Integration of Foreign Culture in English Instruction: Iranian EFL Learners and Teachers' Views in Academic Context
Subject Areas : Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation
آذر باقری مسعودزاده
1
,
اکرم شکریان بهزادی
2
1 - دکترای آموزش زبان انگلیسی، گروه زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه فرهنگیان واحد کرمان، کرمان، ایران
2 - دکترای زبان شناسی کاربردی، گروه زبان انگلیسی، دانشگاه فرهنگیان واحد کرمان، کرمان، ایران
Keywords: EFL learners, English Instruction, Academic Context, EFL Teachers Foreign Culture,
Abstract :
This study focused on the integration of foreign culture in English instruction in an academic context. More specifically, it analyzed the Iranian university EFL students' and teachers' views towards the integration of foreign culture in English instruction. Moreover, the possible difference between the participants' views towards the integration of foreign cultures was assessed. In doing so, 30 English EFL university teachers and 40 B.A. students were selected from four universities in Kerman (Bahonar, Azad, Payame Noor, & Institute of Higher Education). In order to collect data, a related questionnaire developed by Han (2010) was employed to examine the participants' views. After completing the questionnaires, the acquired data were analyzed by conducting descriptive statistics and the t-test of two independent groups. The results emerged from data analysis indicated that a great percentage of students asserted that learning foreign cultures was significant for them. It was necessary for them to get information about the target culture and spend more time on it. The university teachers remarked the same views as learning foreign cultures was important for them. It was essential for them to provide information and to spend more time on foreign culture teaching. The results of the study revealed no significant difference between the participants' views towards the integration of foreign culture in English instruction. Findings will contribute to the theoretical research gap in the field of culture and foreign language teaching and can serve as a guide to lead teachers and learners to the desired cultural goals of a specific language course.
References
Abbasian, G., Kouhpayehzadeh, M., & Asgharpour, G. (2016). Iranian
EFL Learners’ Attitudes towards Target and Source Cultures.
The Journal of Applied Linguists, 8 (16), 1-19.
Akbari, R. (2008). Transforming lives: introducing critical pedagogy into
ELT Classrooms. ELT journal, 62 (3), 276-283.
Belli, S.A. (2018). A study on ELT students‟ cultural awareness and
attitudes towards incorporation of target culture into language
instruction. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14(1),
102-124.
Byram, M. (2008). Foreign language education and cultural studies.
Language, Culture and Curriculum, 1(1), 15-31.
Choudhury, M. H. (2013). Teaching culture in EFL: Implications,
challenges and strategies. IOSR Journal of Humanities and
Social Science, 13(1), pp. 20-24.
Erfani, S. M. (2014). Source culture, Target Culture or Interculture?
Iranian English Language Teachers' Perception of Culture.
International Journal of Language Learning and Applied
Linguistics World, 8 (4).
Gonen, S. I. K., & Saglam, S. (2012). Teaching Culture in the FL
Classroom: Teachers’ Perspectives. IJGE: International Journal
of Global Education, 1(3), 26-46.
Corbett, J. (2003). An intercultural approach to English language
teaching. Clevedon, England: Multilingual Matters.
Gray, J. (2000). The ELT coursebook as cultural artifact: How teachers
censor and adapt. ELT Journal, 54 (3), 274-283.
Han, H. (2009). An Investigation of Teachers’ Perceptions of Culture
Teaching in Secondary Schools in Xinjiang, China. Ph.D. Thesis,
Durham University, UK.
Hosseinpur, R. M. & Farahani, M. S. (2017). Cultural intelligence,
cultural identity and Iranian EFL learners‟ use of politeness
strategies. Journal of Modern Research in English Language
Studies, 4(4), 27-45.
Bagheri Masoudzade, A. & Shekarian Behzadi, A. / Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation 5(2)
(2023), 77–91
90
Jabeen, F., & Kazim Shah, S. (2011). The Role of Culture in ELT:
Learners’ Attitude towards the Teaching of Target Language
Culture. European Journal of Social Sciences, 23 (4), 604-613.
Javdani, F., & Mahboudi, H.R. (2009). The Attitudes of Iranian EFL
Learners toward Cross-cultural Factors in Language Learning.
University College of Rub-bi Rashid.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309762618
Johnson, M. A., & Chang, D. (2012). Balancing act: Addressing culture
and gender in ESL classrooms. Journal of Adult Education,
41(1), 19-26.
Kahraman, A. (2016). Teachers' and learners' attitudes towards culture
and culture learning in a Turkish context. Journal of Language
Linguistic Studies, 12(2), 01-12.
Kramsch, C. (2013). Culture in Foreign Language Teaching. Iranian
Journal of Language Teaching Research, 1(1), 57-78.
Marcal, M. (2010). The Integration of culture into foreign language
classrooms. (Unpublished Master’s Theses and Honors
Projects). The College at Brockport: State University of New
York.
Mahmoud, M. M. A. (2015). Culture and English language teaching in the
Arab world. Adult Learning, 26(2), 66-72.
Maeder-Qian, J. (2018) Intercultural experiences and cultural identity
reconstruction of multilingual Chinese international students in
Germany. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural
Development, 39(7), 576-589.
Önalan, O. (2005). EFL teachers' perceptions of the place of culture in
ELT: A survey study at four universities in Ankara/Turkey.
Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 1(2), 215-235.
Phillipson, R. (1992). Linguistic imperialism. Oxford University Press.
Şen, S. (2010). A profile of EFL teachers’ knowledge of the target culture
from their epistemological sources to classroom applications.
(Unpublished Master's Thesis). Hacettepe University, Ankara.
Shabani, S. & Alipoor, I. (2017). The relationship between cultural
identity, intrinsic motivation and pronunciation knowledge of
Iranian EFL learners. International Journal of Education &
Literacy Studies, 5(2), 61-66.
Bagheri Masoudzade, A. & Shekarian Behzadi, A. / Journal of Language, Culture, and Translation 5(2)
(2023), 77–91
91
Thanasoulas, D. (2001). The Importance of teaching culture in the foreign
language classroom. Radical Pedagogy, 3(3), 1-25.
Tran, T.Q., & Dong, H.V. (2014). Culture teaching in English language
teaching: Teachers’ beliefs and their classroom practices. Global
Journal of Foreign Language Teaching, 4(2), 92-101.