Why is it important?

“They are like us but, different somehow.”
“I love getting a letter from my penpal!”
“I want to live there!”

The quotes above are all from primary children finding out about aspects of culture from other countries, as a central part of their language learning.

We can all relate to these excited reactions of the children as they encounter festivals, information on school life, facts about food, sport, TV, cities abroad and lifestyles that engage their interest and provide the best and most motivating context for their language acquisition.

Many language teachers in primary will also have their own special memories of early encounters with other cultures, such as a visit abroad, or a penpal contact (many still continue these friendships today) and enjoy that infectious love of culture and language that they wish to share with their classes.

Interestingly, a significant number of families are now also choosing to take holidays abroad to enable their children to use their new language skills in the real context. The families are really proud when they report how their children were able to carry out language exchanges whilst on holiday, and such motivating experiences at a formative age represent a great foundation for future language learning.

Where does it fit in with the Framework?

The Intercultural Understanding strand of the Key Stage 2 Framework for Languages leads to a wide range of enjoyable activities for children and teachers alike, enabling children to gain new understanding and insights into culture, traditions, celebrations and of course acquire new language as well.

The learning objectives from this strand can be integrated into language lessons as well as taught separately in non-language teaching time, through other subjects. Examples of activities to promote and develop Intercultural Understanding might include:

- displays on a seasonal, festive theme
- a celebration of birthdays in other countries
- joining in with songs, poems or stories from a different country
- informal presentations from children from other countries who speak in class or assembly about their experiences and heritage                
- family members invited into school to present, watch or contribute to events
- visiting teachers from abroad speaking about their schools/communities abroad
- visiting theatre or music groups
- language based class activities, for example an assembly or concert with a particular theme, a celebration of a national festival, an in-house Eurovision song contest
- the European Day of Languages, 26th September (please refer also to the CILT website for ideas and resources)
- a report on a school visit abroad with children talking about their experiences, showing photos, video, recordings, diaries
- a presentation about a partnership with a school abroad.

The Framework also shows very clearly how children can progress in their Intercultural Understanding over the four years of Key Stage 2, and develop and articulate their new insights which represent an essential part of being a citizen and help prepare them for adult life.

Early objectives include:

IU 3.3 (children should) identify social conventions both at home and in other cultures. 
We all know how children greatly enjoy seeing how their contemporaries greet one another abroad!

This is then extended to, for example from Year 6:

IU 6.3 present information about an aspect of culture.
Thus discovering interesting facts and insights into the cultures and traditions of other countries is an ongoing journey, maybe beginning quite simply but developing depth and breadth as children gain a more complex understanding.

What other support is available do develop work in this Strand?

- Video clips on this site offer practical suggestions for extension and development of the Intercultural Understanding strand. Examples currently on offer range from cookery lessons to receiving penpal letters to video conferencing.

- In addition to the Key Stage 2 Framework, the CILT Young Pathfinder number 12, Working Together, presents tried and practical suggestions for successful projects and activities and illustrates ways in which schools can harness the potential of native speakers to enrich language and cultural opportunities for primary schools.

- The  QCA schemes of work also offer a range of activities that support the IU strand. Thus for example, Unit 7 looks at the weather and towns in respective countries, and further down KS2 Unit 22 looks at theme parks abroad. The units also suggest some traditional songs and relevant cross-curricular links to support this aspect and encourage children to encounter and engage with culture.

So we wish you well, as you continue to explore this strand with your classes, and the final word here is, as it should be, from the children.

“It’s good because you can make friends with children in other countries.”

“I really love getting a letter from my pen friend!”

“It brings the world into your classroom!”