An investigation into tesol postgraduate learners intercultural awareness and their intercultural practices in efl teaching

iii ABSTRACT Arousing intercultural awareness and developing intercultural communication competence for foreign language learners have recently become significant objectives of foreign

BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC CẦN THƠ

NGUYỄN THỊ XUÂN HUỆ

AN INVESTIGATION INTO TESOL POSTGRADUATE

LEARNERS’ INTERCULTURAL AWARENESS AND THEIR INTERCULTURAL PRACTICES

IN EFL TEACHING

LUẬN VĂN THẠC SĨ

Chuyên ngành: Lí luận và Phương pháp giảng dạy bộ môn tiếng Anh

Giáo viên hướng dẫn:

TS THÁI CÔNG DÂN

Cần Thơ, 2013

ii

TÓM LƯỢC

Khơi dậy nhận thức về các nền văn hóa khác nhau và phát triển năng lực giao tiếp liên văn hóa cho người học ngoại ngữ gần đây đã trở thành mục tiêu quan trọng trong việc giảng dạy ngoại ngữ Người ta tin rằng các giáo viên có năng lực giao tiếp liên văn hóa có thể hướng dẫn học viên của họ tốt hơn trong quá trình phát triển nhận thức về các nền văn hóa khác nhau và năng lực giao tiếp liên văn hóa Nghiên cứu này được tiến hành nhằm đánh giá trình độ nhận thức về các nền văn hóa khác nhau của học viên sau đại học chuyên ngành giảng dạy tiếng Anh, và để xem xét có hay không sự tương quan giữa trình độ đó với sự hồi tưởng về việc giảng dạy về các nền văn hóa khác nhau của họ Cụ thể trong nghiên cứu này, mục tiêu giảng dạy, nội dung giảng dạy và cách thức giảng dạy sẽ được hồi tưởng Năm mươi ba học viên sau đại học chuyên ngành giảng dạy tiếng Anh tham gia vào nghiên cứu này, trong đó cả hai phương pháp định lượng và định tính đã được sử dụng bao gồm bảng câu hỏi và phỏng vấn Kết quả cho thấy trình độ nhận thức về các nền văn hóa khác nhau của các đối tượng tham gia là trên mức trung bình (M = 3.67) và có mối tương quan tích cực giữa trình độ đó với sự hồi tưởng về việc giảng dạy về các nền văn hóa khác nhau của họ Tuy nhiên, nhiều lý do cản trở việc ứng dụng liên quan đến các nền văn hóa khác nhau trong giảng dạy ngoại ngữ được đề cập trong các cuộc phỏng vấn Giảng dạy về các nền văn hóa khác nhau vẫn còn là một thách thức đối với các học viên sau đại học chuyên ngành giảng dạy tiếng Anh,

vì vậy nghiên cứu này đưa ra những đề xuất cho việc giảng dạy cũng như cho những nghiên cứu trong tương lai

iii

ABSTRACT

Arousing intercultural awareness and developing intercultural communication competence for foreign language learners have recently become significant objectives of foreign language teaching It is believed that teachers who are interculturally competent themselves can lead their learners better in the process

of intercultural awareness and intercultural communication competence development This study was conducted to evaluate the TESOL postgraduate learners’ intercultural awareness level, and to examine whether or not that level correlates with their reflections of intercultural language teaching Particularly, teaching objectives, what they teach and how they teach in terms of intercultural teaching will be reflected Fifty-three TESOL postgraduate learners participated in this study in which both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed including questionnaires and follow-up interviews The findings revealed that intercultural awareness level of the participants is above average (M = 3.67) and there is a positive correlation between that level and each aspect of the intercultural language teaching Nevertheless, many reasons which hindered their intercultural language teaching in foreign language teaching were mentioned in the interviews Intercultural language teaching is still a challenge for TESOL postgraduate learners,

so the current study was completed with pedagogical implications and suggestions for further researches

With indirect but persistent help, Dr Trinh Quoc Lap offered me not only useful advice in my initial step of selecting and generating the topic for my study but also useful articles for the literature review I am extremely grateful for what he has done for me as a considerate professor and experienced researcher

Many thanks go to all of the participants including my fellow friends in the TESOL Postgraduate Course 18 and TESOL Postgraduate learners in Course 19 who enthusiastically took part in my study Thanks to their help, I was encouraged

v

List of Abbreviations

ICC Intercultural Communicative Competence

Postgraduate Learner(s) PGL(s)

EFL English as a Foreign Language

TESOL Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages

vi

Table of Contents

Abstract iii

Acknowledgements iv

List of Abbreviations v

Table of Contents vi

List of Figures ix

List of Tables x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Aims of the research 3

1.3 Significance of the study 4

1.4 Organization of the study 4

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6

2.1 Language and culture 6

2.1.1 Culture 6 2.1.2 Language and culture 7 2.1.3 Culture and learning a foreign language 8 2.2 Intercultural communication competence 9

2.2.1 Intercultural communication 9 2.2.2 Intercultural communication competence 11 2.2.3 Intercultural awareness 12 2.2.3.1 Definition of intercultural awareness Error! Bookmark not defined 2.2.3.2 Components of intercultural awarenessError! Bookmark not defined 2.2.3.2 Levels of intercultural awarenessError! Bookmark not defined. 2.3 Intercultural language teaching 14

2.5 Studies relevant to the current research 17

2.6 Summary 19

vii

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 21

3.1 Research questions and hypothesis 21

3.1.1 Research questions 21 3.1.2 Research hypothesis 21 3.2 Research design 22

3.3 Participants 23

3.4 Research Instruments 24

3.4.1 Questionnaire 24 3.4.2 Interview 26 3.5 Data collection procedure 26

3.5.1 Administering the questionnaire 27 3.5.2 Administering the interview 27 3.6 Data analysis procedure 27

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 29

4.1 The results from the questionnaires 29

4.1.1 Participants’ ICA level 29 4.1.2 Correlation between participants’ ICA level and their reflections of intercultural language teaching 30 4.2 Interview data 36

4.2.1 Intercultural language teaching and problems hindering participants’ intercultural language teaching 37 4.2.2 Interviewees’ self-improvement of intercultural language teaching and their expectations towards intercultural language teaching 39 CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS 41

5.1 Major findings 41

5.2 Pedagogical implications 42

5.3 Limitations 44

5.4 Suggestions for further research 45

viii

REFERENCES 46

APPENDICES 52

APPENDIX 1 52

APPENDIX 2 59

APPENDIX 3 61

ix

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 3.1 Explanatory mixed methods design (Creswell, 2007) 22

Figure 3.2 Courses that TESOL PGLs have been teaching 24

Figure 4.1 TESOL PGLs’ objectives towards intercultural language teaching 31

Figure 4.2 The frequency of touching upon cultural topics 22

Figure 5.1 At which levels should each type of culture be stressed more (BBenahnia, 1992) 44

x

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1 Reliability 26

Table 4.1 Participants' intercultural awareness level 29

Table 4.2 Frequently used activities 33

Table 4.3 Occassionally used activities 34

Table 4.4 Overall scores of ICA level, objectives, cultural topics and activities 35

Table 4.5 Correlation between ICA level and objectives, cultural topics and activities 35

Table 4.6 Interviewees’ professional information 36

1.1 Background of the study

Globalization has brought many nations closer in commercial, industrial, political, technological as well as educational cooperation in which the more effectively people communicate with each other, the more benefits people will gain The society is in great need of people who master necessary knowledge in order to communicate with the others from different countries That is the reason why nowadays studying foreign languages in general, and studying English in particular

is widespread since English is considered as an international language McKay (2002, p 24) claimed that for a language to be international means that the language has developed to where it is “no longer linked to a single culture or nation but serves both global and local needs as a language of wider communication” Thus, the interaction process requires not only good language skills but also cultural knowledge since the understanding is negatively affected by this lack People may not recognize that their communication is invisibly interfered by culture, but in reality it is because people’s behaviors or communicative styles are partly shaped

by culture, which can lead to different interpretations and reaction to language For example, a middle-aged British man was told at the swimming pool, “You are handsome and fat” by a young Vietnamese girl While being fat in Vietnamese culture implies prosperity, weight is a sensitive topic for Western countries which is often avoided mentioning In fact, it is impossible to achieve a complete understanding in a conversation, but people have to be willing to adjust their own attitudes and perspectives to understand the other (Fenner, 2000) Therefore, intercultural awareness has become a prerequisite for successful intercultural communication in today’s world since it refers to the understanding of cultural conventions that affect how people think and behave (Chen, 2010)

2

The intercultural facet in teaching of foreign languages has become a special concern for teachers and educators when it is increasingly recognized that language learning and learning about target cultures cannot realistically be separated (Kramsch, 1993) Fantini (2006) affirmed that learners need not only the ability to make themselves understood but also to be behaviorally and interactionally accepted, especially since offending behaviors often hinder the acceptance by those

of another culture than incorrect grammar Gradually, instead of giving linguistic construct in formal learning process, facilitating the ability to communicate competently within and across linguistic and cultural boundaries is longed by language educators

In Vietnam, more and more teachers have been aware of the fact that foreign language learning is foreign culture learning, and that to cultivate learners’ intercultural awareness, teachers need first to arouse their cultural awareness and to

be interculturally competent themselves As Fenner (2008) noted, culture has always played an important part in foreign language teaching, especially at higher levels of education Practically, Intercultural Communication course has been introduced in university for learners in TESOL master course so that teachers are capable of coaching their learners to become global citizens As a trend, culture has implicitly or explicitly been taught in foreign language classrooms What remain to

be clarified is what to teach and how culture is integrated into language teaching The findings of Sercu’s study in 2005 showed that the teacher teach culture, but by providing information about daily life, routines, history, geography, political conditions instead of employing activities that support independent searching for cultural information, its presentation and critical evaluation Nonetheless, the task of the teacher is not to provide comprehensive information or bring the foreign society into the classroom for learners to observe and experience but to develop in learners the competence that will make them create a connection between their own cultural values, beliefs as well as behaviors and the others’ (Byram et al., 2002) Even if teachers know what to teach and how to teach, there is still a problem concerning finding time in the class period to include culture Accordingly, foreign language teachers may incidentally attend to culture by inserting ideas during the class period and subsequently fail to check learners’ comprehension of the context

3

The vital role of intercultural awareness in foreign language teaching and learning requires foreign language teachers to be interculturally competent themselves During the TESOL postgraduate program, the researcher was exposed

to intercultural knowledge but recognized it is really vague for the TESOL PGLs to assess how much they know about culture and how they integrate their intercultural knowledge into their teaching Hence, the researcher would like to conduct the study on the intercultural awareness level of TESOL PGLs alongside their reflections of intercultural language teaching Hopefully, the study can significantly notify and enhance their intercultural awareness level Furthermore, it is worth recalling their teaching to recognize what is positive and what needs to be improved

in their classrooms in terms of intercultural language teaching They can adjust their intercultural language teaching in the future so that the learners can benefit from the intercultural learning experience and become global citizens In addition, it is a good opportunity for TESOL PGLs to assess their learning and teaching progress for their both personal and professional development as a continuous learner and global teacher

1.2 Aims of the research

This study aims to investigate TESOL PGLs’ level of intercultural awareness and to examine whether or not their level correlates with their reflections of intercultural language teaching According to Xu and Connelly (2009), teaching practices are not shaped by what is being told or taught to the teachers, but rather by

their teaching knowledge, which is believed to be their personal practical

knowledge Personal practical knowledge lies in “the person’s past experience, in the person’s present mind and body, and in the person’s future plans and actions” (Connelly & Clandinin, 1988, p 26) Thus, three aspects including TESOL PGLs’ objectives towards intercultural language teaching, topics which they have been teaching related to Vietnamese culture and English-speaking culture as well as the frequency of applying intercultural activities in their classrooms are concerned as intercultural language teaching in the current study

4

1.3 Significance of the study

Being a continuous English learner and a foreign language teacher, the researcher realizes that both teachers and learners have encountered invisibly intercultural challenges day by day For this reason, the researcher would like to signify the TESOL PGLs’ level of intercultural awareness through this study so that they can pay appropriate attention to intercultural factor as well as be deeply aware

of where they are in the process of intercultural awareness development

In addition, the findings of the study will inform the results of how correlative intercultural awareness level with their reflections of intercultural language teaching so that their intercultural language teaching can be adjusted and improved Furthermore, how TESOL PGLs often expose culture to their learners in their classrooms and what hinders their intercultural language teaching will be uncovered

1.4 Organization of the study

This study consists of five chapters:

Chapter 1, Introduction, respectively introduces the background of the study, the aims of the research, the significance of the study, and the organization of the study

Chapter 2, Literature Review, provides the theoretical background for the study Firstly, definitions of culture and theories on the relationship between language and culture are presented Secondly, intercultural communication, intercultural communication competence and intercultural awareness are thoroughly defined Intercultural language teaching is addressed in the following part and the chapter ends with previous studies relevant to the research

Chapter 3, Research Methodology, comprises the research questions and research hypotheses in the first part; the description of the research design, the participants and the research instruments in the next three parts The last two parts detail the procedure of data collection and data analysis

5

Chapter 4, Findings and Discussion, shows the results of the study as well as the correlation between TESOL PGL’s intercultural awareness level and their reflections of intercultural language teaching which were thoroughly analyzed through charts, tables and text In addition, the result of individual interview is embedded in this section for further explanation for the questionnaire

Chapter 5, Conclusions, presents major findings, along with useful pedagogical implications for intercultural language teaching It also addresses some limitations of the current study and suggests recommendations for further research

2.1 Language and culture

2.1.1 Culture

Nobody can define culture precisely although everybody implicitly understands its concept That is the reason why 164 different definitions of culture were documented by Kroeber and Kluckhohn, American anthropologists in 1952 (Gao, 2006, p 59)

Culture is generally defined by anthropologists as “the whole way of life of a people or group In this context, culture includes all the social practices that bond a group of people together and distinguish them from others” (Montgomery & Reid-Thomas, 1994, cited in Thanasoulas, 2001, p 5) With the same viewpoint, Federico Mayor (1989), the General Director of UNESCO, stated that culture includes all aspects such as religion, lifestyle or human thought that shape the differences among the countries That culture symbolizes the country is the reason why national culture has been thoroughly preserved by the countries all over the world Besides, Duranti (1997) claimed that the definition of culture is “something learned, transmitted, passed down and from one generation to the next through human actions, often in the form of face-to-face interaction, and of course, through linguistic communication” (cited in Thanasoulas, 2001, p 8)

Specifically, culture was classified into big-C culture and small-c culture (Irimia, 2012) Basic factual knowledge such as government, education, religion,

7

food and clothing, work and play, time and space, art and music is categorized into big-C culture It concerns the "what" aspect of the culture that can be obtained through reading, didactic learning, or other media without the interaction with the national of the target culture for information collection A large variety of aspects, such as attitudes, assumptions, beliefs, perceptions, norms and values, social relationships, customs, celebrations, rituals, politeness conventions, patterns of interaction and discourse organization, the use of physical space and body language belongs to small-c culture While the big-C as well as some of the small-c cultural aspects such as celebrations and rituals which are directly noticeable tends to be easier to approach and acquire, the small-c is much more difficult to attain The deep structure of a culture takes cultural values which concern the "why" aspect of a culture as the most fundamental framework For instance, why people of the culture think or practice as learned in the "what" aspect, why people of the culture communicate in that way or have that kind of religious belief will be justified by cultural values Those values dictate what people ought or ought not to do In other words, they are a set of explicit or implicit conception that distinguishes an individual or characteristic of a group from another

Many cultural aspects are hidden from the eyes and are often noticed only in contrast with another culture Weaver (1993) shared the same idea by considering culture as an iceberg in which a large proportion of our own culturally-shaped knowledge is invisible and mostly subconsciously applied in our everyday interactions Thoroughly, culture has been defined as the “integrated pattern of human behavior that includes thoughts, communications, languages, practices, beliefs, values, customs, courtesies, rituals, manners of interacting and roles, relationships and expected behaviors of a racial, ethnic, religious or social group; and the ability to transmit the above to succeeding generations” (Goode, et al.,

2000, pp 36-39)

In brief, the current study takes culture as an internal and hidden factor which includes values and thought patterns that can considerably govern people’s perceptions, expectations, assumptions, interpretation and expression through language in communication

8

2.1.2 Language and culture

A mass of outstanding philosophers have been researched on the mutual relation or the interaction of language and culture such as Von Humbolt (1876), Whorf (1956), Sapir (1962), Chomsky (1968), Quine (1980), Dilthey (1989), Wittgenstein (1980; 1999), Adorno (1993), Foucault (1994), Saussure (1996), and Davidson (1999) (Genc & Bada, 2005) A common conclusion is that language and culture are interdependent since the boundaries between them are too vague to be separated

Agar (1994) affirmed that “Culture is in language and language is loaded with culture” (p 28) It is obvious that language and culture are bounded together

by the fact that language expresses, embodies and symbolizes cultural reality (Kramsch, 1998) In addition, Jiang (2000) discovered that there is a mutual interaction, reflection as well as alteration between language and culture Honglin Zhu (2010) concluded that language is the most important communication tool for human beings, and is an important component of culture When people communicate with a language, it always involves other cultural factors beyond the language itself, including social system, customs and habits, values, life style and norms of behavior

In short, “a language is part of a culture and culture is part of language; the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture” (Brown, 1994, p 165)

2.1.3 Culture and learning a foreign language

The importance of cultural aspect in foreign language learning has been concerned since the 1960s by many scholars such as Hammerly (1982), Seelye (1984) and Damen (1987) (Thanasoulas, 2001) In the light of recent development both nationally and internationally, the need for a strong commitment to the development of cultural understanding within the classroom context is vibrant (Shemshadsara, 2012)

It is now broadly accepted in most parts of the world that learning a foreign language is not simply mastering the grammar or the vocabulary, but more appropriately focuses on learning a means of communication Communication in real situations, which is mentioned as the main goal of learning a foreign language

9

in global world, is never out of context, and because culture is part of most contexts, communication is rarely culture-free Byram (1989) emphasized that when people learn a new language, they also learn its culture and when they learn to use the language, they are learning to make conversations with other people from a new cultural situation The relationship between language and culture is made meaningful in language learning as “the person who learns language without learning culture risks becoming a fluent fool” (Bennett, Bennett & Allen, 2003, p 237)

Cultural knowledge has a great impact on learners' language use and sometimes directly influences the result of communication with native speakers In fact, culture decides how people talk to each other, what people talk about and how people understand each other’s messages in various circumstances Most language teachers would agree that in order to apply language skills successfully and efficiently, the knowledge of cultural environment is crucial In a foreign language classroom, culture is mentioned in terms of home or local culture and target culture Home or local culture is the learners’ culture while target culture is the culture of the foreign language Both of them inevitably exist and impact on learners’ process

of acquiring a new language In the current study, home culture refers to Vietnamese culture and target culture refers to English-speaking cultures

Overtly or covertly, culture has often been taught in foreign language classroom (Brooks, 1969; Harumi, 2002), but not as formally emphasized as it should be In languages education in recent times, there has been a move towards intercultural language learning (Byram, 1997; Liddicoat et al., 2003) This orientation builds on a recognition that, in the context of learning languages, communication is at least potentially intercultural, in that it entails learners’ learning to move between two languages and cultures – the learners’ own language and culture, and the languages and culture they are learning

2.2 Intercultural communication competence

2.2.1 Intercultural communication

Xiao and Petraki (2007) observe that non-native speakers can show inappropriate language behavior and be unaware of what they have done, leading to socio-pragmatic failure, a mismatch arising from cross-cultural differences, and a

10

breakdown in communication Obviously, a failure in language use can arise from a lack of cultural knowledge, rather than a lack of language knowledge That is the reason why intercultural communication has recently played an important role in foreign language teaching In fact, being a successful communicator in intercultural communication has become the primary goal of foreign language learning and teaching Nguyen (2007) identified the challenging features of intercultural communication as cultural differences, unfamiliarity, and incompatibility between the interactants In brief, intercultural communication refers to “a symbolic, interpretative, transactional, contextual process in which people from different cultures create shared meanings” (Lustig & Koester, 2006, p.46)

2.2.2 Intercultural communication competence

Intercultural communication competence (ICC) is simply defined as “the ability to interact effectively with people of cultures other than one’s own” (Byram,

2000, p 297) With his colleagues, ICC is characterized as an “ability to ensure a shared understanding by people of different social identities, and the ability to interact with people as complex human beings with multiple identities and their own individuality” (Byram, Gribkova & Starkey, 2002, p 10) An interculturally competent person needs to be able to negotiate between different cultures, to reflect oneself from an outsider’s standpoint as well as to analyze and adapt one’s own behaviors, values and beliefs (Byram & Zarate, 1997)

Although ICC has been defined in various ways, Fantini (2000) concluded that three key components appear to be often included and generally identified: “1) the ability to develop and maintain relationships, 2) the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately with minimal loss or distortion, and 3) the ability to attain compliance and obtain cooperation with others” (p 27) In order to effectively carry out intercultural interactions, those abilities are essential for learners of English Therefore, the learners should be receiving cultural awareness training as an integral part of the English courses if a teacher wants to maximize learners’ communicative effectiveness when interacting with members of other culture,

11

2.2.3 Intercultural awareness

2.2.3.1 Definition of intercultural awareness

Intercultural awareness (ICA) is one of three dimensions of ICC model in which ICA refers to an individual’s ability to understand the similarities and differences between the native culture and the other’s culture (Chen & Starosta, 1996) Thus, ICA is the cognitive aspect of ICC which emphasizes the changing of personal thinking about the environment through the understanding of the distinct characteristics of our own and other's cultures (Triandis, 1977) Baker (2012) added that ICA is a conscious understanding of the role culturally based forms, practices and frames of reference can have in ICC, and an ability to put these conceptions into practice in a flexible and context specific manner in real-time communication Moreover, awareness involving exploring, experimenting, and experiencing leads to deeper cognition, skills, and attitudes just as it is also enhanced by their development Those reflective and introspective processes provide people from different countries and cultures with an opportunity to develop an understanding of cultural dynamics by reducing the level of situational ambiguity and uncertainty in intercultural interactions (Fantini, 2000) According to Yueqin (2013), ICA is essential for learners’ ICC achievement which is now considered to be the major goal of language learning universally

2.2.3.2 Components of intercultural awareness

Baker (2012) described the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that a user of English needs in order to become a successful communicator through 12 elements

of ICA including an awareness of:

1 culture as a set of shared behaviors, beliefs, and values;

2 the role culture and context play in any interpretation of meaning;

3 our own culturally induced behavior, values, and beliefs and the ability to articulate this;

4 others’ culturally induced behavior, values, and beliefs and the ability to compare this with our own culturally induced behavior, values, and beliefs

5 the relative nature of cultural norms;

12

6 cultural understanding as provisional and open to revision;

7 multiple voices or perspectives within any cultural grouping;

8 individuals as members of many social groupings including cultural ones;

9 common ground between specific cultures as well as an awareness of possibilities for mismatch and miscommunication between specific cultures;

10 culturally based frames of reference, forms, and communicative practices

as being related both to specific cultures and also as emergent and hybrid in intercultural communication;

11 initial interaction in intercultural communication as possibly based on cultural stereotypes or generalizations but an ability to move beyond these through:

12 a capacity to negotiate and mediate between different emergent socioculturally grounded communication modes and frames of reference based on the above understanding of culture in intercultural communication

(Baker, 2012, p 66)

So, knowledge of specific cultures and its influence on communication is still a part of ICA (element 1 and 2) and participants may initially begin communication by making use of nationally based cultural generalizations (component 11) In addition, an understanding of emergent cultural references and practices together with the ability to negotiate and mediate the meanings are necessary in intercultural communication (components10, 11 and 12) Therefore, foreign language learners need to have an in-depth understanding of culture to develop ICA

2.2.3.3 Levels of intercultural awareness

ICA can be considered as a process of attitudinally internalizing "insights about those common understandings held by groups that dictate the predominant values, attitudes, beliefs, and outlooks of the individual" (Adler, 1987, pp 13-23) This process can be integrated into three levels consisting of awareness of superficial cultural traits, awareness of significant and subtle cultural traits that

it possesses which are partly applied to the whole group in the future

At the second level, significant and subtle cultural traits that are sharply different from one’s own are recognized through direct or what-have-been-told experience This level has two phases The first phase approaches ICA through culture conflict situations and the second through intellectual analysis Although media, tourism books, or textbooks may provide information that contrasts with ours, people do not fully feel or grasp the real meaning of the cultural differences until they experience direct or indirect interactions with people of another culture

In the first phase of the second level of ICA, the experience of cultural conflict may lead to depression, helplessness, hostility, anxiety, withdrawal, or disorientation, but at the same time, a chance to further recognize and understand another’s culture is offered The feeling in this phase is similar to cultural shock in the process of intercultural adjustment (Oberg, 1960) If people are unable to overcome the symptoms of cultural shock, then development of ICA will be ceased

in this frustrating stage, and culture conflict situations will continue to exist in which they feel isolated and marginalized (Mansell, 1981) At this point, the conflict situations that lead to cultural shock may impede the process of being aware

of the target culture In the second phase, through rational and intellectual analysis, people come to understand that cultural differences can be justified from the other culture’s perspective In other words, differences in cultural traits begin to make sense to them Cultural differences in this phase are processed with a positive effect which provides motivational force for people to move forward to a higher level of ICA In addition, intercultural understanding in this phase results from their drawing

of comparisons and contrasts This practice enables people to learn cultures that they have not yet experienced (Adler, 1987)

14

The third level of ICA requires the ability of empathy to help people see the culture from an insider’s perspective The believability through understanding explicated in phase two of the second level is enhanced by intellectual analysis and

by subjective familiarity (Hanvey, 1987) In addition, it is necessary to foster the power of flexibility to make psychic shifts Through this selfless and affectively sensitive process, people are able to more accurately estimate behaviors or internal states of their counterparts that are different from theirs (Campbell, Kagan & Drathwohl, 1971; Gardner, 1962)

The developmental levels show that ICA is a learning process by which people become aware of their own cognitive growth, learning, and change regarding

a set of cultural situations and cultural principles stemming from intercultural communication It is a part of cognitive function regarding the knowing of how people’s outlook, attitudes, values, and behavior are based on cultural dispositions Thus, ICA involves change and movement from one cultural frame of reference to another and provides unlimited opportunity for contrast and comparison due to cultural differences

2.4 Intercultural language teaching

ICA which cannot grow naturally has to be trained and acquired Therefore, arousing cultural awareness becomes an indispensable part in foreign language teaching Sercu (2005) explained that foreign language education is, by definition, intercultural Bringing a foreign language to the classroom means connecting learners to a world that is culturally different from their own Accordingly, teachers’ expertise does not depend so much on what they know about the language and culture, but how they construct opportunities for learners to learn about language and culture for themselves Occasionally, those chances need to be provided in less structured and personal ways for individual learners to reflect on their experiences

Firstly, to be an intercultural teacher involves self-awareness since each teacher brings to the class his or her whole person values, beliefs, experiences, and knowledge Moreover, the teacher plays an important role in constructing ideas and attitudes about other languages and cultures for his or her learners Thus, a teacher should properly introduce to learners the cultural background knowledge and awaken their ICA Secondly, teachers need to be familiar with the levels of

15

communication including notions, speech acts, non-verbal communication at which intercultural misunderstandings may arise, and are able and willing to negotiate meaning where they sense cross-cultural misunderstanding (Sercu, 2005) They can help learners relate their own culture to foreign cultures, to compare cultures and to empathize with foreign cultures’ points of view They are knowledgeable about their learners’ perceptions of and attitudes towards the foreign peoples and cultures associated with the foreign language they teach They are willing to start from them when designing the learning process and know how to choose input materials with a view to modifying any wrongful perceptions learners may have To that end, they know how to assess learning materials from an intercultural perspective and how to adjust these materials

Finally, the way in which teachers define the objectives of their teaching is likely to affect their teaching practice (Castro & Sercu, 2005) It is likely that teachers who perceive the objectives of foreign language education also in terms of intercultural language teaching will be more willing to interculturalize foreign language education than teachers who perceive the objectives in terms of the acquisition of communicative competence only Their teaching practice may also come closer to intercultural language teaching than that of the latter group

Nevertheless, Zhang (2010) insisted that a number of foreign language teachers have a regard only for language knowledge and skills but not for culture This situation makes foreign language and culture out of touch Teachers without a higher ICA and ICC are bound to lead learners to the lack of ICA and ICC Bandura reflected that through trial and error, teachers acquire beliefs regarding which teaching principles and techniques work and which do not Once acquired, these beliefs are difficult to change (Pajares, 1992; Prosser & Trigwell, 1997) Since teachers’ practices are also shaped by the social, psychological and environmental realities of the school and classroom, discussions on culture have expanded from a focus on ‘culture as content’ to encompass the cultural appropriateness of various language teaching methodologies consisting of the approaches, techniques, and activities used in teaching, especially as they were exported across contexts (Hu, 2002)

Henrichsen (1998) proposed an interesting method called culture assimilators Culture assimilators comprise short descriptions of various situations

16

where one person from the target culture interacts with persons from the home culture There are four possible interpretations of the meaning of the behavior and speech of the interactants, especially those from the target culture Once the learners have read the description, they choose one of the four options they think is the correct interpretation of the situation When every single student has made his or her choice, they discuss why some options are correct or incorrect Through that activity, learners can understanding cultural information and may promote emotional empathy Another insightful activity is to divide the class into groups of three or four and have them draw up a list of those characteristics and traits that supposedly distinguish the home and target cultures In this way, it becomes easier for teachers and students to identify any stereotypes that they need to eradicate (Thanasoulas, 2010)

Perterson and Coltrane (2003) also suggested a familiar activity but very effective one called role plays Learners can act out a miscommunication that is based on cultural differences Other learners observe the role play and try to identify the reason for the miscommunication They then role play the same situation using a culturally appropriate form Role plays allow participants to gain insights into the experiences of people of different cultures Learners need to be encouraged not simply to observe similarities and differences between the cultures, but they should also be able to analyze them from the viewpoint of the others, thus establishing a relationship between their own and other systems According to Irimia (2012), project work is also a good activity to develop learners’ intercultural knowledge because groups of learners may discover various facts about a given culture when they work on a project and prepare a presentation Moreover, teachers can also invite guest speakers, who will talk about their experiences of the foreign country

By and large, the English teachers play a vital role in cultivating and improving EFL learners’ ICA Language teaching with an intercultural dimension aims not only at helping learners to acquire the linguistic competence needed to communicate in speaking or writing, to formulate what they want to say or write in correct and appropriate ways It also develops their ICA in order to improve their ICC such as their ability to ensure a shared understanding by people of different social identities, and their ability to interact with people as complex human beings with multiple identities and their own individuality Only teachers who are equipped

17

with solid foundation in home culture and target culture can be a qualified teacher who can effectively assist EFL learners in the process of developing ICA As a consequence, the ‘best’ teacher is neither the native nor the non-native speaker, but the person who can help learners see the relationships between their own and other cultures, can help them acquire interest in and curiosity about ‘otherness’, and an awareness of themselves and their own cultures seen from other people’s perspectives

2.5 Studies relevant to the current research

Recently, there has been a growing interest in the intercultural dimension of foreign language education, and teachers today are expected to promote the acquisition of ICA and ICC in their learners Accordingly, many researchers and educators have been carried out many studies concerning intercultural aspects Byram and Risager (1999), who together with their English and Danish colleagues compiled material from 212 language teachers in Britain and 653 in Denmark, carried out one of the first studies in this field back in the early 1990’s Their respondents filled in questionnaires, after which 18 and 42 teachers respectively were interviewed The findings were summarized that teachers’ understanding of the concept ‘culture’ appears to be lacking in the depth and complexity needed to grasp its significance for language teaching in the future There is a concentration

on ‘national’ culture and little attention to aspects of culture beyond those already found in textbooks They are also often frustrated in their attempts to treat the cultural dimension seriously because of pressures to produce measurable results and focus on linguistic competence Byram and Risager underlined that with regard to teachers’ willingness to interculturalize foreign language education, they found a growing awareness among their respondents of the significance of the cultural dimension as European integration proceeds, and a clear willingness to teach both language and culture

In 1999, a similar survey was conducted by Sercu among 135 teachers of English, French and German in Flandern, the Flemish part of Belgium Sercu (2001) showed that most of the respondents represent a view of culture in foreign language teaching as a traditional paradigm with no reference to promoting ICA and ICC She stated that foreign language teachers’ perceptions of professionalism seem to be typically those of teachers teaching for communicative competence, not those of

18

teaching for ICA and ICC Another study clearly inspired by Byram and Risager is Guilherme’s doctoral thesis from 2000, for which 176 Portuguese teachers of English were asked about their attitudes towards the teaching of culture in English-speaking countries The aim of the study was to explore how the teachers concretely understand the notion of “a critical interpretation of the cultural context” included in the Portuguese curriculum for English Guilherme’s focus was “critical cultural awareness”, which is a term borrowed from Byram’s model of the five savoirs The results indicated that although the respondents advocate a critical pedagogy in theory, they do not apply this in practice

In an international study with 424 teachers from seven countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Mexico, Greece, Spain and Sweden), Sercu et al., (2005) aimed at describing an average foreign language-culture teacher in terms of perceptions and attitudes regarding ICT and actual teaching practice, irrespective of the country in which he or she teaches This broad investigation is a quantitative comparative study that comprises questionnaire answers Findings of the study revealed two distinct teacher profiles named ‘the favorably disposed foreign language teacher’, who believed in the importance of integrating culture into their classroom practices, and ‘the unfavorably disposed foreign language teacher’, who did not support this practice Both groups tend to have their own distinct, but clearly clustered, opinions regarding the preconditions that need to be met before one can start teaching ICC, and the way in which ICC should be taught In actual teaching, they appear not to

go beyond traditional information-transfer pedagogy in any of the seven countries, although, interestingly enough, different topics appear to enjoy priority in different countries Data further revealed that no clear relationship appeared to exist between teachers’ beliefs regarding integration of culture and the way in which they actually shaped their teaching practices Teachers who are clearly willing to interculturalize foreign language education are not yet teaching towards the acquisition of ICC Their willingness does not necessarily imply more extensive culture teaching in terms of the frequency with which culture-teaching activities are practiced or particular cultural topics are addressed In only three out of seven countries teachers who are favorably disposed towards integration appear to teach culture more extensively than their colleagues who are less favorably disposed Teachers, similar

to those in other studies, seemed to try, with varying degrees of success, to integrate the teaching of culture into the curriculum (Liddicot, 2004) Moreover, the overall

19

impression is that in actual teaching practice, teachers prefer traditional directed approaches geared towards the enhancement of learners’ familiarity with the foreign culture, not approaches directed towards the full attainment of ICC, with its cognitive, attitudinal and skills components

teacher-With the purpose of exploring how foreign language teachers understand and integrate culture into their classrooms, Larzén (2005) conducted a study to reveal whether or not language teaching today can be described as intercultural, in the sense that culture is taught with the aim of promoting intercultural understanding, tolerance and empathy The empirical data consisted of verbatim transcribed interviews with 13 Finland-Swedish teachers of English from grades 7 to 9 The study indicated that many teachers feel unsure about how to teach culture in an appropriate and up-to-date manner This is attributed to, among other things, lack of teacher insights as well as lack of time and adequate material Similar, the findings

of Atay, Kurt, Çamlibel, Ersin and Kaslioglu’s (2009) study with 503 EFL teachers

by means of a questionnaire revealed that language teachers seem to be aware of the role of the culture in foreign language education though they do not often integrate culture into their teaching in order to develop ICC in their learners

The research briefly presented above ranges from large-scale quantitative studies to qualitative studies in which the findings have similarly indicated that teachers are very much aware of the importance of integrating cultural aspects in language teaching However, they are do not always integrate culture into their classrooms and seem uncertain how to promote their learners’ ICA and ICC developmental process Besides, there are only few studies which aim to investigate the intercultural language teaching of foreign language teachers who are in higher education in general and TESOL PGLs in particular In the attempt that TESOL PGLs’ ICA level could be identified and that whether the significant findings of this study would be similar or different in the other EFL context as Vietnam

2.6 Summary

In conclusion, this chapter has reviewed the theoretical and empirical literature regarding the ranges of knowledge related to the focus of the current study Some crucial factors related to the issues of the study that the researcher carries out are clarified such as the definition of culture and its interdependent

20

relationship with language Through this chapter, the researcher offers an apparent view towards ICA and ICC as well as the intercultural language teaching The findings of both quantitative and qualitative studies have implied that ICA and ICC development has gradually been a desired aim of foreign language teaching although the intercultural language teaching is still vague and informal because of different reasons Thus, there is a need to have an investigation into the level of TESOL PGLs’ ICA and their intercultural language teaching in order to see how and to what extent the level is reflected in their classroom applications Besides, TESOL PGLs have been considerably exposed to the concept of ICA and ICC, so it

is noteworthy to find out whether the findings of the present still show that there is

no correlation between their ICA level and their intercultural language teaching In case the circumstance is similar, the reasons which hinder their intercultural language teaching need to be taken into account in earnest

3.1 Research questions and hypothesis

3.1.1 Research questions

The purpose of the study is to explore TESOL PGLs’ ICA level, then investigate the correlation between their level and their reflections of intercultural language teaching in foreign language classrooms To achieve these aims, the researcher attempted to find out the answer for the following questions:

1 What is TESOL postgraduate learners’ level of intercultural awareness?

2 To what extent is TESOL postgraduate learners’ intercultural awareness level reflected in their intercultural language teaching?

3.1.2 Research hypotheses

It is expected that the study would provide an insight into TESOL PGLs’ ICA level as well as their reflections of intercultural language teaching Based on the related literature and the research questions, 3 hypotheses were formed:

1 ICA level of TESOL PGLs would be generally assessed

2 There would be a correlation between that level and TESOL PGLs’ reflections of intercultural language teaching

22

3 There might be a disparity between their ICA level and their intercultural language teaching although their level would be quite advanced thanks to ample exposure to ICC concept

3.2 Research design

A mixed methods research design was used to collect quantitative and qualitative data A mixed methods design can be used when a researcher chooses to combine, both quantitative and qualitative data to explore a research problem (Creswell, 2007) According to Creswell, in mixed methods study, the researcher can obtain more comprehensive data than if either method is used alone to understand the complexity of a research problem and the combination of quantitative and qualitative data can make use of the strength of both approaches In this study, the mixed methods design (Figure 3.1) was employed which “consists of first collecting quantitative data and then collecting qualitative data to help explain

or elaborate on the quantitative results” (Creswell, 2007, p 560) Data were collected through two phases In phase I, quantitative data were obtained using questionnaires; in phase II, follow-up interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data

Figure 1.1 Explanatory mixed methods design (Creswell, 2007)

Quantitative data were needed to generate the average of TESOL PGLs’ ICA level The documented literature in the literature review chapter and the pilot study showed that teachers’ intercultural language teaching are rather complex, which is difficult to be explored comprehensively by using only the questionnaire Thus, qualitative data in this study allowed the researcher to extend a complex picture of whether, when, and how TESOL PGLs’ intercultural language teaching occur in specific contexts, to inquire into how they improve their intercultural language teaching and to comprehend what they need to improve their intercultural language teaching Interview appeared as the most appropriate method related to the TESOL

23

PGLs’ conceptions about their intercultural objectives, what they teach and their classroom practices The most frequently used interview form involves individual, face-to-face verbal interchange, but interviewing may also take the forms of face-to-face group interchange, mailed or self-administered questionnaires and telephone surveys Since the participants are from different provinces and have different teaching schedules, the interviews were emailed In addition, the questions in the interview provided participants with the opportunity to express their views in their

own words without being limited by the length and time

3.3 Participants

This study involves a convenience sample In convenience sampling, participants are recruited simply because they are willing and available to participate in the study (Creswell, 2008) Due to the different provinces and learning as well as teaching schedules, it is impossible to include each individual Using a convenience sample with participants who are easily accessible to the researcher is a practical choice (Creswell, 2008) The participants of the current study consisted of 53 TESOL postgraduate learners including 46 females (86.8 %) and 7 males (13.2 %) As a result of taking a convenience sample, the sample does not seem to be representative of the population, but the sample can provide useful data for understanding the research problem and answering the research questions posed (Creswell, 2008)

According to the results of the demographic questionnaire, 39.6 % of the participating TESOL PGLs work in high schools, 15.1 % in college or university, 5.7 % in elementary schools and 11.3 % of the respondents teach in secondary schools Besides, 28.3 % teach various courses such as communication classes, TOEIC, IELTS in English centers or private classes to review for university entrance exam or level A, B, C of national exam of foreign language These results are summarized in the chart below:

3.4.1 Questionnaire

A questionnaire is one of the instruments of the study which was mainly adapted from that used by Sercu et al (2005) In their study, Sercu et al., asked the participating teachers to respond on 5-point, 4-point and 3-point scales, depending upon the purpose of the question In the present study, similar structure was used but an adjustment was made by making it more convenient to insert answers and data coding through the use of tables In addition, all of the questions were changed into 5-point scale and some parts as well as some options were omitted in order to

be more relevant to the study context

The questionnaire contains three sections consisting of Background (2 questions), ICA (20 questions), and Teachers’ reflections of intercultural language

25

teaching (3 questions) The design of the questions in this section was guided by Sercu et al.’s (2005) instrument but the questions were shaped to be appropriate for the EFL educational context in Vietnam The questions inquired into various facets

of TESOL PGLs’ intercultural language teaching as comprehensively as was possible while taking into consideration an appropriate length of the questionnaire

In the first section, participants’ demographic information was obtained including gender and courses that the participants have been teaching In the second section, participants’ ICA level was evaluated In section three, TESOL PGLs’ understanding of the objectives for cultural teaching was approached in question

one The degree (from ‘Unimportant’ to ‘Very important’) to which they believed

specific objectives were important for cultural teaching This part reflects how TESOL PGLs understand cultural teaching by identifying cultural teaching objectives Besides, TESOL PGLs’ reflections of cultural teaching were explored through the contents of their teaching and partly the pedagogies applied to promote

the acquisition of ICA, namely the dimension of ‘what to teach’ and ‘how to teach’,

which are reflected in the frequency of culture topics that TESOL PGLs touched upon and the frequency of applying intercultural language teaching in their EFL classes Participants were asked to indicate the frequency by choosing one from five

options, namely, ‘Never’, ‘Seldom’, ‘Sometimes’, ‘Frequently’, and ‘Always’ Piloting the questionnaire

Before officially used in the study, the questionnaire was piloted with a convenient sample of 30 TESOL PGLs to test the reliability of the instrument Those 30 TESOL PGLs have been taking part in master course of TESOL and were already exposed to the Intercultural Communication course They share similar characteristics with the target participant group

as well as what they have done and expect to improve their own intercultural language teaching process

3.5 Data collection procedure

In the first phase of this study, quantitative data were collected through a questionnaire (Appendix 1) In the second phase, qualitative data were generated from email interviews (Appendix 2) They elaborated on their reflections and understanding of intercultural language teaching in language education; whether, when, and how their intercultural language teaching occurred in specific contexts; the challenges they had in intercultural language teaching; things they felt they would like to improve in terms of intercultural language teaching in their perspectives; and their expectations for teacher training program

27

3.5.1 Administering the questionnaire

The questionnaire was pilot tested with a convenience sample of 30 TESOL PGLs The pilot study helped to make sure that the language was understandable and the items were easily understood

All of the participants are taking part in TESOL course and have been teaching English for quite a long time Therefore, the participating TESOL PGLs in this study had little or no problem understanding items in the questionnaire The questionnaire was divided into three sections in which the instructions were clearly

stated

3.5.2 Administering the interview

Course was taken as a main factor for the interviewee selection because of their various EFL teaching contexts It was expected that they would bring different circumstances in term of intercultural language teaching as well as they would have diverse practices and challenges as well as their different needs to improve intercultural language teaching Based on the questionnaires, the interview questions were emailed to five participants who have been teaching in elementary, secondary, high school, college and communication classes at the local centers The participants answered the questions in English but they are free to use informal language and grammar was not taken into account so that they could express themselves without obstruction

3.6 Data analysis procedure

Quantitative data obtained in phase I were computer-coded Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, edition 16.0) was used to perform data analyses The trend and variations of TESOL PGLs’ ICA, their beliefs about and reflected practices of cultural teaching were summarized and described using descriptive statistics Further, correlational statistics analyses were performed to examine the relationships posed in the research questions

The follow-up interviews were analyzed by reading through all emails in order to capture an overall flow and gain a general understanding of the TESOL PGLs’ reflections of intercultural language teaching Data were then analyzed and synthesized to gain an insight into their teaching practices including their activities,

28

their challenges and what they have done as well as what they expect to improve

their intercultural language teaching

To sum up, this chapter has described the methodology employed to conduct the thesis Specifically, the researcher employed the data collection instruments including the questionnaires and interview With this attentively-conducted study process, the researcher expects to collect necessary information to achieve reliable and valid findings for the next chapter as well as the collected data could give evidence for the reliability and the validity of the thesis

29

CHAPTER 4

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS

Chapter four proclaims the results of the study from the data collected The data from the questionnaires and the interviews are analyzed and presented to provide information about TESOL PGLs’ ICA level as well as about a correlation between that level and their reflections of intercultural language teaching This chapter first presents the results from the questionnaires The findings from the follow-up interviews are described in the last section of this chapter

4.1 The results from the questionnaires

4.1.1 Participants’ ICA level

Before the data obtained from the questionnaires were subjected to the Statistic Package for the Social Science (SPSS) for the data analysis related to the research questions, the reliability of section 2 in the questionnaire was computed The result showed that the reliability coefficient is significant high ( = 85) Therefore, section 2 of the questionnaire is reliable for data collection

Participants’ ICA level was analyzed with the Descriptive Statistic Test The result of the test was presented in Table 4.1

Table 4.1 Participants' ICA level

The mean score of section 2 shown in Table 4.1 is (M = 3.67) which

indicated that TESOL PGLs’ perceived ICA was above Average (M = 3) in the

5-degree scale A one-sample t-test was conducted to evaluate whether their mean was significantly different from 3.0 The sample mean (M = 3.67, SD = 40) was significantly different from 3.0 (t = 12.32, df = 52, p = 0.00) This means that the participants’ ICA level is above average The 95% of confidence interval of the difference ranged from (.56 - 78) and the effect size d = 67 was acceptable The

Firstly, how participating TESOL PGLs perceive cultural teaching objectives from an intercultural perspective was explored because the literature review affirmed that the teachers’ objectives will shape their teaching practices The reliability analysis showed that reliability coefficient of this question is significantly high ( = 83) Most participating TESOL PGLs believed that all of the eight objectives for promoting students’ ICA were important (only 1.9% reporting

Unimportant for the first objective and 5.7% reporting Somewhat unimportant for the fifth objective) (see Figure 4.1) Teachers reported that the most important

objective was objective 7, “promote awareness and understanding of different values, beliefs, and ideologies of both Vietnamese and English speaking people”

(41.5% reporting it Very Important)