Abstract
Intercultural Competence (IC) has long been advocated as an important component of 21st century global profile. Indeed, communicating with culturally-distinct others necessitates intercultural knowledge, attitudes and skills. English as a Foreign language (EFL) is one of the optimum contexts to promote IC as the notion of ‘native-like speakers’ is outdated and replaced by ‘intercultural speakers’ (Byram, 1997). In the Algerian context, EFL is not only taught at university as a major, but also at the Centres of Languages Intensive Teaching, which are part of higher education institutions and are certified by the US. Embassy. In such centres, English, among other languages, is taught within the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) to whoever wants to improve his/her level. They use the New Headway 4th edition textbook, and they hire Master’s and Doctorate holders. This paper attempts to dissect the intercultural in the sample textbook and Intercultural Language Teaching (IcLT) principles in one of the teacher’s teaching method. Qualitative content analysis is applied to both textbook analysis and classroom observation. Preliminary results reveal that the textbook focuses on both linguistic input and language skills that are fused with cultural content. Besides, the teacher observed tends to show tolerance, respect and acceptance of multiple worldviews, but she sometimes fails to involve the students in reflection, responsibility and social interaction activities that help them in getting familiar with intercultural settings and in improving their IC.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
EFL, IcLT, Intercultural, Textbook
