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Article In: Translation and Translanguaging in Multilingual Contexts: Online-First Articles

Using translated Chinese literature to develop multidimensional intercultural competence

A practical case in Barcelona schools

ORCiD logo with link | Autonomous University of Barcelona
 | Universitat Pompeu Fabra
 | Universidad de Granada
 | Universidad de Salamanca
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Abstract
This article explores how translated literature can support the development of intercultural competence in primary and secondary education. Recognizing intercultural competence as a key educational goal, the study draws on research in foreign language teaching and comparative literature. It presents a contest promoting translated Chinese literature for schools in Barcelona, a city with a notable population of Chinese origin. The contest ran from November 2022 to February 2023 and generated 411 submissions across four categories from 12 different schools. Based on a multidimensional model of intercultural competence, the article examines the activities designed for the contest alongside the creative outputs submitted by students, including short stories and book trailers. The student outputs were manually coded by all four authors using the five intercultural dimensions, and the coding was subsequently triangulated through group discussions. The results show how these outputs reflect various intercultural dimensions. While the findings reveal that all dimensions of intercultural competence were covered, they also show that students tend to neglect the critical dimension — namely, positioning toward other cultures. This highlights a need for specific activities to foster critical engagement. The article concludes that collaboration with educators is essential to create interventions that support a more balanced development of all dimensions of intercultural competence.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Interculturality in the Spanish educational legislation
    • 2.2Interculturality in the Barcelona metropolitan area
    • 2.3The contests
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Cognitive dimension
    • 4.2Affective dimension
    • 4.3Behavioral dimension
    • 4.4Critical dimension
    • 4.5Identity dimension
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Disclosure statement
  • Notes
  • Author queries
  • References
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