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to and watching news programmes or reading newspapers;

preparing a project (such as a life project or holiday project),

presenting it and comparing it with another person’s; and

letter-writing to explain contents and style with regard to the

social level of the correspondents.

Preparation of a school trip and a school exchange are also

undertaken, entailing knowledge of traditions and useful

geopolitical notions such as what to do, what not to do, what

to say, what not to say, and expressions. Assessment is in the

form of a story: for example, what was surprising? What was

good and what was not?

Analytical exercises include the analysis of documents,

which involves searching for signs of ethnocentrism, racism,

exoticism, tolerance and solidarity, the explanation of these

notions and a reflection on the subjects of identity and cultural

differences. Analysis of foreign comics entails cutting out the

speech bubbles rewriting them, showing the class how they

portray ‘the other’ and comparing comics of different origins

in order to reflect on how stereotypes are created. Stylistic

analysis of newspaper articles and reports includes detecting

positive and negative signs, such as aggressive styles in sports

reports or political reports.

In learning arithmetic, pupils are asked to describe basic

operations according to the terms of the mother language

and those of the second language. The objective is to discover

different ways of proceeding and a sense of reality.

Detecting prejudices is done with the aid of definition and

examples, and can involve practicing a speech that might be

preceded or followed by an essay. Critical analysis of clichés,

stereotypes and prejudices is undertaken. Learners also look

at the broadcasting and exploitation of documentaries about

foreign countries; if necessary, an ‘expert’ is the last one to speak

and there is an analysis of eventual interpretation mistakes.

Several colleagues confirm the efficacy of these procedures

in obtaining a better knowledge and comprehension of the

other. For example, in Niger, secondary school teachers

successfully experimented with the translation of myths and

proverbs into djerma language. At the University of Mons,

interculturality was discussed by comparing different versions

of myths and fairy tales (for example, ‘Little Red Riding

Hood’). On the other hand, the teaching of negotiation tech-

niques or argumentation, thanks to simulated ‘round-table

conferences’ in multicultural classes, revealed unsuspected

aspects of the way tolerance is applied in different societies.

The colleagues said that you can get the best and the worst of

both worlds with languages, but they can become a means of

mediation and intercultural integration.

Bilingualism as presented here, as an absolute priority for

children, is functional to the extent that by avoiding a possible

disturbance of the child’s social, emotional, intellectual andmoral

development, it ensures a peaceful complementarity between the

languages concerned and the reinstated mother tongue, favour-

ing the second language, now recognized as necessary.

In conclusion, multicultural societies can – and must – live

together as convivially as other ones. To defend the cultural

rights of a community does not mean pushing it into isola-

tion, but promoting the idea that keeping a cultural identity

safe is allowing it to live, evolve and recreate itself thanks to

its cohabitation with other societies. Cultural togetherness is

the way to go from a multicultural to an intercultural society.

To know a different culture means not only learning to think

differently, but also developing otherness in oneself, develop-

ing a path to the other.

And finally, it is a way of encouraging everyone to see things

differently because cultural dialogue equals mutual enrich-

ment. It is the very nature of living well together.

Image: CIPA

The CIPA headquarters in Mons, Belgium; established in 1965, the centre has developed to focus on cooperation and the defence of peace

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