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Key Concepts

The key concepts associated with the ICETEMP Project are:

Intercultural citizenship education (ICE) brings together foreign language education and citizenship education in ways that encourage learners to engage critically, ethically, and collaboratively with the world beyond the classroom. In foreign language education, learners encounter linguistic and cultural diversity and develop intercultural communicative competence through interaction with perspectives, experiences, and ways of life that may differ from their own. Citizenship education, meanwhile, traditionally focuses more directly on participation and engagement within local, school, national, or community contexts.

Intercultural citizenship education connects these two educational dimensions by combining intercultural understanding with civic engagement and social action (Byram et al., 2016; Porto, 2016). It encourages learners not only to communicate across cultural differences, but also to reflect critically on social and global issues, consider multiple perspectives, and participate responsibly in their communities. In this way, ICE creates meaningful links between local experiences and wider global concerns, fostering awareness of interconnectedness at local, national, European, and international levels.

Intercultural citizenship education therefore involves the integration of interconnected linguistic, intercultural, and citizenship-related learning objectives. Learning experiences are designed to support dialogue, reflection, collaboration, and critical engagement, while also encouraging learners to take informed and socially responsible action within their communities.

Within ICETEMP, intercultural citizenship education is closely connected to picturebook mediation and dialogic pedagogies. Through shared reading, discussion, and collaborative inquiry around picturebooks, student teachers and children are encouraged to explore complex social issues, engage with diverse perspectives, and develop intercultural, plurilingual, and civic understandings through participatory and meaning-making practices.

See the ICEPELL project 'Intercultural citizenship education'

References

Byram, M., Golubeva, I., Hui, H., & Wagner, M. (2016) Introduction, in M. Byram, I. Golubeva, H. Hui, & M. Wagner, M. (eds.) From Principles to Practice in Education for Intercultural Citizenship. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

Porto, M. (2016) Ecological and intercultural citizenship in the primary English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom: an online project in Argentina. Cambridge Journal of Education, 46:4, 395-415, DOI: 10.1080/0305764X.2015.1064094.

Additional reading

For a definition of concepts. The UNESCO, Intercultural Dialogue – core concepts site is useful. For further clarification of central concepts, such as identity, culture, intercultural dialogue, the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture is useful.

For an example of ICE in Spanish as a foreign language in the USA can be found in this article:

For an accessible explanation of the intercultural communicative competence:

For an example of ICE in upper primary education developed between children in Argentina and Denmark can be found in this article:

A picturebook is text, illustrations, total design; an item of manufacture and a commercial product; a social, cultural, historic document; and foremost, an experience for a child. As an art form it hinges on the interdependence of pictures and words, on the simultaneous display of two facing pages, and on the drama of the turning page. On its own terms its possibilities are limitless (Bader 1976:1) Barbara Bader’s well-known definition foregrounds the complexity of picturebooks as multimodal artistic and literary texts in which understanding emerges through the interplay of words, images, design, and material form. As an art form, the picturebook depends on the dynamic relationship between pictures and words, the simultaneous display of facing pages, and the drama of the page turn, all of which contribute to the reader’s interpretative experience.

Within picturebooks, words and images do not function independently but work together in ways that neither mode could achieve alone. Pictures show, while words tell, yet each continually shapes the interpretation of the other (Lewis, 2001). This interplay between visual and verbal communication is often described as picture–word interanimation, emphasising the symbiotic relationship between the two modes. For this reason, the compound form ‘picturebook’ is increasingly preferred, as it recognises the inseparability of pictures and words within the text as a whole.

Picturebooks are also carefully designed aesthetic objects. Their format, covers, endpapers, typography, title pages, page layout, and material features all contribute to the reader’s experience and to the construction of meaning. As Shulevitz (1985) explains, a picturebook functions as a unified artistic whole in which all elements work together cohesively. The so-called ‘peritextual’ elements of the picturebook are therefore not peripheral, but integral to interpretation and reader response.

At the same time, picturebooks are social, cultural, and historical artefacts that engage with a wide range of themes and perspectives. Contemporary picturebooks frequently address issues such as migration, sustainability, identity, diversity, social justice, conflict, belonging, and environmental responsibility. Through the interaction of visual and verbal narratives, picturebooks can invite readers to question assumptions, consider multiple perspectives, and engage critically and emotionally with complex topics. In educational contexts, they offer rich opportunities for dialogue, imagination, empathy, and collaborative meaning-making.

Within ICETEMP, picturebooks are understood as powerful mediating tools for intercultural citizenship education and dialogic language learning. Their multimodal and interpretative nature creates spaces for discussion, reflection, and inquiry, while their visual and verbal affordances support participation across different linguistic, cultural, and educational contexts. Through carefully mediated picturebook read-alouds, children and student teachers are encouraged to engage critically, creatively, and collaboratively with stories and with one another.

See the ICEPELL project 'Picturebooks'

References

  • Bader, B. (1976). American picturebooks from Noah’s Ark to The Beast Within. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
  • Lewis, D. (2001) Reading Contemporary Picturebooks: picturing text. Abingdon, RoutledgeFalmer.
  • Shulevitz, U. (1985). Writing with pictures: How to write and illustrate children’s books. New York: Watson-Guptill Publications.

Dialogic education refers to a pedagogical approach in which learning is developed through purposeful classroom dialogue. Rather than viewing talk simply as a way of checking knowledge or eliciting correct answers, dialogic education positions classroom interaction as central to meaning-making, critical thinking, and collaborative learning. It encourages learners to build on one another’s ideas, ask questions, justify interpretations, consider multiple perspectives, and engage in shared inquiry.

Developed most prominently through the work of Robin Alexander, dialogic education emphasises the quality of classroom talk and the creation of learning environments in which learners actively participate in the co-construction of knowledge. Alexander describes dialogic education as harnessing ‘the power of talk’ to stimulate thinking, deepen understanding, and support democratic participation in education.

Dialogic education is grounded in sociocultural theories of learning associated with scholars such as Lev Vygotsky and Mikhail Bakhtin, who highlighted the social and relational nature of meaning-making. In dialogic classrooms, learners are encouraged not only to express their own ideas, but also to listen attentively, respond thoughtfully, and remain open to revising their thinking through interaction with others (Phillipson & Wegerif, 2017). A dialogic approach is particularly relevant to intercultural citizenship education (Maine & Vrikki, 2021; Rapanta et al. 2020) as it creates opportunities for learners to encounter diverse viewpoints, negotiate meanings, and engage ethically with complex social and global issues. In language education, dialogic education supports both linguistic development and intercultural understanding by encouraging learners to use language as a tool for inquiry, reflection, participation, and action.

Multimodality is also central to dialogic education, particularly in language education and picturebook mediation contexts (Bertoldi, 2025). Dialogue is not created through words alone, but through the orchestration of multiple communicative modes, including gesture, gaze, facial expression, body movement, voice quality, images, and the material handling of texts. From a multimodal perspective, meaning-making is understood as embodied and socially situated, emerging through interaction between participants and the different semiotic resources available in the classroom. Picturebooks themselves are inherently multimodal texts, combining visual, verbal, spatial, and material elements that invite learners into shared interpretation and collaborative inquiry.

Within ICETEMP, dialogic teaching is understood not as a fixed method, but as a pedagogical stance that values dialogue, reciprocity, curiosity, and collaborative meaning-making across educational contexts. It involves not only verbal interaction, but also attention to the embodied and multimodal dimensions of communication that shape how learners participate, respond, and co-construct meaning together.

References

Picturebook mediation refers to the support and scaffolding provided by the teacher when sharing a picturebook with children during a read-aloud experience. According to Ellis and Mourão (2021), mediation begins with the careful selection and preparation of the picturebook, continues during the read-aloud itself through the teacher’s expressive and interactive techniques, and extends into follow-up activities and reflection. Effective mediation involves creating a multimodal, language-rich environment in which children actively engage with the verbal and visual texts of the picturebook, participate in collaborative meaning-making, and share personal responses. The teacher mediates not only through reading aloud, but also through the orchestration of voice, gesture, gaze, body movement, questioning, clarification, and read-aloud talk, enabling children to experience the picturebook as a rich aesthetic, communicative, and dialogic event.

Within ICETEMP, picturebook mediation is understood as a central pedagogical practice through which student teachers learn to support intercultural dialogue and children’s engagement with complex social and global issues. It involves careful attention to the verbal, visual, embodied, and dialogic dimensions of the read-aloud experience, encouraging inclusive and participatory environments in which children can respond critically, emotionally, and imaginatively to picturebooks while developing linguistic, intercultural, and citizenship-related understandings.

Picturebook mediation within ICETEMP also recognises the value of translanguaging practices in supporting children’s participation, comprehension, and meaning making (Kelly, 2022). Drawing on learners’ full linguistic and multimodal repertoires, including home languages, additional languages, gesture, and other communicative resources, can create more inclusive and dialogic read-aloud environments. Translanguaging enables children to make connections across languages, contribute through diverse forms of expression, and engage more confidently with authentic and challenging texts. In this way, picturebook mediation values multilingualism as an asset and supports intercultural, plurilingual, and collaborative approaches to learning.

References

  • Ellis, G., & Mourão, S. (2021). Demystifying the read-aloud. English Teaching Professional, 136, 22–25.
  • Kelly, L. B. (2022). A translanguaging read-aloud. The Reading Teacher, 75, 763 -766.

Additional reading

  • Bertoldi, E. (2025). A multimodal exploration of non-fiction read-aloud performances in English as an additional language. Cambridge Scholars.
  • Han, M., Van Duinen, D. V., & Weng, A. (2021). Interactive read-alouds as translanguaging spaces. The Reading Teacher, 75(3), 389–394.
  • ICEPELL Intercultural. (2021, June 7). Demystifying the read-aloud in early language learning [Video]. YouTube.
  • Nilsson, M. (2023). Teachers’ scaffolding roles during picturebook read-alouds in the primary English language classroom. Children’s Literature in English Language Education, 11(1), 43–66.

Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a pedagogical approach in which educators and students from different countries work together online through shared curricular activities and collaborative projects. Originally developed by the State University of New York (SUNY), COIL connects classrooms across geographical and cultural boundaries, enabling learners to engage in intercultural dialogue, collaborative inquiry, and shared meaning-making through digital technologies. Unlike more general forms of virtual exchange, COIL is characterised by the co-design and co-facilitation of learning experiences by educators from partner institutions, with collaborative student interaction embedded within the curriculum itself (Hackett et al, 2024).

COIL is grounded in principles of collaborative and social-constructivist learning, recognising that knowledge is developed through interaction with others across diverse linguistic, cultural, and disciplinary perspectives. Through synchronous and asynchronous online communication, students work together on common tasks, developing not only curriculum-related knowledge, but also intercultural competence, digital literacy, communication skills, and the ability to collaborate across differences. See University College Copenhagen (n.d.) for practical examples.

Within ICETEMP, COIL is understood as an intercultural and dialogic space for collaboration in which student teachers engage with peers from different educational and cultural contexts to explore picturebook mediation, intercultural citizenship education, and dialogic pedagogies. It offers opportunities for participants to negotiate meanings, reflect on diverse perspectives, and co-construct knowledge through multimodal and multilingual interaction.

References