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Using translated Chinese literature to develop multidimensional intercultural competence

A practical case in Barcelona schools

ORCiD logo with link | Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
 | Universitat Pompeu FabraBarcelona
 | Universidad de Granada
 | Universidad de Salamanca
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Open Access publication of this article was funded through a Transformative Agreement with Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

Published online: 4 March 2026
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ttmc.26007.mar
Abstract
This article examines how translated literature can foster intercultural competence in primary and secondary education. Viewing intercultural competence as a core educational objective, it draws on research from foreign language teaching and comparative literature. The study presents a school contest promoting translated Chinese literature in Barcelona, a city with a significant population of Chinese origin. Held in 2023, we received 411 student submissions across four educational levels from 12 schools. Using a multidimensional model of intercultural competence, the article analyzes the activities designed for the contest and the students’ creative outputs, such as short stories and book trailers. All submissions were manually coded by the four authors according to five intercultural dimensions (cognitive, affective, procedural, critical, and identity) and the analysis was triangulated through group discussion. Results indicate that while all dimensions were present, the critical dimension was least developed, underscoring the need for targeted activities and collaboration with educators.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Background
    • 2.1Interculturality in the Spanish educational legislation
    • 2.2Interculturality in the Barcelona metropolitan area
    • 2.3The contests
  • 3.Methodology
  • 4.Results and discussion
    • 4.1Cognitive Dimension
    • 4.2Affective Dimension
    • 4.3Behavioral Dimension
    • 4.4Critical Dimension
    • 4.5Identity Dimension
  • 5.Concluding remarks
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
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