Intercultural approaches to second and foreign language instruction: A longitudinal video study

Abstract

Despite international recommendations, there is little evidence of teachers’ intercultural approaches to language instruction. Combining video recordings and teacher interviews in Norway, this study found that intercultural approaches to teaching were more prominent in English instruction than in French instruction. We observed teaching practices prioritising intercultural knowledge and critical understanding over skills, attitudes and values. These findings provide critical insight into intercultural language instruction. One aspect that makes this study unique is the duration of data collection over seven years. It is also a strength that the study followed the same two teachers over this long period of time.