Cultural Heritage as a Framework for Developing Interculturalism and Language Acquisition

Abstract

This paper deals with introducing the cultural heritage of the host country in second or foreign language acquisition and maintains that cultural heritage could provide a framework for developing interculturalism and language skills. It presents the international Erasmus + project and the two units that were delivered in The International School of Belgrade to the two groups of students at different language levels. The implementation of the project had three phases: identifying and recording of host country cultural assets, creation of teaching activities, and teaching the two units. After each unit was taught, the students’ observations were collected and used for the evaluation of the project. During the class discussions, students commented on the host country’s culture, about the studied assets, and about their language development. Students also recorded their comments in writing. The data was used to establish what the students learned about cultural heritage and if the units provided a framework to develop language skills.