Knowing how to speak a language effectively, therefore, also involves knowing conversational behaviors and cultural and social norms that regulate the concrete use of language, at least in part. In-depth knowledge only at the grammatical level does not mean one is able to communicate in that particular language. If I am unfamiliar with pragmatic-cultural facts, misunderstandings on the cultural and social level can make my attempts at communication unsuccessful despite the grammatical correctness of my sentences. For this reason, in language teaching, especially using a pluri-intercultural approach, the notion of intercultural communicative competence (i.e. the ability to speak other languages, also including ways of behaving and thinking different from one's own) as a formative objective, to which knowledge of psychology, sociology and anthropology of the language contribute, takes on great importance. The language learner is enriched with new ways of thinking and new ways of seeing things.

In the context of classes with pluri-lingual repertoires, cultural and linguistic comparison helps children develop intercultural sensitivity. Activities that involve the language-culture relationship and the comparison of cultural habits and linguistic uses can stimulate reflection on linguistic and cultural relativism. Children are urged to recognize that their way of looking at the world is just one of many possible ways.