Picturebooks, if carefully selected, afford a unique experience in the language classroom, and are considered amongst the most valuable of resources for intercultural-related activities. This article reports on a scoping review which attempted to answer the question,
Bilderbücher bieten, wenn sie sorgfältig ausgewählt werden, eine einzigartige Erfahrung im Sprachunterricht und gelten als eine der wertvollsten Ressourcen für interkulturelle Aktivitäten. Dieser Artikel liefert eine Übersicht und versucht, die Frage zu beantworten: Was ist aus der vorhandenen Literatur über die Wirksamkeit von Bilderbüchern für das interkulturelle Lernen im Fremdsprachenunterricht bekannt? Er stellt einen Korpus von 19 Dokumenten vor, umreißt die Schlüsselfragen und -themen, die sich aus der Auswertung der Daten ergeben haben, und gibt Empfehlungen für weitere Untersuchungen.
Os livros-álbum, se selecionados com cuidado, proporcionam uma experiência única no ensino de línguas estrangeiras e são considerados um dos recursos mais valiosos para atividades relacionadas com a interculturalidade. Este artigo relata uma revisão sistemática que tentou responder à pergunta: ‘O que se sabe da literatura existente sobre a eficácia dos livros-álbum para a aprendizagem intercultural no ensino de línguas estrangeiras?’. Apresenta um corpus de 19 documentos, delineia as principais questões e temas que surgiram de um processo de mapeamento dos dados e apresenta recomendações para investigação futura.
Intercultural learning aims for the development of an intercultural competence, which according to Huber and Reynolds (
(…) a combination of attitudes, knowledge, understanding and skills applied through action which enables one, either singly or together with others, to:
understand and respect people who are perceived to have different cultural affiliations from oneself;
respond appropriately, effectively and respectfully when interacting and communicating with such people;
establish positive and constructive relationships with such people;
understand oneself and one’s own multiple cultural affiliations through encounters with cultural difference.
Language learning affords an encounter with “such people” (ibid.) through the learning of another language – for foreign language pedagogy “is naturally posited between cultures” (
The relationship between visual and verbal texts and the materiality of the picturebook have been debated since the 1980s, acknowledging “the pleasures [and] the learning processes [they evoke]” (
In a previous review, Heggernes (
Scoping studies (cf.
To identify the types of evidence in a particular field
To examine how research is conducted in that field
To identify the key characteristics related to the target concepts
To identify and analyze knowledge gaps.
Scoping reviews do not incorporate a critical appraisal of the literature or a synthesis of the findings, rather they chart the evidence. This has been considered a limitation, but as their purpose is to offer an overview of the existing literature in a field of interest, they are often the precursor to systematic reviews (cf.
Following recommendations for scoping reviews, my research question was wide, as it aimed at generating a breadth of coverage (cf.
What is known from the existing literature about the effectiveness of picturebooks for intercultural learning in foreign language education?
Which picturebooks are identified as effective?
Arksey and O’Malley (
For the identification of relevant studies, the following search terms, combined with the Boolean operators AND and OR, were used in selected search engines: (e.g.
Figure 1: The scoping process
A total of 19 documents were included in the selection which represented 17 different studies, projects or descriptions of practice (hereafter referred to as studies). The final corpus is listed in
Table 1: The corpus of documents forming the scoping review
Study nº | Doc nº | First author | Date | Title |
S1l | 1a | Bae | Developing general literacy ability and intercultural sensitivity through English literacy instruction: Using global literature for Korean EFL learners | |
1b | Bae | Reading global literature with different grade levels and genders | ||
S2 | 2 | Bøhn-Abrahamsen | Promoting intercultural competence in the Norwegian English language classroom through the picture book |
|
S3 | 3 | Fleta | From |
|
S4 | 4a | Furnes | Decentering and fiction: on developing intercultural competence using a picturebook in a Norwegian L2 Classroom | |
4b | Sindland | To measure the development of a class of 5th graders’ abilities to decentre | ||
S5 | 5 | Gratzl | Antiracist education in the EFL classroom: Using Armin Greder’s picturebook |
|
S6 | 6 | Hayik | Critical visual analysis of multicultural sketches | |
S7 | 7 | Heggernes | Opening a dialogic space: Intercultural learning through picturebooks. | |
S8 | 8 | Hernández-Castillo | Fostering cultural awareness through storytelling at a multilingual primary school | |
S9 | 9 | Lee | Discussing culturally relevant books online: A cross-cultural blogging project | |
S10 | 10 | Panaou, | ||
S11 | 11 | Perugini | Judging a book by its cover: Developing intercultural competence through book covers | |
S12 | 12 | Romero | Exploring elementary graders’ intercultural attitudes through a guided reading approach | |
S13 | 13 | Schwebs | Use of literature circles to promote cultural knowledge and oral communication. Exploring the issues of apartheid and human rights through literature circles | |
S14 | 14 | Wang | A Bridge to intercultural understanding: Reading teachers in the U.S. & English learners in China read children’s literature books in a global book club | |
S15 | 15 | Wang | “It broadens our horizon”: English learners learn through global literature and cultural discussion | |
S16 | 16 | Wu | Teaching university students’ cultural diversity by means of multi-cultural picture books in Taiwan | |
S17 | 17 | Yeom | Disturbing the still water: Korean English language students’ visual journeys for global awareness |
The analysis of the corpus involved an approach akin to mapping key information, which entailed “synthesizing and interpreting qualitative data by sifting, charting and sorting material according to key issues and themes” (
Figure 2: The charting topics covered in the mapping process
The search timeframe was the first two decades of this century, between 2001 and 2020, and
Figure 3: Publication dates of the scoping review corpus
Seventeen of the documents focused on sharing research and or practice in the field of English as a foreign language (EFL), which is of no surprise, considering that English is the most learned additional language in the world. The remaining two publications reported on European foreign languages (FLs) (S10) and Spanish FL (S11).
Figure 4: Locations of the scoping review corpus
One of the selection criteria for the scoping process was that the study was undertaken in an educational setting.
Considering that picturebooks are usually associated with pre-primary and primary schoolchildren (cf.
Figure 5: The ages of learners represented in the scoping review corpus
There was also a noticeable trend in relation to age groups and country of research.
Figure 6: Ages of learners and countries of research in the scoping review corpus
Scoping reviews do not “seek to assess the quality of evidence” or look for “robust or generalizable findings” (
Figure 7: Types of publication making up the scoping review corpus
Six of the articles reported on research in Asia (S1b, S9, S14, S15, S16, S17), as did the doctoral thesis (S1a). These publications were spread evenly across the decade 2011–2020 and, as previously mentioned, researched learners from 10 to 18+ years old. Three articles came from Europe (S3, S4b, S7), as did four of the five unpublished master’s theses (S2, S4a, S5, S13), with three representing different institutions in Norway (S2, S4a, S13). All three Norwegian master’s theses investigated the picturebook
The teachers’ handbook (S10) represented a European Comenius project that collated more than 60 picturebooks from 27 European countries to be used in “language and second language learning” (
Due to the variety of publication types, there was not always a clearly stated research question to lead the activity report in each publication. However, it was possible to extract an explicit aim. Appendix I lists the aims (A) or research questions (RQ) which were salient in each publication.
Just four of these aims and research questions make a clear reference to the name or kind of literature used in the study (i.e.
Literature tends to be associated with either language or literacy learning in most educational contexts (
The focus of the studies in the scoping review are presented in
Figure 8: Focus of the studies in the scoping review corpus
In relation to the identifiable competences of intercultural learning, just over half of the studies aimed at developing
Other competences in focus include
The theories that underpinned most of the studies aligned with sociocultural and learner-centered approaches akin to “teaching as negotiation” (
Figure 9: The theories and approaches that informed the scoping review corpus
As the corpus contains a variety of publication types, not all included information about a research methodology. Three publications did not refer to an approach or data collection as such (S3, S10, S11), and the remaining listed data collection instruments did not always situate their research within a particular methodology.
Figure 10: Research methodologies in the scoping review corpus
Nine studies identified with a particular methodology. Two were experimental or quasi-experimental in approach (S1, S4) and incorporated pre- and post- testing to determine changes in learning, attitude or opinion during the intervention. Just one study incorporated a control group and took a predominately quantitative approach to the analysis (S1); however, both studies triangulated data with more qualitative approaches like interviews (S1) or focus groups and observation (S4). Four studies identified with approaches associated with teacher research. Three were described as action research studies (S12, S13, S14) and another as practitioner inquiry (S6).
The trends associated with the 16 studies that described data collection generally point to using mixed methods to assemble evidence of intercultural learning. In many cases (n = 11) this involved analysing or describing student-produced artefacts or products and or transcribing audio-recorded class discussions around the picturebook or within focus groups. The three studies which provided no information about data collection (S3, S10, S11) recounted approaches to practice and a perceived impact based on the learners’ engagement with the intervention activities. In all but three publications (S1a, S1b, S10) these were examples of students’ responses to the picturebook and or related tasks (involving speaking, writing, drawing or drama as modes of communication) shared or discussed, which further sustains a focus on the picturebook in its transformative capacity.
Figure 11: Approaches to practice in the scoping review corpus
Thirteen of the publications used teaching sequences as the main approach to practice for the study, which is hardly surprising considering the corpus is from educational contexts. These sequences were undertaken during foreign language and or interdisciplinary activities over periods of one to several weeks. They generally involved interventions that targeted a particular intercultural competence, for example
A form of guided reading (cf. Fountas/Pinnell 2001) was referred to and employed as a pedagogical approach in two of the studies in this category (S1, S12). Like the conventional pre-, during and post-reading structure (cf.
One study involved learners in a response to reading approach and differentiated from a teaching sequence, as learners only experienced the picturebook through a teacher-led interactive read-aloud and were then asked to draw what the story meant for them and present their drawings to the class (S6). The teacher-researcher introduced “‘risky texts’ and critically [discussed] them [to create] the tension necessary to raise students’ awareness of social complexities and urge them to critique their beliefs and social practices” (
Two studies involved book clubs or literature circles (S13, S17) in secondary school contexts, with a focus on talk and discussion to develop understanding and empathy in class groups. The remaining three studies were developed around learner exchanges (S9, S14, S15), which required that learners engage in a reading circle and discuss the picturebooks with groups of learners in another country via a blog in secondary education (S9) or through video conferencing in tertiary education (S14, S15). This prioritized discussion and reflection through an intercultural dialogue with students from other countries. Virtual exchanges have been identified as a commonplace approach to developing intercultural learning; however, a recent review by Dooly and Vinagre (
An example of such deep learning was associated with a blogging project between tenth grade Taiwanese students learning English and fifth grade students from the USA, who used culturally relevant texts as a prompt for blogging together (S9). The project involved teachers and their learners reading the picturebooks and discussing them in their respective classes, and then the learners writing their ideas, impressions and responses in blog posts. There was clear evidence of the learners’ ability to critically read against the text in both groups. For example, they “sophisticatedly discussed the social contexts presented in the books, they also adopted a critical stance as they assessed the world around them which helped form those contexts” and made “critical judgments of the legitimacy of the texts” (
The position of the picturebook in the four approaches to practice was revealing, and five different forms of placement were mapped in the analysis. The first of these (S3) situated the picturebook as a springboard for a range of creative intercultural activities. The picturebook
The remaining four placements featured the picturebook and dialogue around its theme(s) with the teacher and or peers as key to the intervention (all studies except S3), thus recognizing the picturebook for its transformative potential, for according to Fialho (
[…] the purpose of literature lies in the experience itself, in its power to prompt us to connect deeply and conscientiously with our emotions, deepening our senses of who we are, what we are in this world for, and how we are in a relationship with others.
This suggests the picturebook is relevant in its transformative capacity as a vehicle, or as previously suggested, a conduit for intercultural learning through dialogue and interaction. Transformation implies a marked change, and this was considered evident in many of the studies and publications, but especially in those that involved Others in a different country (S14, S15).
Reference to the dialogue and dialogic potential for developing intercultural learning was not always developed explicitly, but 12 of the studies referred extensively to the use of discussion – i.e. picture books for discussion (S10), with three studies highlighting critical discussion (S6, S16) and dialogic talk (S7) to support reflection for intercultural learning. In one study, mention was made of the students using their own languages to support deeper understanding and discussion (S17). Five of the studies did not include extension or follow-up activities but relied upon this discussion as one of the main sources of data collection, via transcriptions, as well as observations and field notes (S6, S7, S14, S15, S17).
Figure 12: The picturebook in the interventions
The number of picturebooks used in the corpus studies ranged from one to over 60, however the majority (n = 11) developed the intervention with just one picturebook.
Figure 13: Number of picturebooks in the scoping review corpus
Eight of the studies defined the selected picturebooks within what has been referred to as
Figure 14: Labels for the picturebooks used in the scoping review corpus
In all, just one study involved the identification of a very clear selection criteria (S1) which not only considered literary aspects but the learners and their school curriculum. Though specific to South Korea, the criteria are of interest due to the clear headings and possible replicability across contexts (cf.
Learners’ reading and interest levels
Topics in the national curriculum
Cultural relevance and authenticity (i.e. author’s perspective and background)
Plot and positioning of the main character
Stereotypes in lifestyles
Diversity in the illustrations
Affordances for literacy and reading instruction
A set of picturebooks is selected for a particular group of learners following the learning objectives proposed by the teaching / learning context, and this set of criteria allows for such specificity.
In attempting to see a trend in the kind of picturebooks selected and recognising that their central topics and genres varied enormously, I looked for online information and summaries of 56 picturebooks listed in 15 of the studies
Table 2: Categories of analysis for the scoping review picturebooks
Picturebooks that “do not make difference visible, but rather explore how differences in culture, language, history, class, gender, sexual orientation and race |
Picturebooks that are centered on differences, often with the main character depicted as a minority (cf. |
Picturebooks that bring the diversity of the world into the classroom. |
Graph 1:
Picturebook categories in the scoping review corpus
The most common categories in Set 1 were Categories 2b, 3a and 3c, with six picturebooks each. An example from Category 3a
The most common categories in Set 2 were Categories 2b, 3b and 3c, with nine, eight and five picturebooks respectively. An example from Category 3b,
Picturebooks in Category 1 are only evident in Set 2, with two picturebooks associated with Category 1b,
Category 1a,
A further trend in the selected picturebooks is associated with the focus on human characters and the respective settings. This might be related to the very nature of interculturality, which we associate with human interaction, or as referred to earlier, most studies involved older learners, and human characters might be considered more appealing to these older readers. Human characters would certainly attune to the description given by Leland et al. (
The best of social issues, multicultural and international children’s literature shatters images of ‘the other’ by presenting characters who are both like ourselves and those who are very different from us. In these books characters are portrayed in realistic, dynamic, non-stereotypical, and multidimensional ways.
Of the 49 picturebooks analyzed, just four included animal characters. Two of these picturebooks belonged to Category 3a:
Finally, and mostly due to the context in which the study took place (i.e. students in South Korea, with the researcher studying in the USA), almost a third of the picturebooks (n = 13) in Set 1 featured characters in the USA, whereas those remaining were situated around the world (n = 5), the Middle East (n = 2) and Europe (n = 1). In Set 2, the characters and settings were slightly more diverse and included the USA (n = 11), Asia (n = 6), the African continent (n = 3), Europe (n = 3), unidentifiable (n = 3), and the world (n = 2). This raises the question: “To what extent are these picturebooks representing diversity?”, especially when more than one picturebook from a similar context may be used in the classroom.
So, what is known from the existing literature about the effectiveness of picturebooks for intercultural learning in foreign language education, and which picturebooks are these? In this last section I provide a summary of the findings and attempt to identify some of the gaps for future research.
Introducing picturebooks as a vehicle for intercultural learning is confirmed to be a recent phenomenon and has become gradually more prevalent in FL education since 2011, with an emphaisis on English FL contexts. The final corpus has shown that picturebooks are used with learners from lower primary education through to upper secondary and tertiary education, challenging the commonly held belief that picturebooks are for younger children (cf.
Common approaches to practice relied upon classroom-based teaching sequences which targeted a particular aspect of intercultural learning. There were also examples of virtual exchanges, book clubs and literature circles, and a study involving a response to reading approach. The picturebook was most often the vehicle for intercultural learning through dialogue and talk, usually in association with planned activities which further extended the intercultural focus. Despite being a common objective for introducing literature into the FL classroom, most studies did not aspire towards language (and or literacy) and intercultural learning aims, but centered attention on the intercultural with a clear emphasis on developing the intercultural dimension of knowledge in relation to self and Other. Empathy, perspective taking and decentering, as well as respect for diversity and tolerance, were the most evident competences identified in the corpus. Approaches to research, when relevant, involved mixed methods, with just two studies that might be considered experimental. Action research and practitioner enquiry were also evident, and learners’ responses, artefacts and final products were common forms of analyzed data.
The majority of studies were developed around one picturebook, each for a determined purpose associated with an intercultural competence. These serve as examples of possibilities for others to consider. Those studies that brought more picturebooks into the classroom tended to select multicultural or international literature which was appropriate for a particular context. The picturebook lists resulting from these studies require careful reflection around their applicability in different settings.
A corpus of 17 studies (or 19 documents) is very small, especially when only two thirds are published documents, the remaining being master’s theses, a doctoral thesis, and a Comenius Project Handbook. This is the distinctiveness of a scoping review. However, it also identifies the first gap – the lack of published research. Nevertheless, if the trend is sustained, there will be a continued increase in publications. The article-based thesis is now complete (
The apparent trend of master’s theses reporting on (student) teacher research which involved taking picturebooks into the classroom suggests a gap of a certain kind. Such research is inherently empirical, yet rarely published, despite an important step in action research being “going public” (
During the scoping process I debated using English abstracts from master’s theses and articles in other languages. I had easy access to these in Portuguese through searching university databases and my attention was also drawn to articles and dissertations in Korean on the topic, but I had no way to access these, as they did not have English abstracts, so the final corpus was eventually restricted to English-only publications. Nevertheless, I continue to consider the relatively large number of master’s theses I found in Portuguese to be highly relevant and possibly indicative of the existence of such research in other languages, which would be fitting to the topic of a scoping review and could be valuably mapped by colleagues across the globe for their worth in picturebook choice and competence focus.
Two of the studies (S1, S4) employed quantitative data collection tools with pre- and post-testing, and when combined with more qualitative data collection methods provided both the rich description of competence development along with clear measurable data. This may seem in stark contrast to the request that teacher research be valued and disseminated – a form of research which is usually reflective and less “scientific” (
Employing an experimental approach to data collection provides an evaluation of intercultural learning outcomes, to an extent. Yet assessment, which according to Byram (
[tracing] learners’ progress; to identify specific strengths and weaknesses, which can be the basis for planning further teaching and learning; and to provide information in processes of evaluation of the effectiveness of a course or particular teacher or teaching technique,
was clearly not part of any of the scoping review corpus. Research into assessing intercultural learning, prompted by engaging with picturebooks, would make an important contribution to the field. The possibility of incorporating learner-centered approaches involving reflecting and reviewing (cf.
The scoping review corpus clearly demonstrated a tendency for studies to focus on the knowledge dimension of intercultural competence with some recognised development of attitude, skills of interpreting and relating and skills of discovering and interaction, which can include empathy, tolerance and respect for others, clearly targeted in some studies (e.g. S2, S4, S5). To an extent, critical cultural awareness was also evident in studies concerned with de-centering (S4, S5, S6) and challenging what is often taken for granted (S9).
On the other hand, Byram (
The final gap highlights the lack of research into teacher mediation, which according to Ellis and Mourão (
Nodelman (
The potential value of picturebooks for intercultural learning in foreign language education has been hailed by advocates for some time – they recognize the opportunities picturebooks afford for language learners to engage in authentic and meaningful activities to develop intercultural competence. This scoping review aimed at determining what was known about the effectiveness of picturebooks for intercultural learning from an empirical stance, and which picturebooks were being used. The emerging evidence suggests, contrary to expectations, that picturebooks are being used across school education and into tertiary education. The review confirms that it is possible to bring this very special form of multimodal literature into the foreign language classroom to develop the attitudes, knowledge, understanding and skills associated with intercultural learning. The gaps identified include the need to expand the amount of research undertaken, collate teacher research more systematically, encourage experimental approaches, focus on assessment issues, consider critical cultural awareness, examine teacher mediation and replicate and renew the picturebooks being used. Scoping reviews are often the precursor to systematic reviews, I therefore challenge colleagues to explore these themes further to warrant a systematic review of picturebooks for intercultural learning in the not too far future.
The study number listed in
Study 3 was omitted because the picturebook was not the vehicle for intercultural learning and Study 10 because there were over 60 picturebooks in 27 languages, which made it impossible to access and adequately categorize them.
A recent exception is the Erasmus+ project ICEPELL which brings social issues via citizenship topics into the EFL classroom through picturebooks:
This category refers to picturebooks with characters or settings that represent many different places in the world, rather than one area, country or continent.
1 | A | To investigate the relationships among five explanatory variables of intercultural sensitivity and four literacy abilities for EFL learners | Intercultural and literacy education |
2 | RQ | To what extent may the picture book |
Picturebooks for intercultural education |
A | To meet the needs of today’s multilingual and multicultural classrooms by building bridges across languages, cultures and countries | Intercultural education | |
4 | A | To investigate whether decentering is a learnable skill in Grade 5 of Norwegian education | Intercultural education |
5 | RQ | Can students learn to be consciously aware of (their own) prejudices and appreciate diversity with the help of |
Picturebooks for intercultural education |
6 | A | To address religious conflicts and minority issues in an EFL secondary classroom in Israel | Intercultural education |
7 | A | To increase knowledge of another culture, encompassing both historical learning and understanding of social interaction and foster perspective-taking skills | Intercultural education |
8 | A | To delve into the teaching opportunities of storytelling and picturebooks to foster intercultural awareness and effective language learning experiences with a communicative approach | Picturebooks for intercultural education |
9 | A | To provide opportunities to appreciate reading texts relevant to students’ cultural experiences and engage in authentic conversations with and reflect on the experiences of people from another culture. | Picturebooks for intercultural education |
10 | A | To develop tolerance and respect for people and cultures | Intercultural education |
11 | A | To help my students gain skills of Intercultural Competence | Intercultural education |
12 | A | To explore the influence of guided reading on elementary students’ intercultural attitudes | Picturebooks for intercultural education |
13 | RQ | How can literature circles promote student discussion and reflection upon intercultural and social issues in the EFL classroom? | Picturebooks for intercultural and literacy education |
14 | RQ | How do American teachers and Chinese EFL learners build intercultural understanding through reading and responding to children’s picture books in a global book club? | Picturebooks for intercultural education |
15 | RQ | How do English learners learn language and culture through global literature and cultural interactions about that literature? | Picturebooks for intercultural and literacy education |
16 | A | To examine the effectiveness of the multi-cultural picture books on students’ awareness of cultural diversity and knowledge and understanding of own and other cultures | Picturebooks for intercultural education |
17 | RQ | In what ways do visual analysis and book club discussions help Korean secondary-school students of English reach an understanding of marginalized immigrant youths’ experiences? | Picturebooks for intercultural education |