This communication aims to characterize and identify some of the intercultural tensions that exists between two countries, France and Uzbekistan, through the lense of the educational resources of French as a second language that circulates in uzbek universities. Educational resources are linked to the socio-economic and cultural context in which there are developed and, we can then considerate them as cultural objects moving in society (Le Marec, 2009), which contains intrinsequely some values. As cultural objects carrying values and ideologies, the pedagogical resources are then keys to understand some intercultural tensions between countries.
Situated on the Silk Road, Uzbekistan represents a link between China, Turkey and Europe, west and east, and is becoming a second destination for many institutions and compagnies that don't have access anymore to Russia. The young republic of Uzbekistan multiply the exchanges and partnerships with european countries, including France, while maintaining a strong state ideology (Bazin, 2009). In that context, universities are closely monitored by uzbek government, who want to train a new generation of tertiary workers, who can work internationaly. This process of massification and modernization of education influence the universities ressources development, and especially the Foreign language resources.

This communication will present the preliminary results of the qualitative study conducted in Uzbekistan in April and November 2023 in three universities based in Tashkent and three French public institutions (45 qualitative interviews and 40 hours of classroom observations).

It will explore three main intercultural tensions between the two countries that have been brought to light :

• Conceptualisations of the market economies of textbooks and pedagogical resources in confrontation

• Tensions between two professional and administrative cultures : contrasted institutional expectations in French and Uzbek establishments

• Power imbalance: how values and ideologies lies within resources and are influenced by the resource control and pedagogical mediums.

These intercultural tensions of the French language resources in Uzbek universities are analyzed as part of an ongoing doctoral research, that is based on a triple methodology.

A socio-economical analysis of the key players, privates and institutionals, and their productions in the field of French Language resources in Uzbekistan was first essential to explicitate the socio-economic framework in which the resources are developped, how they circulate and how they are prescribed.

Then, a qualitative study has been organised throughout 2023 online and on-site, to analyse how the university French language teachers choose and use these resources in uzbek universities.
40 qualitative interviews of teachers in 3 uzbek universities (National University of Uzbekistan, World Language University, University of Transports) have been conducted, followed by hours of ethnological observations in Uzbek university classrooms.This interviews and observations were held in Uzbekistan between April and November 2023 and shed light on many intercultural tensions.

This PhD work will be ultimately completed by a techno-semiotic analysis of the resources used by the teachers, in order to understand to determine the link between their formal configuration, their uses and the economic, political, organizational and educational issues, in the specific Uzbek context.

Abdallah-Pretceille Martine, L'éducation interculturelle. Presses Universitaires de France, « Que sais-je ? », 2017, ISBN : 9782130787631. DOI : 10.3917/puf.pretc.2017.01
Bazin, A., Hours, B., Sélim M. (2009) L'Ouzbékistan à l'heure de l'identité nationale. Paris : L'Harmattan.
Frame, A., Sommier, M. (2020) Penser les tensions interculturelles en organisation. 58. Communication & Organisation. https://doi.org/10.4000/communicationorganisation.9187
Le Marec, J. (2009), «Situations de communication dans la pratique de recherche : du terrain aux composites», Études de communication . 25 | 2002 http://journals.openedition.org/edc/831; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4000/edc.831
R'Boul H, Dervin, F. (2023) Intercultural Communication Education and Research. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003395225