Research into EFL Teachers’ Intercultural Communicative Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity

Alaei, Mahnaz Mostafaei; Nosrati, Fatemeh

doi:10.1080/17475759.2018.1424020

Cited by 38 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Intercultural communication in TESOL is often driven by a positivist preoccupation to assess/determine students and teachers’ intercultural ability and competence/effectiveness by assigning studies that reify/perceive intercultural functioning to be scientifically observable and even measurable. Empirical studies (Alaei and Nosrati, 2018; Lazar, 2015; Ozdemir, 2017) embrace research methods that use questionnaires (with scales)/narratives/interviews (used as an indicator to predict success/failure of students’s future intercultural interactions), which are not contextualized and do not consider the specificities of each intercultural encounter (inter-individual discussion, purpose of communicative activity, mood, native/non-natives etc. ).…”

Section: English-medium Intercultural Communication In Transition: a Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Re-imagining intercultural communication dynamics in TESOL: culture/interculturality

R’boul¹

2020

JME

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Purpose This conceptual paper aims to problematize interculturality and intercultural communication within the conditions of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and today’s circumstances. In spite of the new emphasis on intersubjectivity and non-linearity in intercultural communication studies, TESOL seems to still perpetuate hyper-solid and essentialist representations of interculturality. This paper argues for the necessity of altering common perceptions of TESOL students by critically considering the imbalanced sociopolitical realities that may be reflected/encouraged in classrooms. Without accounting for the additional factors involved in using English while interacting with the culturally different other, TESOL may not be able to ensure mutually satisfactory communicative experience. Design/methodology/approach Closer inspection is paid to intercultural communication research/pedagogy in TESOL to delineate the inaccuracies that have pervaded interculturality narratives and encourage sociopolitically conscious teaching that recognizes discourses of power and justice. Findings A simplistic/positivist consideration of interculturality in TESOL is rather unresponsive to possible unfair treatment of students’ cultures and the current circumstances, which are imbued with a high sense of complexity and non-linearity, resulting in producing ready-made conclusions. Practical implications This paper proposes embracing more complex approaches in accounting for the complexity of interculturality in TESOL pedagogy and research by taking into account intersubjectivity, suspending native-speakerism normativity, western hegemony and non-linearity of intercultural interactions. Originality/value This paper recognizes the inefficiency of presenting interculturality as a matter of conforming to communication standards of Anglophone cultures but rather argues for the need of promoting inclusive education that appreciates cultural diversity and considering the conditions (identity and culture) of non-native speakers in TESOL.

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Section: English-medium Intercultural Communication In Transition: a Rationalementioning

confidence: 99%

Re-imagining intercultural communication dynamics in TESOL: culture/interculturality

R’boul¹

2020

JME

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“…Likewise, Mostafaei and Nosrati (2018) report that interactions of international students in study abroad programs with students from the host culture are not an automatic process, and that many international students have difficulty establishing relationships with national students; therefore, they tend to group with students of their same nationality. Harrison and Peacock (2010) refer to this phenomenon as the "illusion of internationalization" and Jackon (2018) to the "immersion myth".…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

International experiences and the development of intercultural sensitivity among university students

Izquierdo

2022

EduXX1

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International cultural immersion experiences are deemed one of the most effective ways to prepare multicultural and global citizens. The purpose of the study was to determine: (1) first-year and final-year university students’ levels of Intercultural Sensitivity (henceforth IS); (2) if there was a relationship between IS and experiences of intercultural contact; and (3) the variables that might predict the development of IS. A longitudinal method and a correlational-predictive design was used. The sample comprised 1645 (52.5% women and 47.5% men) undergraduate students from 8 public universities and one private university in Andalusia (Spain) with a mean age of 23.29 (SD = 4.99). The Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI) was used to measure IS, and the Intercultural Experiences Inventory (IEI) was administered to explore students' intercultural experiences. Findings highlighted that there is little change in the IDI scores among first-year and final-year students, and most students were found to be in the intermediate stages of intercultural development (the minimization stage according to Bennett’s model, characterized by the widespread belief that everyone is quite similar). The lack of development found in the students’ IS could have something to do with the lack of opportunity to reflect and think about cultural differences. Positive correlations were found between IS and mobility experiences and intercultural friendships, and negative correlations were found with the number of intercultural interactions and language knowledge. Having mobility experiences, being female, and having friends from other cultures were predictive variables of IS. Finally, the educational implications are discussed.

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“…To do this, the teachers themselves, especially teachers of MFL, should, as argued by Zhang (2017), rst be capable intercultural communicators who have great self-con dence and adequate experience. As noted by Mostafaei and Nosrati (2018), foreign language (L2) teachers, as the critical players in the education of language, need to be interculturally competent and sensitive so as to be in a position to develop their learners' ICC and intercultural sensitivity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maltese as a Foreign Language Educator’s Acquisition of Intercultural Capabilities

Żammit¹

2021

Preprint

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This study sought to understand how teachers of Maltese as a foreign language (MFL) develop intercultural capabilities by exploring the importance of intercultural competence to MFL teachers, the characteristics of interculturally competent MFL educators, and how educators develop intercultural competence. The study adopted the interpretivist paradigm and a case study research design to collect qualitative data. Seventeen MFL teachers of adult learners were purposefully selected and interviewed. Findings regarding the perceptions of the teachers who were interviewed are as follows. Firstly, the participants stated that intercultural competence is important for MFL teachers because it helps them to embrace diversity, to help adult learners to learn the target language (i.e. Maltese) better, and to be sensitive and accommodative to learners from different backgrounds. Secondly, according to the participants, an interculturally capable person is one who knows their own culture and others’ cultural aspects, respects and accepts other cultures. It was also found that teachers develop intercultural capabilities through learning at a school and by visiting other countries and being immersed in the cultures of those countries. The implications of the findings as supported by existing literature, are that intercultural competence is important for foreign language teachers and as a result, intercultural training, learning through interactions with others and visits to other countries are necessary to develop intercultural capabilities.

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Research into EFL Teachers’ Intercultural Communicative Competence and Intercultural Sensitivity

Cited by 38 publications

References 19 publications

Re-imagining intercultural communication dynamics in TESOL: culture/interculturality

Re-imagining intercultural communication dynamics in TESOL: culture/interculturality

International experiences and the development of intercultural sensitivity among university students

Maltese as a Foreign Language Educator’s Acquisition of Intercultural Capabilities

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