Refection artefact - letter to parents

 The parent letter from Year 6 presents a thoughtful and pedagogically good explanation of how intercultural competence is incorporated into english language teaching. The letter informs parents of the academic and social value of intercultural competence, but it also opens up for a dialogue between home and school—stressing how good and meaningfull collaboration can support  the development of the students.

From a theoretical standpoint, the emphasis on intercultural competence aligns well with Byram’s model of Intercultural Communicative Competence, which outlines five key components: attitudes (openness and curiosity), knowledge (of social groups and their products), skills of interpreting and relating, skills of discovery and interaction, and critical cultural awareness. ( Henriksen 2020) These elements are blended in to the activities that are  described in the letter, such as virtual exchanges, cultural presentations, and reflective tasks, all of which help students engage actively with other perspectives and evaluate their own cultural assumptions.

The letter also communicates the importance of english ( as a language) as a global lingua franca, which Pauline Gibbons (2002) addresses in her work on language learning in multilingual contexts. She argues that english should be taught authentic communication across cultures. 

In addition, the focus on collaboration and peer discussions fits well with Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory, which again is an important part  of Gibbons’ approach on  scaffolding in second language learning.

Gweno Williams, in Literature for the English Classroom, says that literature can be used to get a glance into other worlds and lives, wich also goes for exploring intercultural themes. 

Furthermore, the letter’s clear communication about strategies—such as reflection tasks and group work—aligns well with formative assessment principles. This approach supportsthe  learning as well as of intercultural competence. At the same time it is understood tha thet students’ understanding is going to be expected to evolve over time and that learning happens through a process as much as product.

Lastly, the invitation to parents might encourage the parents to have discussions about this at home discussions,which will then broaden the horizon  beyond the classroom.

In conclusion, this parent letter shows good practice in communicating pedagogical skills. It grounds classroom practice in theory, and positions parents as important partners in developing students’ intercultural understandin. The parent letter shows ransparency and can be important in order to strengthen school-home relationships as well as the intercultural competences and understand of the students.


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