Perceptions of English-majored students in Can Tho University towards the role of culture and intercultural competence teaching in ELT

Abstract

Teaching foreign languages, particularly English Language Teaching (ELT), is no longer comprised of teaching the language itself but consists of various other aspects, one of which is teaching culture and intercultural competence. This study was conducted with an aim to find out the perceptions of senior and junior students majoring in English Teacher Education in Can Tho University towards the role of culture and intercultural competence teaching namely Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes in ELT. The research was conducted with the participation of 58 students (N = 58) majoring in English Teacher Education from courses 43 and 44. For this study, a questionnaire and an interview session were selected to be key instruments to examine students’ perceptions. The results indicate that students appreciate culture and its role in language teaching, in which senior students have more positive attitudes than junior students. The findings from this study are expected to provide an overall picture of students’ understandings of teaching culture and intercultural competence in language teaching. Also, it is hoped to function as a reliable source for teachers to develop their culture teaching in their future classes