English Lecturers’ Perceptions and Practices of Culture Teaching Activities at University Contexts

Year 2023, Volume: 23 Issue: 3, 1030 - 1052, 24.09.2023

Funda Özbakır , Ayse Zambak

https://doi.org/10.17240/aibuefd.2023..-1107811

Abstract

This study aims to find out what English lecturers think about the goals of foreign language teaching, what they think about teaching culture in the context of English language teaching, and how often particular culture-teaching activities are used in English courses. The study was conducted with the participation of 50 lecturers working in 4 state universities in Turkiye, namely Osmaniye Korkut Ata University, Çukurova University, Adana Science and Technology University and Mersin University. A version of the questionnaire developed by Sercu (2005) and adapted by Kılıç (2013) was used as a data collection tool and the findings were analyzed with SPSS. The study's findings revealed that while participants are generally aware of the importance of integrating culture in the foreign language classroom and have a positive attitude toward it, teaching culture and equipping students with intercultural competence was not one of the teachers' primary goals. Instead, it has been recognised that one of the most important goals is to acquire language knowledge and linguistic abilities to utilise English effectively. Lecturers' primary goal in teaching culture is to provide knowledge of the target culture's everyday lives and routines while also demonstrating a good attitude and openness to other people and cultures. Some recommendations for further study can be made based on the findings. Teachers should attend in-service teacher training workshops or seminars focused on culture teaching in ELT to help them understand the relevance of culture in ELT and the components that should be incorporated in English language classrooms.

Keywords

Intercultural competence, Culture teaching activities, Teaching culture, English as a foreign language

İngilizce Okutmanlarının Üniversite Bağlamında Kültür Öğretimi Faaliyetlerine İlişkin Algıları ve Uygulamaları

Abstract

: Bu araştırma üniversitelerin İngilizce hazırlık programlarında görev yapan İngilizce öğretmenlerinin İngiliz Dili öğretimindeki amaçları, hedef kültür öğretimi konusunda katılımcıların görüşlerini ve derslerde uygulanan kültürel aktivitelerin sıklığını ve türlerini araştırmayı amaçlamaktadır. Çalışma Türkiye’de yer alan Osmaniye Korkut Ata Üniversitesi, Çukurova Üniversitesi, Adana Bilim ve Teknoloji Üniversitesi ve Mersin Üniversitesi olmak üzere 4 devlet üniversitesi ve bu üniversitelerde görev yapan 50 öğretim görevlisinin katılımı ile yürütülmüştür. Veri toplama aracı olarak, Sercu (2005) tarafından geliştirilen anketin Kılıç (2013) yılında uyarlanan bir versiyonu kullanılmıştır ve bulgular SPSS ile analiz edilmiştir Çalışmanın bulguları, katılımcıların genel olarak kültürün yabancı dil sınıfına entegre edilmesinin öneminin farkında olduklarını ve buna karşı olumlu bir tutum sergilediklerini, ancak kültürü öğretmenin ve öğrencileri kültürlerarası yetkinlikle donatmanın öğretmenlerin öncelikli hedeflerinden biri olmadığını ortaya koymuştur. Bunun yerine, en önemli hedeflerden birinin İngilizceyi etkili bir şekilde kullanmak için dil bilgisi ve dilsel beceriler edinmek olduğu kabul edilmiştir. Öğretim görevlilerinin kültür öğretimindeki birincil hedefi, hedef kültürün günlük yaşamı ve rutinleri hakkında bilgi verirken aynı zamanda diğer insanlara ve kültürlere karşı iyi bir tutum ve açıklık sergilemektir. Bulgulara dayanarak daha ileri çalışmalar için bazı önerilerde bulunulabilir. Öğretmenler, ELT'de kültürün önemini ve İngilizce dil sınıflarına dahil edilmesi gereken bileşenleri anlamalarına yardımcı olmak için ELT'de kültür öğretimine odaklanan hizmet içi öğretmen eğitimi atölyelerine veya seminerlerine katılmalıdır.

Keywords

Kültürler arası yetkinlik, Kültür öğretimi aktiviteleri, Kültür öğretimi, Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğretimi

References

• Álvarez, L. F. C. (2020). Intercultural communicative competence: In-service EFL teachers building understanding through study groups. Profile Issues in TeachersProfessional Development, 22(1), 75-92.
• Baker, W. (2012). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in ELT. ELT Journal, 66(1), 62-70.
• Belli, S. A. (2018). A study on ELT students’ cultural awareness and attitudes towards incorporation of target culture into language instruction. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14(1), 102-124.
• Bennett, M. J. (2004). Becoming interculturally competent. Toward multiculturalism: A reader in multicultural education, 2, 62-77.
• Bian, C. (2013). Study abroad as self-development: An analysis of international students’ experience in China and France. Frontiers of Education in China, 8(3), 448-477.
• Byram, M., Gribkova, B., & Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the intercultural dimension in language teaching: A practical introduction for teachers. Language Policy Division, Directorate of School, Out-of-School and Higher Education, Council of Europe.
• Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence. Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters.
• Byram, M. (2002). Routledge Encyclopedia of language teaching and learning. Routledge.
• Borg, S. (2003). Teacher cognition in language teaching: A review of research on what language teachers think, know, believe, and do. Language teaching, 36(2), 81-109.
• Chinh, N. D. (2013). Cultural Diversity in English Language Teaching: Learners' Voices. English Language Teaching, 6(4), 1-7.
• Cook, S. (1996). College students’ perspectives on culture learning in a required French course. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, New York, NY.
• Crozet, C., & Liddicoat, A. J. (1999). The challenge of intercultural language teaching: Engaging with culture in the classroom. Striving for the third place: Intercultural competence through language education, 113-125.
• Crystal, D. (2003). English as a Global Language (Second Edition). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Dervin, F. (2015). Towards post-intercultural teacher education: Analysing ‘extreme’ intercultural dialogue to reconstruct interculturality. European Journal of Teacher Education, 38(1), 71-86.
• Doğan, A. (2015). English language instructors' beliefs towards the objectives of English language teaching regarding culture teaching and culture teaching activities at university contexts [Unpublished master's thesis], Çağ Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü).
• EK, A. (1981). Guidelines for the Developing of Continuing Education meetings for Nurses. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York.
• European Commission. . (” Updated 30 August 2017). Retrieved from “Erasmus+ Online Linguistic Support..: https://erasmusplusols.eu/
• Genc, B. &. (2005). Culture in language learning and teaching. The Reading Matrix, 5 (1), 73-84.
• Gonen, S. K.; Saglam, S. (2012). Teaching culture in the FL classroom: teachers' perspectives. International Journal of Global Education, 1(3), 26-46.
• Hall, J. K. & Ramirez, A. (1993). How a group of high school learners of Spanish perceives the cultural identities of Spanish speakers, English speakers, and themselves. Hispania, 613-620.
• Hismanoglu, M. (2011). An investigation of ELT students’ intercultural communicative competence in relation to linguistic proficiency, overseas experience and formal instruction. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 35(6), 805-817.
• Inozu, J. & Can, C. (2015). Intercultural competence and language teacher education. In M.A Icbay, H. Arslan, & S. M. Stanciu (Eds.), Contemporary studies in humanities (pp. 203-213). Mannheim: Ehrmanm Verlag.
• Keengwe, J. (2010). Fostering cross-cultural competence in preservice teachers through multicultural education experiences. Early Childhood Education Journal, 38, 197-204.
• Kılıç, S . (2013). İngilizce Okutmanlarının Kültürlerarası Edince İlişkin İnançları . Hayef Journal of Education, 10 (2), 47-59.
• Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Kramsch, C. (2012). Language, culture, and context. The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics.
• Kramsch, C., Cain, A., & Murphy‐Lejeune, E. (1996). Why should language teachers teach culture? Language, culture and curriculum, 9(1), 99-107.
• Lázár, I. (2005). Incorporating intercultural communicative competence in language teaching education Strasbourg: European Centre for Modern Languages, Council of Europe.
• Liddicoat, A. J. (1997). Texts of the culture and texts of the discourse community. Academic communication across disciplines and cultures, 2, 38-41.
• Moeller, A. J. & Osborn, S. R. F. (2014). A pragmatist perspective on building intercultural communicative competency: From theory to classroom practice. Foreign Language Annals, 47(4), 669-683.
• Morain, G. (1983). Commitment to the teaching of foreign cultures. The Modern Language Journal, 67(4), 403-412.
• Önalan, O. (2005). EFL teachers' perceptions of the place of Culture in ELT: A survey study at four universities in Ankara/Turkey. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 1(2), 215-235.
• Robinson-Stuart, G. and Nocon, H. (1996). Second culture acquisition: Ethnography in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 80 (4), 431–449.
• Sapir, E. (1962). Culture, Language and Personality. The University of California.
• Seidlhofer, B. (2005). English as a lingua franca. ELT Journal, 59(4), 339–41.
• Sercu, L. (2005). Teaching foreign languages in an intercultural world. In L. Sercu (Ed.), Foreign language teachers and intercultural competence. Clevedon, Ohio: Multilingual Matters.
• Sercu, L. (2006). The foreign language and intercultural competence teacher: the acquisition of a new professional identity. Intercultural Education, 17(1), 55–72. doi:10.1080/14675980500502321
• Ting-Toomey, S. (2009). Intercultural conflict competence as a facet of intercultural competence development. In: Darla K. Deardorff (ed.), The Sage Handbook of Intercultural Competence, 100–120. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Tran, T. Q. & Seepho, S. (2014, October). An Empirical Study on Teachers’ Perceptions and their Incorporating Cultural Competence in English Language Teaching. In Proceedings of the 2014 International Conference on English Language Teaching (ICELT),(24-25 October 2014) (pp. 517-531).
• Xiaohui, H. & Li, S. (2011). Teacher Cognition of Intercultural Communicative Competence in the Chinese ELT Context. Intercultural Communication Studies, 20(1), 175-192.
• Yassine, S. (2006). Culture Issues in FL Teaching: Towards fostering intercultural awareness. Revue Annales du patrimoine, 5, 51-61.