EXPLORING LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ BELIEFS ABOUT INTER- CULTURAL COMPETENCE AND THEIR CULTURAL PRACTICES

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.