Speaking Interculturally in the Era of Global Englishes: Voices from Indonesian English Language Teacher Educators

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the Indonesian English language teacher educators’ understanding, preferences, and challenges in preparing future English teachers to be able to speak interculturally in the Global Englishes era. Theoretical Framework: The theoretical framework of this study emphasizes how crucial it is to comprehend both the conceptualizing intercultural speakers and the global English era to analyze intercultural speakers' competency in the global English context. Method: The study examined the issue among English language teacher educators working in a teacher education study program of a private university in West Java, Indonesia. Using open- and closed-ended questions distributed to the participants via Google Forms. Results and Discussion: The results obtained reveal that preparing future English teachers to be intercultural speakers who can teach both language and culture is urgent. Integrating cultural aspects and developing intercultural communicative competence is a must. However, teacher educators believe they are not yet ready to be globally competent and become intercultural speakers. Research Implications: This study contributes to the teacher education program by providing valuable information about effective language learning strategies, especially in teaching speaking and intercultural communication.