Intercultural competence and literature

Jennifer Schumm Fauster; Elisabeth Pölzleitner

doi:10.25364/978-3-903374-05-8

Intercultural competence and literature

Authors

Jennifer Schumm Fauster University of Graz

Elisabeth Pölzleitner Praxismittelschule der PH Steiermark

DOI: https://doi.org/10.25364/978-3-903374-05-8.014

Synopsis

In this chapter, we ask the following questions:
What is the present status of intercultural education in Austria’s school curricula?
How has the shift towards emphasizing IC affected language teaching?
How can teachers promote IC?
What role can literature play in enhancing learners’ IC?

Author Biographies

Jennifer Schumm Fauster, University of Graz

Jennifer Schumm Fauster is a senior lecturer in the Department of English Studies at the University of Graz. She teaches English language and ELT methodology courses. In addition, she is a teacher trainer at Pädagogische Hochschulen (Univer-sity Colleges of Teacher Education) in Austria. Her main areas of interest are using young adult literature in the language classroom, intercultural communication and writing in the L2 context. She is the academic coordinator of the European Joint Master’s Programme in English and American Studies.

Elisabeth Pölzleitner, Praxismittelschule der PH Steiermark

Elisabeth Pölzleitner teaches English at a secondary school in Austria and she is a lecturer at the University of Graz and the Pädagogische Hochschule Steiermark (University College of Teacher Education Styria), where she teaches a variety of ELT methodology classes and in-service seminars for language teachers. Her main ar-eas of interest are extensive reading, brain-friendly language teaching, creative ap-proaches to writing, cognitive-communicative grammar and the use of technology in language teaching. She also runs a popular website (www.epep.at) with materials and ideas for creative language teachers.