E-LEARNING IN INTERCULTURAL LEARNING

The process of promoting intercultural learning was accelerated in the 1990s, by the European Council, and coincided with the acknowledgment of its relevance not only in the countries of Western Europe that were the most important targets for migration, but also in other parts of Europe, such as the southern countries or the countries of Central and Eastern Europe where issues of cultural diversity have become very important after the fall of the communist regimes in this area. Nowadays the educators face with intercultural challenges in many learning situations, for which they have not been prepared sufficiently in their own training, because intercultural issues are on the teacher curriculum agenda only for a couple of years. For this reason, it needs to form and develop the intercultural competence - one of the eight key competence needed for every young and every educator of our days by initial and continuous training. If the general objective of intercultural learning activities is to equip young people and adults with necessary competences for living in a intercultural society, its specific objectives refer to: a) knowledge about culture in general and its impact on individual and group behaviour, about one's own culture(s) and about the cultures of others; b) skills related to life in a intercultural society (become aware of one's own cultural determinations, of prejudices and stereotypes and identifying them to the others, ability to take different viewpoints, communicative and relational skills, etc); c) attitudes, such as respect for cultural diversity and for the other's cultural identity, reject discrimination and intolerance; d) stimulating action for promoting intercultural society, for combating discrimination and intolerance. This article aims to analyse some aspects of applied strategies, including e-learning activities, in intercultural learning, used in initial training courses with the students from bachelor and master level, which led to accomplish those specific objectives.