Cultural Awareness

Culture is an integral facet of teaching and learning English as a foreign language. This qualitative study examined EFL teachers’ perceptions toward fostering their students’ cultural awareness in Iranian language schools. Based on a researcher-developed protocol, semi-structured interviews were conducted with twelve EFL teachers from Tehran, Karaj, and Urmia, Iran, whose teaching experiences ranged from 6 to 19 years, with the purpose of identifying their perceptions, experiences, and challenges regarding fostering students’ cultural awareness. The interviews drew upon emergent methodology to categorize the interviewees’ value-laden comments into six major attitudinal themes of meaning of culture, the role of English culture and social norms in EFL teaching and learning, the materials and activities teachers employ to foster their students’ cultural awareness, benefits of teaching English culture in Iranian language schools, EFL teachers’ challenges regarding teaching English culture, and teachers’ suggestions or recommendations regarding teaching culture in the Iranian EFL context. The findings illustrated that despite the fact that Iranian EFL teachers preferred to include cultural content in their courses, they faced a variety of challenges regarding teaching English culture and social norms. Further, Iranian policymakers, stakeholders, and educators are expected to provide professional training opportunities for EFL teachers in teaching English culture. Thus, teaching culture should be underscored in EFL classes and instructors are required to explore and apply various effective strategies and authentic materials to enhance their language learners’ cultural knowledge. The implications are presented and discussed in more detail in the paper.

As a special tourism and cultural product,Red Tourism has distinct Chinese characteristics and cultural features. Translation, as an important carrier of Red culture, needs a high degree of cultural awareness which is one of the theoretical achievements of sociology. Only when we are fully aware of our own culture and are full of confidence can we better spread the Red culture. Based on the current research of Zhejiang Red Tourism translation, this paper analyzes the translation problems and causes of these problems from the perspective of cultural awareness. The findings suggest that the translation of Red Tourism should be based on the self-awakening, self-reflection and self-creation of Red culture. This study aims to put forward some strategies to interpret and translate cultural terms and translate without damaging the spirit of Red culture. The proposed strategies can promote the overseas communication of Chinese Red culture, especially Zhejiang Red culture.

Intercultural competence and intercultural sensitivity have drawn the attention of a myriad of scholars in the fields of language teaching, communication, culture, gender, and ethnicity. This is the rationale behind the current research aiming at investigating EFL teachers’ beliefs concerning the concepts of intercultural communication competence (ICC) and intercultural sensitivity (IS) and how such concepts are promoted in their real practices in English classes. To this end, utilizing a qualitative design, a sample of 20 EFL teachers (11 experienced and 9 novice teachers) from different language institutes in West Azerbaijan province were selected. A semi-structured interview and a three-session observation were conducted as data-gathering tools. The results of the data analysis indicated that even though Iranian EFL teachers were familiar with the concepts of IS and ICC and they knew that language and culture are not isolated terms, they ignored culture in the classes due to some regularities imposed on them by society. As a matter of fact, for teachers, the concept of language is the top priority while culture plays a second fiddle. The study has some pedagogical implications for EFL teachers and learners in overcoming cultural differences to improve the level of language proficiency.

Highlighting the inseparable link between language, culture, and technology in English as a foreign language education, this qualitative exploratory study examined the impact of cultural and multicultural awareness on Iranian EFL teachers’ professional development within augmented virtual reality (AVR)-based and conventional teacher education programs. Thus, 28 EFL teachers participated in semi-structured interviews and reflective inquiries following eight-week training courses. Data analysis was done manually via qualitative thematic analysis and by MAXQDA according to Guskey’s (2002) professional development model. Consequently, seven themes for the conventional group (maintaining a culturally responsive environment, enhanced teachers’ behavior, curriculum improvement, creative ideas, enhanced skills, efficient communication, and preparing students for effective communication) and five themes for the AVR group (experiencing authentic material and environment, accessibility features, less interactivity in the classroom, teachers’ passion and confidence improvement, and less cultural boundaries) were extracted. The study highlighted the crucial role of cultural and multicultural immersion and adaptive teaching strategies in creating culturally responsive environments. This approach equipped EFL instructors to address diverse student needs and foster inclusive learning spaces effectively. Moreover, the AVR technology deepened cultural immersion and supported modern teaching approaches, enhancing educators' ability to engage with diverse cultural classrooms. Despite the observed improvements in trainees’ passion and confidence, a need for reconsidering technological aspects in contemporary teacher education was identified. Ultimately, the findings offered pedagogical implications for EFL teacher education and teacher trainers to equip teachers with the necessary skills to address cultural and multicultural challenges in EFL teaching and stimulate their professional growth.

This study investigated the impact of newly developed English for Specific Purposes (ESP) materials on enhancing Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) and cultural awareness among Iranian undergraduate psychology students. Addressing the need for culturally responsive communication and limitations of conventional materials, researchers designed a 5-unit coursebook based on Byram’s (1997) ICC framework and the ICC materials development framework proposed by Mishan and Kiss (2024). Employing a mixed-methods design over a 10-week semester, 60 homogeneous students were equally assigned into two groups: an experimental group received newly developed ESP materials that integrated cross-cultural case studies, dialogic activities, and culturally diverse psychological modules, while the control group used traditional textbooks. Quantitative data from ICC questionnaires revealed a significant increase in ICC within the experimental group. Qualitative analysis of student reflections and interviews indicated enhanced intercultural attitudes, knowledge, skills, and cultural awareness, reflecting meaningful shifts in perspectives for the experimental group. These findings underscore the effectiveness of ICC-focused ESP materials in preparing psychology students for culturally sensitive practice. The study contributes to the development of ESP materials by advocating for the intentional integration of intercultural competence to cultivate globally competent practitioners.