An investigation into three different techniques to raise critical cultural awareness
Subject Areas : Curriculum Design and Development
Leila Amiri Kordestani
1
,
Massood Yazdanimoghaddam
2
,
Parviz Maftoon
3
1 - Department of English, College of Literature, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran Iran
2 - Department of English Language Teaching, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran
3 - Department of English, College of Literature, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran Iran
Keywords: Critical Cultural Awareness, Culture Capsule, Culture Narratives, Culture Training Activities, Language Learning,
Abstract :
This study attempted to explore to what extent each of the three techniques of culture narratives, culture capsules and culture training activities significantly affect the critical cultural awareness of Iranian EFL learners by comparing their means from pretest to post-test questionnaire after ten-session treatment. Furthermore, it investigated whether there are any differences in the effectiveness of these techniques. Regarding the participants, the testing group was 154 undergraduate English language translation students, including both male and female students, forming three experimental groups. This investigation used the quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design. The sampling method was convenience sampling. The homogeneity test and a pre-post critical cultural awareness questionnaire were used to collect data. The collected data were analyzed through Repeated Measures ANOVA and Simple Effect Analysis. Based on the obtained results, there were significant differences between the pretest and the post-test, which means that by applying the techniques mentioned above, the critical cultural awareness of learners increased. Also, there were significant differences between the three groups’ overall means on pre-post critical cultural awareness questionnaires. Considering the three groups, culture narratives, culture capsule and culture training activities, the former outperforms the others. Furthermore, between culture training activities and culture capsule groups, the culture training activities group performed better than the culture capsule group.
Aajami, R. F., & Nasser, S. M. (2019, March 8-9). Cultural awareness inter EFL classroom. In 17th International Conference on Social Sciences Murcia, 172-175. Spain, Murcia.
Allen, L. Q. (2004). Implementing a culture portfolio project within a constructivist paradigm. Foreign Language Annals, 37(2), 232-239. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2004.tb02196.x
Atai, M. R., Babaii, E., & Taghipour Bazargani, D. (2017). Developing a questionnaire for assessing Iranian EFL teachers’ critical cultural awareness (CCA). Journal of Teaching Language Skills, 36(2), 1-38. https://doi.org/10.22099/jtls.2017.24688.2215
Bachman, L. F. (2005). Statistical Analysis for Language Assessment. (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Baker, W. (2011). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in ELT. ELT Journal, 66(1), 62-70. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/ccr017
Bae, J., & Bachman, L. F. (2010). An investigation of four writing traits and two tasks across two languages. Language Testing, 27(2), 213-234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265532209349470
Birjandi, P., & Meshkat, M. (2003). The cultural impact of EFL books on Iranian language. Learners FLT Journal, 68(17), 74-54.
Byram, M. (2012). Language awareness and (critical) cultural awareness–relationships, comparisons and contrasts. Language Awareness, 21(1-2), 5-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658416.2011.639887
Byram, M., & Grundy, P. (2002). Context and culture in language teaching and learning. Language, Culture and Curriculum. 15(3). 193-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310208666643
Byram, K., & Kramsch, C. (2008). Why is it so difficult to teach language as culture? The German Quarterly, 81(1), 20-34. https://doi.org/10.1111.j.1756-1183.2008.00005.x
Cakir, I. (2006). Developing cultural awareness in foreign language teaching. Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 7(3), 154-161.
Chastain, K. (1988). Developing second-language skills. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Chwo, S. M. G. (2023). Enhancing EFL college students’ cross-cultural awareness and English learning through the implementation of a SPROUT project-based textbook. Interdisciplinary Research Review, 18(3). 34-40
Clark, M. C., & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2008(119), 61-70. https://doi.org/10.1002/ace.306
Dörnyei, Z., & Taguchi, T. (2009). Questionnaires in second language research: Construction, administration, and processing. Routledge.
Dubreil, S. (2020). Using games for language learning in the age of social distancing. Foreign Language Annals, 53(2), 250-259. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12465
Eren, Ö. (2023). Raising critical cultural awareness through telecollaboration: Insights for pre-service teacher education. Computer Assisted Language Learning, 36(3), 288-311. https://doi.org/10.1080/09588221.2021.1916538
Field, A. (2018). Discovering Statistics Using IBM SPSS, Statistics for Statistics (5th ed.). SAGE Publications.
Fivush, R. (2010). Speaking silence: The social construction of silence in autobiographical and cultural narratives. Memory, 18(2), 88-98. https://doi.org/10.1080/09658210903029404
Fryer, L. K., Larson-Hall, J., & Stewart, J. (2018). Quantitative methodology. In The Palgrave handbook of applied linguistics research methodology (55-77). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.2991/assehr.k.220306.021
George, D., & Mallery, P. (2020). IBM SPSS statistics 26 step by step: A simple guide and reference. Routledge. Harrison, V., Kemp, R., Brace, N., & Snelgar, R. (2021). SPSS for Psychologists. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Holme, R. (2003). Carrying a baby in the back: Teaching with an awareness of the cultural construction of language. Culture and Curriculum. 15(3), 210-223. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310208666645
Johnson, K. E., & Golombek, P. R. (2011). The transformative power of narrative in second language teacher education. TESOL Quarterly, 45(3). 486-509. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.256797
C. K. (1976). On using culture capsules and culture assimilators. The French Review, 50(1), 54-64.
Kramsch, C. (1993). Language study as border study: Experiencing differences. European Journal of Education, 28(3), 349-358. https://doi.org/10.2307/1503764
Kramsch, C. (1995). The cultural component of language teaching. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 8(2), 83-92. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908319509525192
Littrell, L. N., & Salas, E. (2005). A review of cross-cultural training: Best practices, guidelines, and research needs. Human Resource Development Review, 4(3), 305-334. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484305278348
Liu, F., & Ding, Y. (2009). Role-play in English language teaching. Asian Social Science, 5(10), 140-143. https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v5n10p140
Morris, M. A., & Robie, C. (2001). A meta‐analysis of the effects of cross‐cultural training on expatriate performance and adjustment. International Journal of Training and Development, 5(2), 112-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-2419.00126
Nguyen, B. T. T. (2023). Cultural awareness and intercultural awareness in ELT practices from Global Englishes perspective in higher education in a Vietnamese university (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southampton).
Nelson, C. D. (2011). Narratives of classroom life: Changing conceptions of knowledge. TESOL Quarterly, 45(3), 463-485. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.256799
Nunan, D., & Choi, J. (2010). Language, culture, and identity: Framing the Issues. In D. Nunan & J. Choi, Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity (pp.1-13). Routledge.
Öztürk, S. Y., & Ekshi, G. (2022). Fostering critical cultural awareness among prospective teachers of English via virtual exchange project. Anemon Muş Alparslan Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 10(1), 491-502. https://doi.org/10.18506/anemon.1052025
Pallant, J. (2016). SPSS Survival Manual. (6th ed.). Allen & Unwin.
Pavlenko, A. (2002). Narrative study: Whose story is it, anyway? TESOL Quarterly, 36(2), 213-218. https://doi.org/10.2307/3588332
Pauly, N. (2003). Interpreting visual culture as cultural narratives in teacher education. Studies in Art Education, 44(3), 264-284.
Rasouli, K., Ahghar, G., & Asadzadeh, H. (2020). The Effectiveness of Teaching Learning Strategies on the Professional Competence of Adult Education Educators of the Literacy Movement Organization. Curriculum Research, 1(2), 65-72. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ DOR:20.1001.1.00000000.2020.1.2.6.6
Scarino, A., & Liddicoat, A. (2009). Teaching and learning languages: A guide. Curriculum Corporation.
Schulz, R. A. (2007). The challenge of assessing cultural understanding in the context of foreign language instruction. Foreign Language Annals, 40(1), 9-26. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.2007.tb02851.x
Shepherd, S. M. (2019). Cultural awareness workshops: limitations and practical consequences. BMC Medical Education, 19(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-018-1450-5
Smirnova, Е. А. (2023). Cultural awareness in doing business. Economics of small business: Studies, 174-176
Taniguchi, S. (2010). Transforming identities in and through narrative. In D.
Nunan & J. Choi, Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity (pp. 208-214). Routledge.
Taylor, H. D., & Sorensen, J. L. (1961). Culture capsules. The Modern Language Journal, 45(8), 350-354. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1961.tb03550.x
Tomlinson, B. (2000). Materials for cultural awareness: Combining language, literature, and culture in the mind. Language Teacher-Kyoto-JALT, 24(2), 19-22.
Tseng, W. T., Dörnyei, Z., & Schmitt, N. (2006). A new approach to assessing strategic learning: The case of self-regulation in vocabulary acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 27(1), 78-102. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/ami046
Vourdanou, K. (2017). Integrating the CLIL approach: Literature and Wikis in the Greek EFL Classroom as a Means of Promoting Intercultural Awareness. Research Papers in Language Teaching and Learning, 8(2), 103-119.
Willis, J. (2007). The neuroscience of joyful education. Educational Leadership, 64(9), 1-5.
Zhu, X., Raquel, M., & Aryadoust, V. (2019). Structural equation modeling to predict performance in English proficiency tests. In Quantitative Data Analysis for Language Assessment Volume II (pp. 101-126). Routledge.