| dc.description.abstract | Intercultural competence is one of the most important components of language
learning today. Many scholars have recognized that the main purpose of second
language teaching is to enable learners to communicate with people from different
backgrounds (Alptekin, 2002; Byram, 1997). The practitioners of this new perspective
of second language teaching are undoubtedly the teachers in the classrooms. Teachers
bear the responsibility for educating intercultural competent individuals in the
classroom. The purpose of this study is to determine the beliefs and practices of
English as a Foreign Language [EFL] teachers regarding intercultural competence and
their cultural practices in the classroom. It examines whether teachers' intercultural
beliefs and classroom practices differ in line with variables such as gender, education
level, school type, years of experience. Ersamus programs, which are considered as one
of the variables in the study, have been implemented in Turkey since 1997 Teachers
can receive in-service training abroad, participate in job shadowing, or guide students in
school partnership projects. In addition, the study examines whether the beliefs and
teaching practices of EFL teachers who had the opportunity to go abroad and be in an
international environment through Erasmus programs changed compared to teachers
who did not have this opportunity.. To answer these questions, the „Intercultural
Competence for Teachers‟ questionnaire developed by Sercu (2005) was used. 122
English teachers working in Mersin participated in the survey. The survey was
conducted online. Descriptive statistics, t-tests and ANOVA were utilized.The results of
the survey indicate that teachers are willing to incorporate intercultural competence into
their teaching and that they understand the importance of intercultural competence in
their English classes. In terms of classroom practices, it was found that the most common practices used were student-centered. Looking at the differences by
demographic variables, we conclude that female teachers have more positive attitudes
toward intercultural competence than male teachers. In addition, teachers in the early
years of their careers have more positive beliefs than more experienced teachers.
Similarly, teachers who have had the opportunity to go abroad with the Erasmus+
program have more positive belifs about participating in this program than teachers.
However, none of these statistically significant differences are reflected in classroom
practice. In other words, teachers may not reflect their beliefs in teaching practice. After
a detailed discussion of the findings, the pedagogical implications for language teachers
and curriculum designers are explained, the limitations of the study are stated, and
suggestions for future studies are made. | en_US |
