This paper builds upon a previous paper which explored intercultural sensitivity in a natural English teaching environment in a Saudi Arabian university. A total of nineteen expatriate teachers took part in this case study. Descriptive qualitative data were generated through focus group discussions, interviews, observations and diary entries. The data showed that the context and teachers' biography are two core and static frames of reference for intercultural sensitivity. The data also showed that a further two dynamic frames of reference need to be considered as prerequisites in understanding the place of intercultural sensitivity in English language teaching.

PurposeThis qualitative research set out to understand what teachers’ assessments were of the context of teaching as it relates to the curriculum, and what they consider appropriate for an optimal teaching and learning experience in a university english language teaching (ELT) context.Design/methodology/approachQualitative data were deemed required to understand the effects and understanding teachers had of the ELT curriculum as it played out in their teaching context. Focus group interviews and observations were the main method for data generation.FindingsThe context has a bearing on the ongoing development of teachers’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) frames and how they address IS over time in their context of teaching as it pertains to curriculum.Originality/valueThis is an original research paper which gives insight to knowledge about the relationship between ELT, curriculum and culture.

This study explored intercultural sensitivity in a natural English teaching environment in a Saudi Arabian university. A total of nineteen expatriate teachers took part in this case study. Descriptive qualitative data were generated through focus group discussions, interviews, observations and diary entries. Secondary data as well as anecdotal data were also used to describe the context of the study. The data showed that the context plays a major part in shaping the contextual frame of teaching and that all teachers bring to their work pre-existing biographical frames of reference for intercultural sensitivity. When these two relatively static frames converge in the ELT context, they essentially create a circumstance of discordance.

No abstract

This paper is an analysis of how intercultural sensitivity is lived out in the classroom. It draws focus on the importance of intercultural awareness in the context of ELT and how this trait ultimately impacts teachers' pedagogical decisions and daily teaching strategies. The study shows the dynamics of intercultural sensitivity as teachers grapple with not only the culture stemming from mostly Western published textbooks and their students' culture, but their own culture as well. The study draws on qualitative data from a case study of expatriate teachers in a Saudi Arabian university ELT context. The data were generated through focus group discussions, interviews and classroom observations.