Nineteenth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

This paper exemplifies the possibilities of applying critical discourse analysis techniques to web-based materials as a way to develop intercultural competence in students of foreign languages. The study is divided into three different parts. The first displays a specific theoretical frame on discourse analysis, mainly based on proposals by Paul Gee (2005, 2011) and Barbara Johnstone (2008), and its applications to foreign language pedagogy. The second section includes concrete samples of different types of activities in which authentic online materials are analyzed critically with the purpose of promoting students’ awareness of the foreign culture as well as their own. The materials are taken from diverse digital media, such as web pages, social networks and discussion forums, and the activities background is based mainly on pragmatics theory developed by Francisco Yus (2010). The paper concludes with a brief review of different research projects on intercultural analysis developed by college students of Spanish. Activities samples and research projects are in Spanish, but the theoretical frame is applicable to all languages.