Isabel Menacho-Vargas; Ulises Córdova Garcia; Milagritos Leonor Rodríguez Rojas; Emma Margarita Wong-Fajardo; Miguel A. Saavedra-López
Volume 9, Issue 3 , September 2021, , Pages 109-118
Abstract
This empirical research intended to seek the effects of culturally-based conversations on developing speaking skill among Peruvian upper-intermediate EFL students. To reach this purpose, the OQPT was administered to 158 EFL students to gauge their general proficiency in the English ...
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This empirical research intended to seek the effects of culturally-based conversations on developing speaking skill among Peruvian upper-intermediate EFL students. To reach this purpose, the OQPT was administered to 158 EFL students to gauge their general proficiency in the English language. After that, the researchers chose 100 upper-intermediate students and made them two groups; culture group (n=50) and conventional group (n=50). Then, the researchers gave a speaking pre-test to the mentioned groups. After pre-testing, the culture group received the instruction through culturally-based conversations, i.e., conversations that were related to American and English cultures. The conventional group was instructed traditionally, i.e., they did not receive any specific culturally-based conversations. This procedure continued till the last session. Finally, the researchers gave a speaking post-test to the subjects of both groups. The analysis of the data revealed that the culture group outflanked the conventional group after the treatment. Eventually, the benefits of the cultural materials for teachers and students were described.
Tarek Hermessi
Volume 4, Issue 2 , September 2016, , Pages 105-118
Abstract
This study investigated the cognition of 70 Tunisian teachers on the place of culture in English education. It showed that Tunisian teachers believe that English textbooks and curricular documents are not specific about the cultural dimension of EFL. It also revealed that L2 teachers, whose mother culture ...
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This study investigated the cognition of 70 Tunisian teachers on the place of culture in English education. It showed that Tunisian teachers believe that English textbooks and curricular documents are not specific about the cultural dimension of EFL. It also revealed that L2 teachers, whose mother culture is distant from that associated with L2, hold ambivalent attitudes towards culture. They acknowledge the importance of culture to communicative competence and intercultural competence, but either approach culture with suspicion or prefer to keep it to a minimum in the curriculum. The reasons for the marginalization of culture in English curriculum, according to the participants of the study, are ‘vastness of the concept of culture’, ‘lack of resources’, and ‘problems of procedure’. These reasons are accepted by L2 teachers, worldwide, who seem to share a ‘co-culture’ that determines their cognition on the different aspects of language teaching. As regards the cultural dimension of L2 teaching, the ‘co-culture’ seems to drive teacher cognition more than ‘cultural distance’.
Tugba Toprak; Yasemin Aksoyalp
Volume 3, Issue 1 , March 2015, , Pages 91-104
Abstract
Increasingly intercultural dimension of communication in the 21st century has brought about challenging aims in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy, such as ascertaining the enhancement of the learners' intercultural awareness and promoting their ability to communicate in intercultural settings. ...
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Increasingly intercultural dimension of communication in the 21st century has brought about challenging aims in EFL (English as a Foreign Language) pedagogy, such as ascertaining the enhancement of the learners' intercultural awareness and promoting their ability to communicate in intercultural settings. Taking the disadvantage of EFL environment in terms of intercultural input into account, course books can be considered as one of the most crucial tools used in these settings. Thus, the links between culture, language teaching, and course books deserve a closer investigation carried out with a critical eye. Hence, the present study was conducted: (1) to explore the extent and number of the cultural representations present in course books (2) the distribution of cultural representations across different English-speaking countries (i.e., the UK, the USA, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand). To this end, 17 English course books written by international publishers and used at preparatory English schools of universities in an EFL setting were examined by using a quantitative content analysis. The results were discussed and implications were made.
Vahid Parvaresh; Azizullah Dabghi
Volume 1, Issue 1 , March 2013, , Pages 74-88
Abstract
The present study is an attempt to investigate the use of vague expressions by intermediate EFL learners. More specifically, the current study focuses on the structures and functions of one of the most common categories of vague language, i.e. general extenders. The data include a 22-hour corpus ...
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The present study is an attempt to investigate the use of vague expressions by intermediate EFL learners. More specifically, the current study focuses on the structures and functions of one of the most common categories of vague language, i.e. general extenders. The data include a 22-hour corpus of English-as-a-foreign-language conversations. A comparison is also made between this corpus and a 20-hour corpus of Persian conversations. The analyses show that the first language influences not only the structure but also the position of EFL general extenders. Additionally, the present study shows that some of the functions fulfilled by Persian general extenders can be transferred to EFL discourse. The current study can be interpreted as evidence suggesting that there is a complex intertwining between universal and language-specific features at least when one compares general extenders across languages.