with others. (Primary School Curriculum Introduction : 11)

One of the greatest challenges facing teachers and pupils in the work of[learning about other places] is our preconceived notions of otherpeoples and places. (Geography Curriculum � Teacher Guidelines : 118)

The Geography Curriculum recommends ‘an emphasis on enquiry,investigation, and critical comparison rather than the rote acquisition ofdescription of exotic locations’. (Geography Curriculum � Teacher Guide-lines : 117)

The SPHE curriculum ‘aims to develop a respect for cultural and humandiversity in the world’. . . (SPHE Teacher Guidelines : 17)

It helps children to develop a foundation of skills, knowledge andattitudes that will inform their decision making in the social, personaland health dimensions of their lives, both now and in the future.(Primary School Introduction : 57)

The attempt to see the world as others see it greatly assists the promotionof cultural sensitivity and can lay the foundation for understanding andtolerance between peoples of the world. (Pilot Project on ModernLanguages in the Primary School � Draft Curriculum Guidelines : 5)

Exploring the culture of others often results in the learner looking at hisor her own cultural heritage with renewed interest and understanding.(Pilot Project on Modern Languages in the Primary School � Draft CurriculumGuidelines : 5)


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exploring intercultural awareness in the primary modern language classroom: the potential of the new...

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