1 Children’s intercultural identity development through the teaching of languages 1 Julie-Athena Spinthouraki University of Patras Nicos C. Sifakis Hellenic Open University Abstract The paper looks at the links between the notion of intercultural identity and competence in children and the teaching/learning of foreign languages. In particular, we provide definitions of intercultural identity and seek to establish ways of enhancing it by making children aware of other cultures through foreign language pedagogy. In doing so, we discuss the different functions of foreign languages, as communicative tools and as ways of expressing one’s cultural identity to people who do not share one’s language. The paper goes on to present different ways of achieving intercultural competence (e.g., by establishing school links between different countries, by creating email projects, etc) and discusses implications for teacher training programs. Introduction The notion of identity is a complicated one. It is a psychosocial terrain where different aspects of an individual’s persona meet to help shape his or her attitudes and beliefs about everything. Throughout the development of our life, the elements of intelligence, mind, personality, and self work in a complementary fashion to create our identity (Demetriou, 2003). This process continuous throughout one’s life, but it is a lot more crucial in childhood. In this paper, we will consider the links between identity, intercultural identity and competence with language and communication. We are going to focus on the teaching, learning and use of foreign languages as an enhancement mechanism of identity and as a means of prompting a child’s intercultural competence. At the end, we will present some thoughts concerning foreign language teacher training. Identity and language In the relevant literature, the links between identity and language, albeit indubitable, have been quite numerous and widely debated (for a comprehensive review, cf. Blackledge & Pavlenko, 2001). According to one perspective, language is the means of expressing one’s identity, providing ‘facts about their class, sex, age, and region’ (Chambers, 1995, pp.100-101). These expressions of identity are claimed to be ‘common knowledge’ that is shared by all and creates certain expectations about who individual people are on the basis of ‘how they sound’. This viewpoint has been severely criticised by sociolinguists who claim that identity is not a fixed notion but a 1 In P. Papoulia-Tzelepi, S. Hegstrup & A. Ross (Eds.) (2005). Emerging identities among young children: European issues (CiCe Series Volume 5), Stoke-on-Trent: Trentham Books, pp. 89-100