Competência intercultural: conteúdos culturais na aquisição da língua estrangeira e sua integração didáctica no ensino do alemão

Dissertação apresentada à Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa para obtenção do grau de Doutor em Cultura Alemã.

This work begins with the presentation and the delimitation of the theme of “intercultural competence”. It emphasises the need of a close tie between the mediation of cultural matters and the teaching/learning process of the language itself, for the achievement of which it is proposed a matrix of socio-cultural contents.  In Chapter 1 it is described the evolution of the concept of culture, namely in Germany, and the consequences of its evolutive context concerning the teaching/learning process of the German language as a Foreign Language.  In Chapter 2 there is an analysis of the facts that might constitute the socio-cultural reality of the Portuguese youth in the eighties and the nineties of the 20th. Century.  In Chapter 3 it is presented a report of the Portuguese educational system in the two decades prior to the 25th. April, 1974, so as to explain some facts of the present day situation. It is also made an analysis of the current programmes of the teaching of the German Language, both for the schools and for the universities (including the initial training of teachers). It is concluded that it is desirable the widening and the deepening of the cultural themes also based on a heuristic approach leading to a wider autonomy and a better development of the critical and linguistic capabilities of the learner.  In Chapter 4 it is proposed a matrix which involves a range of present-day themes with incursions into the historical roots of the German speaking countries. This is followed by examples of the teaching techniques of the themes: “Germany and its youth”, “The transalpine routes and tourism in Switzerland” and in these themes it also appears a consideration and a comparison with aspects pertaining to the Portuguese reality.  In Chapter 5 it is proposed the range of the related utilisation in the Portuguese courses of the German language and literature, including the ones specifically applicable to the training of teachers, as well as a diversification of methodologies and didactic innovation. It is also proposed the implementation of the scientific area of Sociocultural Studies (German Studies) within the scope of Germanistik in Portugal.