An ecological perspective on foreign language didactics and learning materials

Abstract

The learning of a new language is, in general, a long and costly process for learners, who must reconfigure their knowledge considering the linguistic, discursive and cultural contributions of the foreign language. To accompany this process, we believe that it is necessary to have learning materials and textbooks that match an “ecological didactic model”. This approach conceives didactics as depending on the idea of otherness. This means showing respect for students, understanding their peculiarities, valuing sociocultural contexts and, finally, planning adapted, creative and coherent educational actions in those contexts. In this paper, we define the ecological didactic model and the learning materials that follow the proposed orientation. We seek to promote the idea of coexistence of diverse individuals, contexts, means and procedures for the teaching of languages and cultures.