AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

This thesis discusses teaching foreign language and the importance to develop intercultural skills and know-how which include the ability to bring one’s own cultural origins and the foreign culture into relation with each other, together with the ability to understand and empathise with the values and conditions of others. The language learner need to develop other skills than sociocultural knowledge and have to improve interpersonal relations and develop intercultural awareness. The study explores how the language teachers perceive the concept of “intercultural competence” and how they interpret it according to the definitions outlined in the curriculum and the goals for modern languages in Sweden. This study also aims to identifying the obstacles to teaching intercultural competence in foreign language. For the purpose of this study, 9 teachers at two high schools completed a questionnaire about their concept of intercultural competence, their interpretation of the concept in the language curriculum, teaching strategies and approaches in relation to classroom practice. The study shows that the the majority of the teachers distinguishes intercultural competence as a cultural competence and that the majority of the teachers need a support and methods of teaching to gain a better understanding of the intercultural development process and to help students develop these skills.