Intercomprehension: a move towards a new type of language teacher

Abstract

This article describes the University of North London's contribution to a European project on intercomprehension in language teacher education. It defines intercomprehension and outlines its relevance to current cross-curricular initiatives on language education in this country. It then describes the application of intercomprehension approaches in six sessions on language, language learning and teaching delivered to a cross-subject group of PGCE English and modern languages student teachers. The overall aims of the sessions and the key content of each session are outlined together with evaluations by student teachers and tutors, giving examples of school-based work. The article concludes by presenting a view of the dialogue between the two subject groups and by outlining the need for a new definition of the language teacher of the future, one who is a language educator.