Investigating Indonesian EFL pre-service teachers’ conceptions of culture and intercultural competence

Abstract

Globalization inevitably increases communication among people from different languages and cultural backgrounds. This phenomenon dramatically demands changes in the traditional aims of language teaching which rely on the norms and values of native-speaking countries. A large body of literature encourages language teaching to be concerned more with intercultural competence (hereinafter IC), which is allegedly effective to help students achieve successful intercultural communication. Nonetheless, in the Indonesian context, there is still an iota of evidence regarding pre-service teachers’ understandings of the terms culture and IC. Thus, this study attempts to gain insights into Indonesian English as a Foreign Language (EFL) pre-service teachers’ understandings of culture and IC. It is considered as a single case study employing questionnaires and interviews. In total, 26 EFL pre-service teachers participated in this study by answering a questionnaire, with mainly close-ended and some open-ended questions. From these participants, seven pre-service teachers were interviewed. The results suggested the discrepancy in the participants’ understandings of culture and IC. This condition may hinder the meaningful goals of cultural teaching and the effective pedagogical practices in their future EFL classrooms. Drawing on the results, the present study provides some recommendations for the pre-service teachers and teacher education in an attempt to develop cultural teaching in English Language Teaching (ELT).

Implementing Project-Based Learning for Pre-Service English Teachers in Independent Home Teaching Internship

“…They are learning outside of the classroom in the context of foreign language learning. This is in line with the findings of Alyani & Ratmanida (2021) ; Atmojo & Putra (2022) meaning that the language, in this case English, is not employed as the primary means of communication between people. When the target language is infrequently spoken outside of the classroom, it is critical to include it and use it in the classroom.…”

“…According to Mali (2016); Rusnawati et al, (2020); Atmojo & Putra (2022) few factors make teaching English difficult in Indonesia. EFL teachers are initially required to teach large classes, often with more than 40 students.…”

International Posture and Intercultural Awareness: A Survey Study of Indonesian Pre-Service Teachers of English

“…In Indonesia, several recent studies on ICC have also been conducted (Atmojo & Putra, 2022;Juliastuti et al, 2023;Putra & Musigrungsi, 2022;Sugianto et al, 2022). For example, a mixedmethods study involving 96 primary school learners by Sugianto et al (2022), among others, found that the young learners began to realise values held by Mulan, the main character in Disney's Mulan, as to why Mulan posed as a man and enlisted in the military in her sickly father's place.…”

“…It is also strategic to see whether learners' International Posture influenced their Intercultural Awareness. Furthermore, though ICC studies are in general quite extensive, the awareness dimension seemed to be left out in many studies in education contexts (Atmojo & Putra, 2022;Huang, 2021;Montiel, 2019;Saricoban & Oz, 2017) despite it being a central part of ICC which is now regarded as the goal of L2 learning (Byram & Wagner, 2018).…”

Improving Students’ Comprehension About Pluralism Through Narrative Text

“…Therefore, there needs to be an action taken by various related parties, both teachers, parents, school principals, and other policy makers. Teachers should first mind the term 'culture' since it lies at the heart of the concept of intercultural competence (Atmojo & Putra, 2022). The low understanding of pluralism that causes the emergence of an understanding that certain groups are better than other groups can be reduced through various approaches.…”