THE IMPACT OF TEACHING MATERIALS ON INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE DEVELOPMENT: A MIXED-METHOD STUDY

Anouar Smaoui

DOI Number
https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP2201075S
First page
075
Last page
088

Abstract


This study employs a mixed-method quasi-experimental pretest-posttest design to investigate the mediatory effects of a culture-based teaching materials employing three types of teaching techniques, namely the cultural awareness, critical incident and cultural misunderstanding, in fostering intercultural competence (IC) development in a group of Tunisian higher education EFL students. A pedagogical intervention was implemented and evaluated in terms of its effectiveness in enhancing IC development in a voluntary group of 11 EFL-major students at a prominent Tunisian Higher Education Institute. Quantitative data were collected using pretests and posttests. Qualitative data were obtained from transcribed audio-recorded lessons, teacher fieldnotes, student diaries and post-course interviews. The results from the preintervention and postintervention tests and classroom observation indicate that the pedagogical intervention induced significant improvements on the three IC dimensions, namely knowledge, attitudes, and skills. The results from students’ written artifacts and oral self-reports provide further support for the contributory effects of the three teaching techniques under investigation. The results of this work could form a knowledge base for future developments in course and teaching materials development.


Keywords

intercultural competence; IC development; teaching materials, experiential learning

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.22190/JTESAP2201075S

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