This section examines the findings related to what is actually conducted for culture learning during class and the teachers’ beliefs on what should be conducted for cultural instruction.
First, the teachers were asked to indicate whether Arab culture should be given the same amount of class time at all proficiency levels (Q22). Over 60% agreed that the same amount of class time should be spent on teaching culture at all proficiency levels, and close to 40% indicated that class time for cultural instruction should differ depending on students’ proficiency levels. First-year, second-year, and advance levels were evenly selected by almost the same number of participants. Considering the results of Q23 and Q24, the participants’ beliefs are that it is not necessary for cultural instruction to focus on a specific level(s), rather students at all levels should be exposed to culture. These results are in agreement with those of Gonen and Saglam’s study (2012) examining English teachers’ perspectives on the teaching of culture in Turkey. The results of their study (2012) present the belief that culture learning should not only be for the most advanced level
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students, but should also be incorporated into language curricula for students at other proficiency levels (p.34). Language teachers often think that advanced level students are able to learn culture more easily due to their higher proficiency in language, but both the present study and Gonen and Saglam’s study disagree with this opinion. As mentioned in the previous chapter, even students at low levels of language proficiency should have opportunities to learn culture (cf. Lafayette & Schulz, 1997, p.591).
This view is well reflected in the participants’ responses to the question (Q36) on the use of students’ native language for cultural instruction. While some 60% of the respondents agreed with the necessity of using English in language teaching, almost all the participants (96.4%) agreed with the necessity of using English in culture teaching. This finding may convey the notion that culture can be discussed in low level language classrooms using students’ native language in order for meaningful culture learning to be achieved even at that level.
5.1.1.3. Assessing the Teaching of Culture: Assessment of Cultural Competence and Teachers’ Self Evaluation of Own Practices regarding Cultural Instruction
The majority of the participants (some 90%) reported that assessing cultural competence is the most challenging part of cultural instruction (Q42). Some participants explicitly indicated that they do not feel the need to assess cultural competence. These beliefs are reflected in the teachers’ responses to the question of whether they assess cultural competence. Only 25 teachers (44%) reported that they assess culture learning. The most cited reason for not assessing culture is the lack of assessment tools and criteria. This result can be associated with the reason(s) for not teaching culture in a classroom (Q34). The main factor hindering the teaching of culture in the teachers’ classrooms is the lack of cultural objectives in their curricula. Considering the results of Q34 and Q42, the
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teachers do not teach culture because they do not clearly understand why they should teach culture and what their students should achieve through culture learning. This lack of understanding exerts a strong influence on their rationale for not assessing cultural competence.
The teachers who assess cultural competence use certain assessment tools. They reported that the assessment tools they use adequately cover verbal competence, but are not appropriate for assessing nonverbal cultural competence. The ACTFL Performance Descriptors for Language Learners (2012) provides only rough descriptions of cultural competence for each level of proficiency, and does not provide concrete and detailed assessment criteria for culture. Furthermore, the topic of assessing culture in the field of foreign language education has rarely been discussed, and most of the research studies dealing with the assessment of culture focus on the assessment of intercultural competence (e.g., Byram, 1997; Deardorff, 2006). Intercultural competence is one of the objectives of cultural instruction, with the need for more comprehensive assessment tools covering both verbal and nonverbal competence to be provided to teachers, so that they will be able to enhance their ability to set objectives and develop curriculum and lesson plans for cultural instruction in their language classrooms.
In the survey questionnaire, there are some questions on how teachers evaluate their own classroom practices on cultural instruction. The majority of the participants (some 88%) mentioned that they feel comfortable or very comfortable with teaching culture (Q26). This result suggests that the teachers’ confidence in teaching culture may have contributed to their effective cultural instruction. However, these teachers’ beliefs on their ability to teach culture are not reflected in their responses to the question on the extent to which they feel that the teaching of culture within their classes is adequate overall (Q25). Slightly over half of the participants (some 53%) regarded their cultural instruction to be
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adequate overall, while the rest of the participants (some 47%) evaluated their cultural instruction to be inadequate overall. This implies that there may have been several other reasons explaining why the latter 47% of the teachers are not satisfied with their overall cultural instruction. That is, even though they are not satisfied with their overall cultural instruction, their lack of confidence in their ability to conduct culture-related activities is not the main reason why they evaluated their teaching of culture to be inadequate overall. This is congruent with the results of the question on what factors hinder the teaching of culture in the classrooms if participants do not think culture-related activities are effectively conducted (Q34).
Similarly, there is a question on the extent to which the participants feel that their goals and objectives of teaching culture are reflected in their students’ learning at the end of a course, and the majority of the participants (some 86%) reported that their goals for cultural instruction are achieved to a moderate or considerable degree (Q31-1). In the follow-up interviews, these teachers mentioned the reasons why they positively evaluated their cultural instruction relating to this issue. They believed that their students have strong interest in learning Arab culture(s), and their cultural instruction helps students fulfill their goals and objectives of learning culture. Therefore, the issues of whether students are enthusiastic about learning culture and whether the teachers’ cultural instruction meets the students’ needs can be viewed as the foremost conditions for successful and effective cultural lessons.
5.1.2. Similarities and Differences in Beliefs and Practices between Native and Non- Native Speaking Teachers
The high degree of similarity among native and non-native speaking participants in their beliefs and practices on the teaching of culture is a significant finding of the present
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study. Even though there are slight differences between the two groups in their responses to a number of questions, it can be said that their overall beliefs and practices show similar patterns by and large. In particular, the majority of the participants in both groups believed that cultural competence should be developed using both Modern Standard Arabic and Colloquial Arabic and that the teaching of dialects should be incorporated for meaningful cultural instruction.
Another important finding is that the native speakers showed slightly better understanding of cultural instruction in their responses to the survey questions, and also rated their practices on cultural instruction slightly higher than the non-native speakers. In particular, the native speakers were more of the view that their beliefs on the teaching of culture have changed over their teaching careers and that these changes have been reflected in their practices in the classroom. According to Phipps (2009), teachers’ beliefs and practices can change if some conditions are met: 1) when teachers are not satisfied with their “existing beliefs;” 2) when they are provided with new “alternative theories”; 3) when they observe new classroom practices; and 4) when they are provided with assistance to apply the new practices in their own classroom activities (p.18). Considering these conditions, it seems that the native speaking participants in this study may have had slightly more opportunities to reflect on their beliefs and practices regarding cultural instruction, as well as more flexibility in incorporating new practices into their classroom activities.
Broadly speaking, even though there are no significant differences between the two groups in their general beliefs, there are differences seen in the teachers’ specific practices and classroom activities. For instance, the native speaking participants’ responses indicated that they use various types of culture-related activities and audio-visual materials slightly more frequently.
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Based on the findings of this study, it seems that the native speakers are more apt in teaching culture than the non-native speakers. However, both groups disagreed with this view even though the native speakers disagreed to a lesser extent. Both groups acknowledged that each group has its inherent advantages in teaching culture, therefore they believe that they learn from one another.