Abstract:

The present paper is oriented towards presenting the culturally sensitive topics identified in the process of teaching Romanian as a foreign language for the study programme The preparatory year of Romanian language for foreign students at the Cross-border Faculty of the ‘Dunarea de Jos’ University of Galati. The programme has a twelve-year tradition with as many generations of students. The groups of students are really diverse in terms of culture (race, religion, ideologies etc) as they come from all over the world (Siria, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, Italia, Bulgaria, Albania, Spain, France, Turkey, China, Sierra Leone, Madagascar, India, Morocco, Brazil, Saudia Arabia, Ukraine, Russia and many other). As most of them begin the process of learning the Romanian language starting with the language level A1 (as defined by CEFR), in order to build a basic vocabulary, they are required to undertake classes that deal with subjects such as family, jobs, food, celebrations and traditions commonly accepted on the Romanian cultural pool. Thus, even if these topics might seem quite normal and culturally safe, in fact they often result in awkward situations that become hard to navigate through, both for teachers and students. Therefore, the present paper is an attempt at raising awareness on these culturally sensitive topics via the analysis of different texts produced by the students on these apparently nonthreatening subjects, as well as the analysis of some questionnaires especially designed for the teachers to document specific cases. Also, the analysis might prove useful in the creation of teaching materials from a more inclusive and tolerance-oriented perspective.

Keywords:

RFL, inclusive education, culture, language, taboos.