The Attitudes of Iranian EFL Learners toward Cross-Cultural Factors in Language Learning

Journal of English Language Pedagogy and Practice

مقاله 5، دوره 2، شماره 5، بهمن 2009، صفحه 99-129   

نوع مقاله: Research Paper

نویسندگان

farzaneh javdani^{* 1}؛ hamid reza mahboudi²؛ naser ghafoori¹

¹Islamic Azad University, Tabriz Branch

²Ra’b-e Rashidi Higher Education College, Tabriz

چکیده

The cultural background in language teaching has, for a number of reasons, recently moved to the foreground. Broadly speaking, there has been a shift in emphasis in course design from a pre-occupation with form to an interest in content. This article describes the results of a survey designed to elicit the views of students on what language teaching should be about. 400 students learning English in Kish-Language Institute, Kashan branch were chosen as participants of the study based on their proficiency level (Starter, Elementary, Intermediate and Advanced) in order to answer the questionnaire. Each question was designed in the form of a five point Likert Scale. The results were analysed using Binomial and MANOVA Tests. The obtained Results in this study indicate that except for Elementary level, other levels favoured bilingual/bicultural teacher. In relation to varieties of English, American English was liked most by Intermediate and Advanced students. All students had an overall positive attitude towards the native speaker pronunciation and finally the most favoured course contents were revealed to be science and social facts, students’ past experiences, English/American Literature along with culture of other countries.

کلیدواژه‌ها

Attitude؛ Cross-Cultural Factors؛ Culture as Content؛ Cultural Background؛ Cultural Distance

مراجع

Abbott. G. (1984). Should we start digging new holes? ELT Journal, 38(2), 98-102.

Abbott. G. (1987).EFL as education.System, 15(1), 47-53.

Adaskou, K., Britten. D. &Fahsi, B. (1990). Design decisions on the cultural content of a secondary English course for Morocco, ELT Journal, 44(1), 3-10.

Alptekin. C. &  Alptekin.M. (1984).The question of culture. .ELT Journal, 38(1), 14-20.

Brown, G. (1990). Cultural values: The interpretation of discourse, ELT Journal, 44(1), 11-17.

Brumfit, C. J. (1980). Problems and principles in English teaching. Oxford: Pergamon.

Byram,  M. (1986).Cultural studies in foreign language teaching, XIX/4, 14-20.

Cook, V. J. (1983). What should language teaching be about? ELT Journal, 37 (3), 229-34.

Gardner, R. C. & Lambert, W. E. (1972).Attitudes and motivation in second language learning. Rowley, Mass: Newbury House.

Gardner, R. C. (1980). On the validity of affective variables in second language acquisition: Conceptual, contextual and statistical considerations, Language Learning, 30, 225-70.

Graddol, D. (1997). The future of English?London: British Council.

Honey, J. (1997).Language is power: The story of standard English and its enemies. London: Faber and Faber.

Jenkins, J (2000). The phonology of English as an international language. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Ladousse, G. P. (1982). From needs to wants: Motivation and the language learner, System, 10/1: 29-37.

Modiano, M. (1999).International English in the global village, English Today, 58(15), 14-19.

Oller, J. W, Baca, L. & Vigil, F. (1977). Attitudes and attained proficiency in ESL: A sociolinguistic study of Mexican Americans in the Southwest, TESOL Quarterly, 11(2), 175-183.

Paulston, C. B. (1978). Biculturalism: Some reflections and speculations, TESOL Quarterly, 12(4), 369-380.

Pennycook, A. (1994). The cultural politics of English as an international language. Harlow: Longman.

Prodrumou, I. (1988). English as cultural action.ELT Journal, 42(2), 73-83.

Rampton, M. B. H. (1990). Displacing the ‘native speaker’: Expertise, affiliation, and inheritance, ELT Journal, 44(2), 97-101.

Robinson, G. L. N. (1985). Cross cultural understanding. Oxford: Pergamon.

Seelye, H. N. (1974).Teaching culture: Strategies for foreign language education. Illinois: National Textbook Co.

Spolsky, B. (1969). Attitudinal aspects od second language learning, Language Learning, 19,270-285.

Stern, H. H. (1983). Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Svanes, B. (1987). Motivation and ‘cultural distance’ in second language acquisition, Language Learning, 37(3), 341-359.

Svanes, B. (1988). Attitudes and ‘cultural distance’ in second language acquisition. Applied Linguistics, 9(4), 357-371.

Tseng, Y. H. (2002). A lesson in culture, ELT Journal, 56(1), 11-21.

Valdes, J. M. (1986). Culture bound. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Valette, R. M. (1986). The culture test. In Valdes, J. M. (Eds).Culture bound. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Whitney, N. (1988). Editorial, ELT Journal, 42(2), 71-72.

Wilkins, D. (1975). Second language learning and teaching. London: Edward Arnold.

Wilkins, D. (1976). Notional Syllabuses. Oxford: Oxford University Press.