Are Prospective EFL Teachers Culturalist or Interculturalist?

Abstract

The research aimed to investigate the current cultural stance and the attitudes of prospective EFL teachers towards culture teaching. For this purpose, 200 teacher candidates (73 males 127 females) studying at a teacher training program of a state university were involved in the study. A demographic information form and two questionnaires were used to collect the data. The participants’ cultural intelligence profile was assessed under four sub-dimensions. Statistical analyses such as descriptive statistics, independent samples T-tests, Pearson Correlations, and ANOVA were used in analyzing the quantitative data. According to the results of the study, EFL student teachers had positive attitudes towards teaching culture in foreign language classes. They were also seen to have varying degrees of cultural intelligence. As for the effect of gender, age, and the year of the study at the faculty, the analyses revealed that gender and age were not related significantly to the attitudes towards culture teaching and cultural intelligence. The year of the study at the faculty seemed to have a significant relationship with the attitudes towards culture teaching and cultural intelligence. The last two years of undergraduate study at the ELT departments were seen to be significant on prospective EFL teachers’ culturalist or interculturalist stances. Finally, the researchers discovered a positive relationship between prospective teachers’ attitudes towards culture teaching and their meta-cognitive, motivational, and behavioral dimensions of cultural intelligence. Some recommendations were presented for future researchers and practitioners relying on the research findings.