USING LITERARY TEXTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE

Due to constant and rapid changes occurring in the contemporary word, the outcomes of foreign language learning (FLL) should be re-thought and focused on the specific needs of modern learners. Above all, as a result of the globalisation process and mobility programmes, people not only encounter members of different communities worldwide, but education has also been internationalised at all its levels. Therefore, apart from the development of learners’ linguistic competence, there is a need for the development of their intercultural competence since they should be able to successfully communicate in different sociocultural contexts. One of the ways in which this can be achieved is certainly the use of authentic materials in the classroom as they communicate ideas and are culturally loaded. As literary texts deal with cultural topics involving readers cognitively and affectively, they should find their place in foreign language teaching (FLT)