The objective of this Master’s Thesis is to show that in learning Spanish as Foreign language the students do not acquire only the linguistic competences but also the sociocultural knowledge and intercultural competence. Language and culture are two elements that are strongly related (García-Cervigón, 2002), therefore the acquiring of the sociocultural competence is unavoidable. The importance of teaching the culture is emphasized in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), where it is stated that the contact between two or more cultures creates intercultural awareness that includes awareness of diversity, personal enrichment and, among the other factors, the expansion of one’s perception of their own culture (SEJO, 2011). On the other hand, the presentation of another’s country culture can be frequently stereotyped. It is important that the cultural content is presented critically, in relation with the language and in the corresponding context, so that the students may acquire the intercultural competence which includes the overcoming of the stereotypes and prejudices, among others.
In the present work we argue that one of the most efficient mechanisms to overcome the stereotypes about Spain is Erasmus+ exchange. During the exchange the students have an opportunity to experience Spanish culture in its natural environment and overcome the previously achieved stereotypes.
In order to verify this hypothesis, we carried out an investigation among two groups of Slovenian students of Spanish Philology at the University of Ljubljana through lexical availability. The students in the control group had never participated in a student exchange; they had only visited Spain for short periods of time. The experimental group, on the other hand, consisted of students who had been on a student exchange which lasted for at least five months. The students from both groups have at least a B2 level of knowledge in Spanish according to the CEFR standards. Content analysis is quantitative and qualitative. The results demonstrated that the students who attended the exchange, provide a greater number of different words and slightly more relevant words according to the semantic field but these differences are small. The qualitative analysis has showed that the stereotyped perceptions are still present in both groups.
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