Intercultural competence is an expected outcome in language learning and teaching in our contemporary world. However, studies show foreign language teachers are not always aware of the importance of this goal for many reasons, the most important of which seems to be the low level of their own intercultural competence. The aim of this article is to discuss the possibilities of increasing the intercultural competence of foreign language teachers and students. The correlation between media literacy and the development of intercultural competence is discussed.

Since new learning environments are believed to affect student motivation and cognition, and thus, have a huge impact on the processes underlying self-regulated learning, the transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have challenged students’ ability to remain in charge of the learning process. Distance language learners could be particularly challenged by profusion of material, cognitive overload or unsettled participation patterns. Based on introspective data obtained from a representative sample of 321 university students majoring in various foreign languages, the present study aims to compare participants’ self-regulation in standard and online education and identify problem areas which demand action. At the same time, it seeks to respond to earlier calls for providing teachers with insights into students’ changing self-regulation routines and the processes underlying these changes. Data analysis clearly indicates that participants’ self-regulation (SR) has significantly deteriorated due to the shift from standard to online learning with respect to all the investigated SR areas. Also, while the investigated students reported a relatively high level of SR in the planning stage, their dramatically low level of reflection over the learning process could be seen as an impediment to a smooth transition from standard to distance learning.

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Intercultural learning requires learners not only to acquire knowledge about everyday life in other countries but also to explore the history of those countries. History is not just a collection of facts about the past. Instead, history is a way of viewing and interpreting those facts. Thus, exploring history must involve people reflecting about the relevance of certain items or events for cotemporary individuals and communities. The aim of this paper is to discuss possible ways to involve learners personally and actively in the process of reflecting on places of memory (Pierre Nora) as well as ways to use film as a pedagogical starting point.