10.30495/jntell.2023.1991817.1074

Exploring EFL Teachers’ InterculturalCompetence and Intercultural SensitivityLevels: The Story of Teachers’ Experience

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  • Sina Khalili1,
  • Mohammad Mohammadi*2,
  1. Ph.D., English Language Department, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran
  2. English Language Department, Faculty of Humanities, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

Revised: 2023-07-18

Accepted: 2023-08-24

Published in Issue 2023-12-01

Copyright (c) 2024 Journal of New Trends in English Language Learning (JNTELL)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

How to Cite

Khalili, S., & Mohammadi, M. (2023). Exploring EFL Teachers’ InterculturalCompetence and Intercultural SensitivityLevels: The Story of Teachers’ Experience. Journal of New Trends in English Language Learning (JNTELL), 2(4), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.30495/jntell.2023.1991817.1074
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Abstract

Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) and intercultural sensitivity (IS) have attracted the attention of a number of
researchers in the field of foreign language teaching and learning. Like many other studies carried out by far, the present study
tries to explore EFL teachers’ (with short- and long-term teaching experiences) ICC (intercultural communicative competence)
and IS (intercultural sensitivity) levels and measure them in practice through administering two questionnaires; it also tries to
discover Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions or beliefs in understanding ICC and IS. In order to achieve the above-mentioned
objectives, via a quantitative and descriptive design, a sample of 170 EFL teachers with short- (N=82) and long-term teaching
experiences (N=88) from different language institutes and high schools in West Azerbaijan province was selected based on the
convenience sampling method to fill out the two ICC and IS questionnaires. The results of quantitative data analysis through an
independent samples t-test showed that both groups of Iranian EFL teachers paid special attention to ICC and IS. It also turned
out that the two groups of teachers (with short- and long-term teaching experiences) were not significantly different in terms of
ICC and IS levels. To put it another way, though all EFL teachers were aware of the concepts of ICC and IS and their importance
in their teaching practices, they did not pay attention to the concept of culture in their real classroom practices. The pedagogical
implications of the study are discussed.

Keywords

  • Cultural Awareness,
  • Intercultural competence,
  • Intercultural Communicative Competence,
  • EFL Teachers’ Experiences
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