El lugar de la cultura y de la competencia intercultural para los maestros de francés lengua extranjera a nivel principante: Un estudio de caso en México

This article explores teachers’ perceptions on the cultural and intercultural dimension in the teaching of French as a Foreign Language for beginners. Based on the correlations found between the educational and cultural profile of each French language teacher and their answers to a semi-structured interview concerning their vision of the culture and its importance in level 1, this paper argues that the most important variables for promoting intercultural teaching and for developing intercultural competence, are the teachers’ intercultural experience, a good knowledge of the target culture as well as of the learner’s culture, and a multidisciplinary training on social disciplines. The study also shows the need for both learners and teachers to work on their own implicit culture, since a lack of distance with regard to their own cultural references is a handicap for carrying out intercultural work in the classroom.