eLearning and Intercultural dimensions of of learning theories and<br />teaching models

Article paru sur le site "eLearning Papers" de la Commission Européenne.It will be argued in this article that developing intercultural awareness in students can befacilitated by e-learning environments. When choosing to address learning goals within an elearningenvironment, authors and educators need to become aware of hidden dimensions intheir pedagogical activity. Cultural embeddedness applies to learning theories as much asteaching models. Reflecting on these dimensions and taking them into account in designingspecific environments should result in facilitated intercultural learning and teaching.In multicultural and multilingual societies, the implicit pedagogical assumptions of e-learningenvironments need to be made explicit. Two different cultural dimensions of educationalpractices are more specifically concerned: the pedagogical culture and the values, beliefs,attitudes, theories and models involved; and the digital culture and the emergingtransformations related to knowledge and pedagogical modelling.The development of intercultural abilities, already present in language education, can lead theway to an enhanced experience of learning and teaching. Students and teachers can beempowered as much as they develop a new culture of education, based on interculturalcompetences, critical thinking, awareness and self-regulated practices