EFL Students’ Intercultural Awareness in Multicultural Classroom: A Narrative Inquiry
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30762/ireell.v1i1.1125Keywords:
EFL students, Intercultural awareness, Multicultural classroomAbstract
Being an intercultural speaker has become a necessity in global communication. Multicultural classes have a positive impact on intercultural learning because students from various cultural backgrounds come together to learn English. Therefore, this study aims to explore and narrate the development of intercultural awareness achieved by the students based on their experiences in a multicultural class setting. This study is a qualitative research with a narrative inquiry method. The participants in this study are three Indonesian students and two Thai students who are majoring in English Education and are in the same class at one of the universities in Indonesia. Data was collected through in-depth questionnaires with open-ended questions. The results of the study show that the students in the multicultural class have a good level of intercultural awareness. They have mastered all levels of intercultural awareness, from basic cultural awareness, advanced cultural awareness to intercultural awareness. Although they faced obstacles such as language barriers and limited exposure to the target language's culture in the class, they are able to practice tolerance and respect for different cultures. In addition, they have been able to adapt and integrate their cultural knowledge to be implemented in communication with speakers from different cultures
References
Anggraini, R. et al. (2022). Students’ Perceptions on Multicultural Classroom: A Case Study in One Private University in Medan. Proceedings of the International Conference on Sustainable Innovation on Humanities, Education, and Social Sciences (ICOSI-HESS 2022). Atlantis press.
Baker, W. (2009). Intercultural Awareness and Intercultural Communication through English: An Investigation of Thai English Language Users in Higher Education. A PhD Thesis.University of Southampton, Faculty of Law, Arts and Social Sciences, School of Humanity.
Baker, W. (2012). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in ELT.ELT Journal, 66(1), 62–70.
Barkhuizen, G., Benson, P., Chik, A. (2014). Narrative Inquiry in Language Teaching and Learning Research. New York: Routledge.
Buttjes, D. (1991). Mediating Languages and Cultures: the Social and Intercultural Dimension Restored, in Buttjes, D. and Byram, M. (eds), Mediating Languages andCultures: Towards an Intercultural Theory of Foreign Language Education: Clevedon: Multilingual Matters, 3-16.
Byram, M. and Fleming, M. (1998). Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective: Approaches through Drama and Ethnography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Byram, M. Gribkova, B. and Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching: A Practical Introduction for Teachers.Council of Europe.
Chang, S. (2004). A Case Study of EFL Teachers in Taiwan: Identities, Instructional Practices and Intercultural Awareness.A Dissertation.University of Hawai’i.
Duffy, C. B. and Matikainen, T. (2000). Developing Cultural Understanding.Forum, (38)3, 49-59.
Holliday, A. Hyde, M. And Kullman, J. (2004). Intercultural Communication: An Advanced Resource Book. London: Routledge.
Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kramsch, C. (1998). Language and Culture.Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Kuo, M. and Lai, C. (2006). Linguistics across Cultures: The Impact of Culture on Second Language Learning. Journal of Foreign Language Instruction, 1-9.
Liddicoat, A. J. et al. (2003). Report on Intercultural Language Learning.Canberra ACT: Commonwealth of Australia.
McAllister, L.W. (1995). Culture: the Seen and the Unseen. Unnes Press: Semarang.
McKay, S. L. (2003). The Cultural Basis of Teaching English as an International Language. [retrieved on 3 February 2014]: http://elt.britcoun.org/pubs/articles/2003/tm13-4-01.htm
Merriam, Sharan B. (2009). Qualitative Research.A Guide to Design and Implementation. San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
Miles, M. B. and Huberman, A. M. (1984). Qualitative Data Analysis.A Sourcebook of New Methods. California: SAGE Publication, Inc
Phongsirikul, M. et al. (2019). Developing Intercultural Awareness in ELT: Students’Attitudes toward their Intercultural Learning Experience. Reflection Journal, Vol 26, No.1
Santosa, N. A. et al. (2019). Indonesian Pre-Service Teachers’ Intercultural Awareness in Short-Term International Experience: A Narrative Inquiry. English Education Journal UNS. 233-246. vol 7 no.2
Sercu, L. (1998). In-service Teacher Training and the Acquisition of Intercultural Competence.In M. Byram and M. Flemming eds., Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective.Approaches through Drama and Ethnography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Tomalin, B. and Stempleski, S. (1993). Cultural Awareness. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Valdes, J. M. (1986). Culture Bound. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Vrbova, L. (2006). Developing Cultural Awareness in ELT. A thesis: University Of Pardubice.
Wang, Y. (2006). Intercultural Awareness: Theory into Research. University of Tasmania, pp. 1-8. [retrieved on 5 February 2014] : http://www.aare.edu.au/06pap/wan06114.pdf
Zhou, M. (2015). Diversity and Teacher Education: Cultural and Linguistic Competency for Teachers. USA: Global Publisher.
Zhu, H. (2011). From Intercultural Awareness to Intercultural Empathy.Canadian Center of Science and Education Journal, 4(1), 116-119.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Annisa Aulia Saharani
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
