Impact of Critical Cultural Awareness on Intercultural Communicative Competence for Iranian EFL Learners: Practical Techniques for Implementation

Subject Areas :

Leila Amiri Kordestani ¹ , Massood Yazdanimoghaddam ^{2 *} , Parviz Maftoon ³

1 - Department of English, 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, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran

Received: 2024-07-09 Accepted : 2024-09-01 Published : 2025-03-13

Keywords: Critical Cultural Awareness, Culture Capsule, Culture Narrative, Culture Training Activities, In-tercultural Communicative Competence,

Abstract :

The study aimed to investigate the significant impact of enhancing critical cultural awareness (CCA) on developing intercultural communicative competence (ICC) among Iranian EFL learn-ers in an advanced online communication course. The participants of this explanatory mixed methods study included 154 Iranian EFL learners at Islamic Azad University’s Shahr-e-Qods and Islamshahr branches. The research employed pre-and post-tests to measure the effective-ness of three distinct techniques, culture capsule, culture narrative, and culture training activi-ties, in enhancing CCA and ICC. The quantitative strand of the study revealed statistically sig-nificant impacts of CCA on Iranian EFL learners’ ICC in an online setting, as well as the differ-ential impacts of using different techniques to raise CCA on ICC. Moreover, culture narratives had the most significant impact, followed by culture training activities and culture capsules. The qualitative strand provided valuable insights into how learners perceive the improvement of CCA and ICC in meeting participants’ needs and objectives in the language learning process. The study concluded that enhancing CCA significantly contributes to the development of ICC among Iranian EFL learners and holds implications for language educators, curriculum develop-ers, and policymakers in fostering effective cross-cultural communication in online language learning environments.

References:

Almarza, G. G., Martínez, R. D., & Llavador, F. B. (2015). Profiling the intercultural communicative competence of university students at the beginning of their Erasmus placements. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 173, 43-47. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.02.028
Alptekin, C. (1993). Target-language culture in EFL materials. ELT Journal, 47, 136-143. https://doi.org/10.1093/elt/47.2.136
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 (JTLS)‎, 36, 1-38.
Atkinson, D. (1999). TESOL and culture. TESOL Quarterly, 33(4), 625-654. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587880
Bastos, M., & Araújo e Sá, H. (2015). Pathways to teacher education for intercultural communicative competence: Teachers’ perceptions. The Language Learning Journal, 43(2), 131-147. https://doi.org/10.1080/09571736.2013.869940
Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and assessing intercultural communicative competence (Multilingual Matters). Multilingual Matters.
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, 193-195. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908310208666643
Cakır, I. (2006). Developing cultural awareness in foreign language teaching. . The Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education, 7.
Choi, J., & Nunan, D. (2018). Language learning and activation in and beyond the classroom. Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 1, 49-63. https://doi.org/10.29140/ajal.v1n2.34
Clark, M. C., & Rossiter, M. (2008). Narrative learning in adulthood. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education, 2008(119), 61-70.
Dooly, M., & Vallejo Rubinstein, C. (2018). Bridging across languages and cultures in everyday lives: An expanding role for critical intercultural communication. Language and Intercultural Communication, 18(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2017.1400508
El Boubekri, A. (2024). Investigating teachers’ perceptions of L1 Use in English as a foreign language Moroccan secondary classroom: A post-communicative perspective. Journal of Education, 204(2), 402-411. https://doi.org/10.1177/00220574221142303
Estaji, M., & Tabrizi, S. (2022). Teachers’ perceptions and strategies in the development of intercultural communicative competence: The case of international school teachers in Iran. Research in Comparative and International Education, 17(3), 528-545. https://doi.org/10.1177/17454999221077859
Fathi, J., Pawlak, M., Mehraein, S., Hosseini, H. M., & Derakhshesh, A. (2023). Foreign language enjoyment, ideal L2 self, and intercultural communicative competence as predictors of willingness to communicate among EFL learners. System, 115, 103067. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.
system. 2023.103067
Field, A. (2018). BUNDLE: Field: Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS statistics. In: Sage.
Fowler, S. M., & Blohm, J. M. (2004). An analysis of methods for intercultural training. Handbook of Intercultural Training, 3, 37-84.
Guerra, L., Cavalheiro, L., Pereira, R., Kurt, Y., Oztekin, E., Candan, E., & Bayyurt, Y. (2022). Representations of the English as a Lingua Franca framework: Identifying ELF-aware activities in Portuguese and Turkish coursebooks. RELC Journal, 53(1), 134-150. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688220935478
Hakelind, C., Steinvall, A., & Deutschmann, M. (2022). The power of Aha! On stimulating and guiding students towards self-awareness and critical reflection while teaching about personality psychology and gender stereotypes. Psychology Learning & Teaching, 21(1), 57-72. https://doi.org/10.1177/1475725720979460
Hang, Y., & Zhang, X. (2023). Intercultural competence developmental processes of university and college students as three types of transition – A systematic review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 92, 101748. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.101748
Houghton, S. A. (2014). Exploring manifestations of curiosity in study abroad as part of intercultural communicative competence. System, 42, 368-382. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2013.12.024
Hsieh, M.-H., Chuang, H.-H., & Albanese, D. (2022). Investigating student agency and affordances during online virtual exchange projects in an ELF context from an ecological CALL perspective. System, 109, 102888. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2022.102888
Kambutu, J., & Nganga, L. W. (2008). In these uncertain times: Educators build cultural awareness through planned international experiences. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(4), 939-951. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.08.008
Lado, R. (1977). Acquisition and Learning in Early Reading. Hispania, 60(3), 533-535. https://doi.org/10.2307/340024
Liao, H., & Li, L. (2023). Facilitating EFL learners' intercultural competence through culturally responsive teaching in oral English classrooms. System, 115, 103070. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.system.2023.103070
Liu, F., & Ding, Y. (2009). Role-play in English language teaching. Asian Social Science, 5(10), 140-143.
Lou, N. M., & Noels, K. A. (2020). Breaking the vicious cycle of language anxiety: Growth language mindsets improve lower-competence ESL students’ intercultural interactions. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 61, 101847. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2020.101847
McIntosh, K., Connor, U., & Gokpinar-Shelton, E. (2017). What intercultural rhetoric can bring to EAP/ESP writing studies in an English as a lingua franca world. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 29, 12-20. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2017.09.001
Meshkat, M., & Birjandi, P. (2003). The cultural impact of EFL books on Iranian language learners. ROSHD FLT Journal, 17, 47-54.
Mirzaei, A., & Forouzandeh, F. (2013). Relationship between intercultural communicative competence and L2-learning motivation of Iranian EFL learners. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 42(3), 300-318. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2013.816867
Moore, B. A. (2018). Developing special educator cultural awareness through critically reflective professional learning community collaboration. Teacher Education and Special Education, 41(3), 243-253. https://doi.org/10.1177/0888406418770714
Mu, Y., & Yu, B. (2023). Developing intercultural competence in college business English students: A study of innovative teaching in China. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 92, 101747. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2022.101747
Nadeem, T., Asad, N., Hamid, S. N., Farooq, P., & Mahr, F. (2024). Culturally responsive CBT for psychological and physical symptoms in Pakistani youth: Role of religious and cultural attunement. Cognitive and Behavioral Practice. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cbpra.2023.12.007
Nelson, C. (2011). Narratives of Classroom Life: Changing Conceptions of Knowledge. TESOL Quarterly, 45. https://doi.org/10.5054/tq.2011.256799
Nugent, K., & Catalano, T. (2015). Critical Cultural Awareness in the Foreign Language Classroom. NECTFL Review, 75, 15-30.
Nunan, D., & Choi, J. (2010). Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity. Routledge.
Olcoń, K., Gilbert, D. J., & Pulliam, R. M. (2021). Critical consciousness raising about global economic inequality through experiential and emotional learning. Journal of Experiential Education, 44(3), 308-322. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053825920975136
Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual: A step by step guide to data analysis using IBM SPSS. Routledge.
Puspita Dewi, Y. (2023). Improving students' speaking ability in expressing opinion through think pair share: English. Journal of English Development, 3(01), 29-37. https://doi.org/10.25217/jed.v3i01.3078
Quinones, G., Rutanen, N., & Lucas Revilla, Y. (2023). A cultural-historical exploration of relational ethics in research involving children. Learning, Culture and Social Interaction, 42, 100756. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lcsi.2023.100756
Ranieri, M., & Fabbro, F. (2016). Questioning discrimination through critical media literacy. Findings from seven European countries. European Educational Research Journal, 15(4), 462-479. https://doi.org/10.1177/1474904116629685
Riazi, A. M., & Candlin, C. N. (2014). Mixed-methods research in language teaching and learning: Opportunities, issues and challenges. Language Teaching, 47(2), 135-173. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444813000505
Rose, H., & Galloway, N. (2017). Debating standard language ideology in the classroom: using the ‘speak good English movement’ to raise awareness of global Englishes. RELC Journal, 48(3), 294-301. https://doi.org/10.1177/0033688216684281
Rubegni, E., Landoni, M., Malinverni, L., & Jaccheri, L. (2022). Raising awareness of stereotyping through collaborative digital storytelling: design for change with and for children. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 157, 102727. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2021.102727
Rutten, K., Rodman, G. B., Wright, H. K., & Soetaert, R. (2013). Cultural studies and critical literacies. International Journal of Cultural Studies, 16(5), 443-456. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367877912474544
Sabet, P. G. P., & Chapman, E. (2023). A window to the future of intercultural competence in tertiary education: A narrative literature review. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 96, 101868. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101868
Safa, M. A., & Tofighi, S. (2022). Intercultural communicative competence beliefs and practices of Iranian pre-service and in-service EFL teachers. Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching, 16(2), 164-175. https://doi.org/10.1080/17501229.2021.1889562
Skidmore, M. (2023). Effects of participation in an online intercultural exchange on drivers of L2 learning motivation. Language Teaching Research, 0(0), 13621688231153622. https://doi.org/10.1177/13621688231153622
Sokolova, E. Y., Golovacheva, E. A., & Chernaya, A. A. (2015). Professionally-oriented communicative language teaching approach by the design of a computer assisted ESP course: Analysis of results. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 215, 191-195. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2015.11.619
Solano-Ruiz, M., Andina-Díaz, E., Noreña-Peña, A., & Siles-González, J. (2021). Photovoice and dramatisation in the classroom with nursing students: An exploratory study to raise awareness of the cultural and social dimensions of violence against women. Nurse Education Today, 103, 104974. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2021.104974
Sun, Y. (2023). Increasing critical language awareness through translingual practices in academic writing. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, 62, 101229. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeap.2023.101229
Tabachnick, B. G., Fidell, L. S., & Ullman, J. B. (2013). Using multivariate statistics (Vol. 6). pearson Boston, MA.
Taniguchi, S. (2010). Transforming identities in and through narrative. Language and culture: Reflective narratives and the emergence of identity, 208214.
Taylor, H. D., & Sorensen, J. L. (1961). Culture capsules. The Modern Language Journal, 45(8), 350-354.
Zhao, B.-h. (2010). How to Enhance Cross-cultural Awareness in TEFL. Cross-cultural Communication, 6.
Zhu, X. R., Raquel, M., & Aryadoust, V. (2019). Structural equation modeling to predict performance in English proficiency tests. . Quantitative Data Analysis for Language Assessment, 2, 101-126. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315187808-5
Zyngier, S., & Fialho, O. (2010). Pedagogi-cal stylistics, literary awareness and empowerment: A critical perspective. Language and Literature, 19(1), 13-33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963947009356717