Exploring EFL teachers’ Intercultural competence and Intercultural sensitivity Level: The Story of Teachers’ Experience

AbstractIntercultural 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 to discover Iranian EFL teachers’ perceptions or beliefs in understanding ICC and intercultural sensitivity. In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, via a quantitative and descriptive design; a sample of ۱۷۰ EFL teachers with short (N=۸۲)- and long-term teaching experiences (N=۸۸) from different language institutes and high schools in West Azerbaijan province was selected to fill out the two ICC and IS questionnaires. The results of quantitative data analysis 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 term teaching experience and long-term teaching experience) 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 paid attention to the concept of culture. The pedagogical implications of the study are discussed.

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Keywords: Cultural Awareness , Intercultural Communicative Competence , Intercultural Sensitivity , EFL Teachers’ Experience