The Intercultural Competence in Young Learners in an Elementary School in Miami

Damary Ordones

doi:10.36892/ijlls.v3i1.534

Abstract

In 1951, Jean Piaget and Anne Marie Weil analyzed the way in which children perceived foreigners in their article, “The Development in Children of the Idea of Homeland and of Relations with other Countries”. They concluded that only at the age of 11 or 12, did they reach the affective and cognitive development to understand and relate to people from other countries. The results of my work go beyond these studies, unlike what happens in a multilingual society, such as Switzerland where Piaget and Weil’ research is contextualized. Children in a multicultural society like Miami, Florida, develop the cognitive and affective aspects to relate to others at an earlier age. I applied two methodologies to this study. The first method is a questionnaire divided into three parts: 1) the development of the concept of homeland in children, 2) their reaction towards countries other than their own, and 3) the cognitive and affective understanding of others. The second method consisted of didactic lessons designed to fosterand enhance students’s intercultural competence and their acquisition of a foreign language.

Highlights

When Jean Piaget and Anne Marie Weil interviewed 200 Swiss children in 1951 to analyze how children perceive foreigners, they reached the conclusion that only at the age of 12 years old did children acquire the affective and cognitive development, necessary to understand and build relationships with people from other cultures and countries
In contrast to the multilingual society contextualized in Piaget and Weil’s research, children who grow up in a multicultural society similar to Miami, they develop the cognitive and affective aspects that allows them to relate to “others” at an earlier age and are more inclined and ready to be interculturally competent at a younger age
My students did not demonstrate a particular affection or preference toward their homeland governed by feelings of belonging, loyalty or patriotism

Summary

Introduction

When Jean Piaget and Anne Marie Weil interviewed 200 Swiss children in 1951 to analyze how children perceive foreigners, they reached the conclusion that only at the age of 12 years old did children acquire the affective and cognitive development, necessary to understand and build relationships with people from other cultures and countries. In contrast to the multilingual society contextualized in Piaget and Weil’s research, children who grow up in a multicultural society similar to Miami, they develop the cognitive and affective aspects that allows them to relate to “others” at an earlier age and are more inclined and ready to be interculturally competent at a younger age If they have parents who belong to different cultures and speak different languages, they will be more precocious in relating to foreign people with openness and communicativeness

Methods

Findings

Conclusion