The development of the intercultural communicative competence through sitcoms in an EFL context

Abstract

[eng] One of the main purposes of language learning is to communicative effectively. With the learning of the English language this aim is even more important since it is the language used to communicate with people from all over the world. These past few decades, this necessity has been reflected in the “English as a Foreign Language” classroom. This new approach has resulted in the integration of cultural knowledge and awareness in EFL. Nevertheless, acquiring factual knowledge of a cultural group is not enough. In order to have a successful communicative act it is imperative to develop the intercultural communicative competence. This competence refers to the ability to act adequately in a communicative situation with people from other cultures. A speaker needs to comprehend that communication is influenced by one’s cultural values and beliefs. This cultural complexity can result in an unsuccessful communication act if the interlocutor does not have the appropriate awareness and knowledge. Different approaches have been explored to develop interculturality in the EFL classroom, such as the use of authentic materials. One of the most popular and accessible authentic material is audio-visual media. Authentic videos are an excellent window to the target culture and language since they were not created with pedagogical purposes. This paper focuses on the use of sitcoms to foster the intercultural communicative competence in the EFL classroom. It puts forward a teaching proposal in which these materials aid the students in their acquisition of the competence. This proposal is divided in four sessions and a final task. In each session various sitcoms will be viewed in the classroom in order to foster interculturality.