Globally, teachers need to expand their knowledge of other peoples and cultures. As a case in point, Oman is challenged by a problem of separation between national and expatriate populations. Expatriate students attend either international or expatriate community schools, whereas Omani children can only attend government schools or Arabic/English private schools. The teacher education program at Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman was able to implement a service learning project that helped students cross cultural boundaries while improving their own English language skills. Using a mixed-method approach in data analysis, this study discusses the experiences of thirty EFL student teachers involved in the experiment. Expatriate teachers and principals had expressed a need for their students to learn more about Omani culture. In response, student teachers prepared 45 cultural kits that included written reports, presentations and artefacts, which they presented to classes. Not only did expatriate teachers and K-12 students learn about Omani culture, but more importantly, student teachers developed new cultural awareness about the expatriate populations with whom they seldom have an opportunity to interact or exchange ideas and cultural values. The ‘ELT [English Language Training] Multicultural Awareness Transaction Model’ has application potential not only in teacher education, but also in EFL or ESL classes where cultural exchange is important.

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This quasi-experimental study aimed to investigate the effect of the flipped classroom strategy (FCS) on Omani grade ten students’ vocabulary achievement and on their motivation towards learning English. This study also sought to explore the challenges that students face while learning via FCS. A total of 48 students participated in the study. There were 24 as an experimental group (taught via the FCS) and 24 as a control group (taught the same vocabulary using conventional teaching strategies). During the intervention, students in the experimental group practiced the core vocabulary using different materials (video clips, PDF files and group discussions via a WhatsApp group before carrying out face-to-face activities in the classroom). During the classroom time, the students engaged in activities with the practice materials individually, in pairs and in groups. The study used an achievement pre- and post-test. The study also used a motivation questionnaire (pre post) to determine the students' motivation for English language learning for both groups. The findings indicated that the experimental group outperformed the control group in the vocabulary test and that they had high motivation towards learning English. In addition, the study also pointed out some of the challenges of learning via FCS such as connectivity issues, and lack of group cooperation. Considering these findings, practice implications and recommendations for further research are presented.