All children in Denmark has the option of studying French in (public) elementary school and later in highschool, which includes various immigrant backgrounds. Whether their French teachers adopt inclusive approaches to teaching culture and the pupils see themselves reflected in the French curriculum, could have an impact on their self-image.
Language teaching in primary school in Denmark includes both a linguistic and cultural aspect in order to develop the pupils' intercultural communicative competence (ICC) (Læseplan for faget fransk). This presentation investigates the cultural element looking at how teachers of French as a foreign language in the Danish Folkeskole (primary and lower secondary public school) include culture in their language teaching (Bundgaard 2006). More specifically, it examines whether the teachers present their pupils with a eurocentric view on culture or include for instance a francophone perspective. In order to develop ICC, it is important to include diverse voices in language teaching, e.g. authors, artists or others from outside France (and the European francophone countries; Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg) such as Québec, Morocco, Haiti, etc., or even from hybrid backgrounds (Risager 1998). All children in Denmark has the option of studying French, as they either study French or German, in (public) primary school and later in upper secondary school. This means that the classroom will include various immigrant backgrounds. Whether French teachers as well as other language teachers adopt inclusive approaches to teaching culture, could affect the not only the pupils' self-image but also the teaching of ICC. One quality which is important in developing the ICC is self-awareness, which makes it essential that the teaching includes various voices so that the pupils see themselves reflected in the French curriculum. A francophone perspective could create a more inclusive classroom. The talk will present findings including examples from three teaching materials used by teachers of French in Denmark (used by 60,2% of my informants) to see what type of culture is included in the materials. Furthermore, the study examines how the teachers themselves understand the notion ICC, and excerpts from interviews demonstrating the view of culture present in the classroom will be presented.Symposium #144
