El uso de monólogos argumentativos orales y el desarrollo de la competencia intercultural. Una reflexión acerca de los temas socioculturales en didáctica de ELE - author\'s peer reviewed version

This article discusses the role of oral argumentative monologues in the development of intercultural competence, with a special focus on knowledge and understanding (linked mainly with the skills of comparison), as components of intercultural awareness. The described task is seen as a process of knowledge and skills construction through discourse production and comprehension. Therefore, the article emphasizes two stages – the ones of research and monologue elaboration – performed by the learner, in contrast to the final stage of oral presentation. Furthermore, the author presents some advantages of dealing with sociocultural topics in the context of communicative approach and gives practical guidelines for their use in the Spanish as a foreign language classroom.