Investigation of Intercultural Competence: CDA of EFL Students’ Baseline Portfolios

Abstract

In monocultural classes, Saudi English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students have to acquire not only linguistic competence but also to develop Intercultural Competence (IC) when they read and write in English. This article investigates IC scattered in EFL students’ baseline portfolios collected in an enrichment critical reading class at the Preparatory Year of Najran University. IC is operationalised as intercultural attitude, intercultural knowledge and intercultural skills evident as discourses in intercultural texts. The data comprises semi-structured interview and intercultural assignment, which is an encounter discourse to intercultural text. A qualitative empirical research design was used to analyze the data through Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) techniques. The findings indicate that IC is underdeveloped. Most of the participants represent negative attitude towards intercultural communication. They also lack appropriate intercultural knowledge and effective intercultural skills. The findings suggest that EFL teaching and learning practices need to shift towards a more intercultural perspective.

Fostering Critical Intercultural Awareness Among EFL Students Through Critical Discourse Analysis

“…Compared with the pretreatment findings (Hazaea, 2018), the posttreatment findings showed a high level of self-esteem and appreciation of self and other cultures after introducing the levels of cda. This improvement was manifested in the types of discourses evident in the participants' encounters with written discourse.…”

“…Compared with the pretreatment findings (Hazaea, 2018), the analysis shows that the participants represented a high level of cia at the posttreatment stage. They were able to associate the discourse of food diversity with intercultural competitive discourses.…”

“…To address this issue, an interventional action research project investigated cia in the portfolios of efl students in their preparatory year at a Saudi university. The pretreatment findings were reported in Hazaea (2018), where the participants showed a lack of intercultural competence in their baseline portfolios. The present paper reports the post interventional findings on cia among the same students after introducing critical discourse analysis (cda) tools in a critical reading enrichment class.…”

An Ethnographic Approach to Developing Intercultural Awareness: A Case Study of EFL Learners at Najran University

“…The tests prove that the observation and interpretation of the research group are important and positive. The findings of this study would help overcome the deficiencies identified in previous intercultural research by Saudi English students (Aldosari, 2013;Fageeh, 2011;Hazaea, 2018;Osman, 2015). During the discovery period, ethnographic techniques such as those proposed in the intercultural program were used to encourage the experimental group to develop ethnographic abilities for the grasp of cultural standards, to reflect on its own society, to communicate cultural distinctions and to understand and explore culture as a target and its potential.…”

“…Previous research into the teaching of Saudi English language teaching context has demonstrated concern that existing teaching methods do not encourage intercultural understanding of students and argued in support of more culturally focused approaches and of providing more intercultural teaching materials (Aldosari, 2013;Fageeh, 2011;Hazaea, 2018;Osman, 2015). This concern is not uncommon in the English Department at Najran University.…”