Intermediality and Intercultural Communication in Teaching English Through Literature

Abstract

AbstractThe paper deals with the intercultural aspect of teaching English through literature (English classics and French literary fairy-tales of Charles Perrault and Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont). The fairy tales are regarded as elements of European cultural heritage that is now borrowed by other world cultures due to the process of globalization which is facilitated by the use of digital technologies in every field of human activities. The intermedial interpretation of literary works in the form of animated cartoons, movies, and comics is discussed as a key element that helps spread western culture. Also, the article investigates the impact of western mass culture on the formation of cultural pictures of the world of young people of different nations (Russia, China, Nigeria, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan). The research investigates the sources of information on the fairy-tales that guide the process of recognition of the French literary tales’ characters in “Curious, if True” (1860), the short story by E. Gaskell (1810–1865), by young representatives of different cultures. The data obtained from the respondents’ questionnaires has shown that the above mentioned tales in their intermedial versions have entered and changed the cultural pictures of the world of young people of different nations as some respondents treat these tales as their national ones. The article also focuses on the use of literary fairy-tales in teaching English (productive and receptive skills) and developing interculturality in language learning.KeywordsLanguage learnerIntercultural awarenessIntermediality