Professional Documents
Culture Documents
K-6 Korean English Language Teachers’ Intercultural Competence Commented [APS1]: Consider adding a verb, e.g.,
exploring, examining
Or you might consider perspectives and applications to
reflect your RQ.
Hyejin Yoon
Fall, 2017
Introduction
The world’s regions and countries have close ties with each other in most areas of human
activity such as politics, economics, society, culture, and education (Popkewitz et al., 2009;
Satyanath, 2006; Suarez-Orozco et al., 2004). To successfully cooperate and communicate with
one another, language is considered essential, because it plays a crucial role for people to
exchange their perspectives, convictions and cultures (Seelye, 1993). As a global language,
English is no longer only for people who are native speakers, rather it is an international
language used for communication between people from various languages and cultures (Crystal,
1997; McArthur, 2003; Pennycook, 1994; Tam, 2004). However, one of the serious obstacles to
more successful use of English for non-native speakers is a lack of adequately perceiving
communication partners’ cultures, which can cause misunderstandings and conflicts. Therefore,
teachers should encourage students to become active members of the international community,
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 3
and to do that, especially in a language class, it is necessary to integrate cultural elements in their
teaching.
teacher education, including the need for training pre- and in-service language teachers to have
intercultural competence (IC). To fulfill new tasks in the International Language education, the
qualities of foreign language teaching professionals need to be revisited and refocused. Zhao
(2010) argued that a new generation of teachers is required which means that teachers should be
“… able to act as global citizens, understand the global system, and deliver a globally oriented
education” (p.429). Also, Levy and Fox (2015) contend that on top of content knowledge,
teachers should show their expertise in culturally pertinent pedagogical skills and have a
acquisition. That is, English teachers should comprehend the nature of international language so
that they can impart IC to students. Moreover, Kramsch (2004) defined a language teacher as a
‘trans-cultural go-between’ who can lead more globally oriented language education. In a
similar meaning, language teachers are ‘intercultural mediators’ who acquired knowledge of how
As a result, foreign language professionals need to have pertinent knowledge, skills, and
attitudes (Bennet, 2009) on cultures so as to carry out the role of ‘trans-cultural go-betweens’ and Commented [APS3]: Cite terms
‘intercultural mediators’. Teacher education organizations should train pre- and in-service
language teachers to be equipped with high sensitivity on cultural disparities and to be competent
in communication with heterogeneous people (Byram & Fleming, 1998; Sercu, 2006). As
virtue of culture education, students can experience “penetration that occurs between individuals
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 4
at the interpersonal level as people from different backgrounds come together to collaborate in
The trend of teaching culture in language classes is reflected in the curriculum of English
language teaching in Korea. In the 2009 revised the National Curriculum, English was defined
people with different cultural backgrounds and languages. The modified English language
education in Korea. Thus, as Korean education reforms are implemented, it will be important to
assess how the English language teachers in Korea perceive and apply IC in their teaching Commented [APS4]: Good – could include in your study
title.
practices.
Literature Review
Conceptualization of Culture
Across many disciplines, scholars studied with regard to culture over a long period time.
Due to the complex and ambiguous nature of culture, it was hardly difficult? agreed to define
the meaning of culture with one concept. According to Brody (2003), there are hundreds of
meaningful to examine the one of Edward T. Hall (1989), because he was an original thinker
whom many scholars consider to be the founder of the study of intercultural communication. He
among people. According to Hall (1989), mankind has been adding to their weaknesses by
evolving various “extensions” (p. 25), cultural elements such as languages, mechanical systems,
and social structures that affect how one perceives one’s culture. Humans are caught in a trap
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 5
called “extension transference” (p. 28), thus culture is becoming lived in an unconscious way.
Hall used “extension transference” to explain the phenomenon, underlining how one loses
consciousness or awareness of one’s culture. Once the extensions are internalized, the author
explained, cultural influences on humans’ political acts, decision-making, prioritizing and ways
of thinking are not consciously understood. Culture plays such a prominent part in every aspect
of our lives and it is easy for us to be hoodwinked into believing that our convictions are true and
As a result, human beings marginalize themselves and lose their ability to control their
culture. So long as direct conflicts do not occur in intercultural and interethnic encounters,
culture does not easily come up to the level of consciousness. It is in ‘background’ and is
extraordinarily subtle. Hall (1989) argued that through a process of rigorous analysis, “identity-
separation-growth” (Hall, 1989, p. 227), mankind should make efforts to find the original
identities that have been lost and marginalized. Hall’s argument justifies the need for Korean EL
Dimensions of Culture
layers; Upper-Case Culture and Lower-Case culture. The first is “Culture writ large” with a
capital “C” (p. 2) such as social, economic, political and linguistic systems. By means of
understanding those objective cultures, people are able to increase their knowledge regarding the
cultures. On the other hand, the subjective culture, “culture writ small” with a small “c” (p. 2)
can generate competence, because subjective culture refers to the psychological features such as
the patterns of beliefs and acts and values of people. Edward T. Hall (1989) was a pioneer in
‘high context communication’ and ‘low context communication’, for understanding behaviors
across cultures. In high context cultures such as South Korea, Japan, and China, a few words go
a long way. Full meaning is found in the broader context in which the communication occurs.
In contrast, in low context cultures such as the US, German, and the UK, lots of words are
needed to communicate meanings clearly as the context or situation is not as ‘meaning rich’. A
broad understanding of the importance of the cultural dimension in society had been further
of traits that appear in cultures. These include and are outlined in the table below. Each index
can be regarded as a continuum. Organizations and societies can be placed along each index.
Given that all individuals exhibit various degrees of their own cultures, categorizing people
the complex reality of our social world (Hofstede, 2011). Hence, cultural sensitivity is needed
Conceptualization of IC
The word ‘intercultural’ is combination of ‘inter’ and ‘cultural’. Due to the prefix ‘inter’
indicating ‘between’, the term ‘intercultural’ emphasizes relationships and interactions between
individuals of different cultures (Hill 2006; Pusch 2004). Believing that intercultural
competence was essential for people to acquire and promote to solve conflict sprang from
cultural disparities, over the last 30 years, many scholars used and defined the term intercultural
competence, but they could not reach a consensus on a single definition (Deardorff, 2006). Chen
and Starosta (1997) considered intercultural competence as a behavioral aspect for effective
manner, people need intercultural awareness (cognitive), intercultural sensitivity (affective), and
intercultural competence (behavioral) (Chen & Starosta, 1997). Lustig and Koester (2006)
five savoirs; Savoir (knowledge), Savoir-etre (curious and opened attitudes), Savoir-comprendre
and Savoir s’engager (critical awareness). However, in terms of the commonalities between
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 8
four dimensions, knowledge, attitudes, skills and behaviors (Perry et al., 2011).
Paige (2005) introduced five dimensions of culture learning: knowing the self as a
cultural being, knowing culture per se, knowing culture specifically, and knowing culture
generally, and knowing how to use communication strategies in intercultural settings. These five
dimensions of culture learning can be a theoretical framework which serves as guidance for
teaching and learning intercultural competence in classrooms. The learning content is the self as
a cultural being; learners will be aware of how the cultures they were born and raised contributes
influences and to compare and contrast between cultures as the foundation of intercultural
competence. To be effective cultural learners, they should know what culture is. Paige’s (2005)
definition is “Culture refers to values, beliefs, attitudes, preferences, customs, learning styles,
technology, the arts, literature, etc.—the sum total of what a particular group of people has
created together, share, and transmit” (Paige, 2006, p. 43). Another learning content is the
specific elements of the host culture. Culture-specific learning enables learners to be more
assimilation. Lastly, students learn about learning; they acquire strategies that they can use in
While Paige (2005) presented the content of cultural learning, M. Bennett (1993)
development, not attitudes and behavior, that learners come to experience in intercultural
situations. Teachers should carefully reflect their perspectives to detect if unintentional and
subtle prejudice are promoted in their classes. DIMS could be an effective tool to understand
teachers’ world view, because through the DMIS stages, the level of cultural competency and
The assumption underlying the model of DMIS is that as the experiences of cultural
disparities become more sophisticated, one’s intercultural competence increases. In the DMIS
model, there are total six stages along the continuum of intercultural sensitivity. The first three
stages, denial, defense, and minimization, are ethnocentric. People who are dominated by
ethnocentrism consider their own cultures as a center, so they tend to interpret phenomena based
on their own cultures. The rest three stages, acceptance, adaptation, and integration, are
ethnorelative. People who are oriented to ethnorelativism are inclined to understand their own
Figure1. The Development Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. Adapted from Towards ethnorelativism: A
developmental model of intercultural sensitivity, by M. J. Bennett, (1993).
IC in Language Classrooms
Due to the applicability of DMIS’s core principles to not only cultural learning but also
language learning, the model can be beneficial for language teachers. When we see language
intercultural mind from cultural learning of DMIS resonates with communicative proficiency-
related theories of language learning (Bennett et al., 2003). The model posits that in cultural
learning, people explore cultural self-awareness, and relate their first languages to a
second/foreign language. Moreover, the model focuses on how learners approach cultural
awareness. The importance of similarity and difference exists in the language learning domain
as well.
The DMIS provides a guide for language teachers to match language proficiency levels to
developmental levels of intercultural sensitivity by collapsing the six stages of DMIS into three
stages; denial and defense into stage I, novice; minimization and acceptance into stage II,
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 11
intermediate; adaptation and integration into stage III, advanced. By dint of assessing the
learners’ stages of language and cultural learning, the teachers can adjust the level of cultural
Language Level
College Intermediate
Language
Proficiency Language Level
Level
Advanced
Language Level
Developmental
Level of
Intercultural Denial/Defense Minimization/Acceptance Adaptation/Integration
Sensitivity
Ethnocentric Stages Ethnorelative Stages
Experience of Differences
Figure 2. Development of Intercultural sensitivity. Reprinted from Culture as the core, by Bennett, M. J.,
Bennett, M. J., & Allen, W. (2003).
In European countries
Sercu (2006) investigated foreign language (FL) teachers’ beliefs on the cultural aspect of
their FL teaching practices and the teaching of intercultural competence. The research began
with the perception that there was a precondition to transform teachers’ convictions on IC and
alter their teaching practice, and the research began by diagnosing what teachers knew about IC,
how they taught IC and how they reacted to IC in their present circumstances. The researcher
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 12
collected data from 424 teachers from 7 countries. The questionnaire contained questions
regarding participants’ convictions on IC and language and cultural teaching practices. Thanks to
Sercu’s (2006) efforts, people could perceive FL teachers’ self-concepts and IC teaching
practices and the relationships between them. Sercu (2006) examined whether FL teachers’
professional profiles were meeting the formal standards generated in the theoretical literature
regarding the ‘foreign language and intercultural competency teacher’. According to the
findings, FL teachers’ knowledge, skills, and attitude were still insufficient to satisfy the
standard.
Generally, integrating cultural elements into language learning and teaching is strongly
advocated in the theoretical and applied linguistic literature and in frameworks such as the
Young and Sachdev (2010) noticed that there was little empirical research conducted with regard
to the extent to whether or how such an approach was operationalized. Hence the authors
investigated the beliefs and practice of in-service teachers in the USA, UK and France based on
the model of IC, Byram’s language-pedagogical model of IC. They implemented mix method
techniques such as diaries, focus groups and questionnaire so as to collect data. Given the
findings, an apparent disparity between experienced teachers’ beliefs and attitudes on IC, and
their classroom performance appeared to exist. That is, most participants reported their general
consensus about teaching cultures in schools and supported the idea that ‘good’ teacher and
learners are likely to reveal high intercultural competence. However, the participants proposed
that the problem was aggravated by a lack of support in testing, in textbooks, and in institutional
In China
development was emphasized for Chinese English teachers. Tian (2013) paid attention to
Chinese teachers of English in China and their intercultural competence, posing questions about
Chinese English teachers’ perception of IC in their teaching, the way they apply dimensions of
IC in their classrooms, and the connection between their beliefs on IC and their choices in
teaching culture. Tian collected data by using a mixed method. A total of 96 Chinese teachers of
English, and among them, a sample of 7-11 teachers was selected for class observations and one-
on-one interviews. The researcher found that the participants were inclined to focus on
developing students’ language skills based on textbook content; they presented a reluctant
attitude concerning the ambiguity of intercultural teaching. They also had a lack of interest in
guiding students to explore their cultural identity and cultural self-knowledge. In terms of
intercultural topics and activities that participants dealt with in classrooms, these were not a main
focus in most participating teachers’ classes, and the participants prepared extended factual
knowledge drawn from textbooks regarding culture, especially concerning English speaking
countries. The teachers acted as the knowledge provider in classrooms, so the classroom
interactions occurred to deliver the knowledge. Finally, Tian (2013) observed that Chinese
philosophy, institutional context, and personal background contributed to teachers’ beliefs and
practices with respect to IC. The lack of cultural knowledge and emphasis on teaching-to-the-
In Korea
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 14
theories. However, due to the nature of culture learning there had been few critical reviews
regarding culture learning in language education (Piage, et al., 2000). Park (2006) posed the
problem of the lack of established empirical research regarding the developmental relationship
between intercultural sensitivity and linguistic competence. The author explored a theoretical
information gap and a conceptual myth that the two components, intercultural and linguistic
competence, were embedded inside each other through a heuristic approach. To assess the
strength of the relationship between two variables, intercultural and linguistic competence in 104
Korean student teachers, the researcher employed two instruments, the Intercultural
Development Inventory (IDI), and Michigan English Language Institute College English Test
(MELICET). The results indicated that little correlation was found between the level of
intercultural sensitivity and linguistic competence. While a significant mean difference was
observed in linguistic competence between primary and secondary student teachers, in the level
of intercultural sensitivity, the mean difference was not significant. The findings of this study
advocated the theoretical claims that intercultural competence might not naturally grow with the
competence should have been taught in an explicit manner, as we did in language education.
Research Question
1. How do K-6 EL teachers in Korea perceive their culture and other cultures?
classroom interactions?
4. In what way have K-6 EL teachers in Korea made efforts so as to incorporate Commented [APS5]: You could also narrow to only this
question and use the other questions as interview
questions. Or the reverse.
instructional strategies to cultivate students’ intercultural competence into their teaching?
Proposed Methodology
interviews, observations and examining the participants’ syllabi and teaching materials. The
qualitative data will be collected to be able to conduct a detailed contextual analysis to:
1) explore what the English language teachers know about teaching culture;
2) investigate how the English language teachers educate IC in their classrooms; and
3) examine how the English language teachers’ theories compare to their teaching performances
regarding IC. This study is designed to seek generic ideas about the connection between English Commented [APS6]: Interesting idea!
language teachers’ knowledge and application of their IC through exploring their past and
Participants
have English as their second or foreign language and work for K-6 schools in Korea. They will
be in different ages, genders and they will have different levels of teaching experiences. To find Commented [APS7]: Why?
participants, I will employ the convenience and snowball sampling by using personal
connections; asking my friend who is a teacher at a school for introductions to their friends who
are Korean EL teachers. Also, I will invite participants by dint of sending recruitment e-mails Commented [APS8]: ?
Data Sources
The data sources for this research will be classroom observations and field memos,
documents, and one-on-one interviews. Before the first individual interview, each participant will
complete questionnaire (see Appendix C). Through the questionnaire, I will collect demographic
Class observations and field memos. The data collected through class observations will
be saved in the form of memos and audio recordings. The classroom observation will take 45
minutes on average for each class; it will be one time for each participant. While observing, I
will record the conversations that will occur between the teachers and the students. I want to see
teachers’ attitudes and skills of IC that permeated into the interactions between teacher and
While recording the classroom conversations, I will sit in the corner of the classrooms as
a passive observer, and create field memos that will be kept in a three-column grid. In the left
side column, I will record the time to match the audio-recording. In the middle column, I will
write down what will get the attentions of me, but the participants will take for granted in the
way they will act, by using a low inference vocabulary. For example, when I might hear a
teacher raise her voice, I write down “↑volume of her voice” and then in the right side column, I
will write the interpretive element like “as if angry”. Commented [APS9]: Careful to assume. Just report facts.
Teachers’ curriculum and teaching materials. I will collect teachers’ syllabi, and
teaching materials; their lesson aims and detailed plans such as classroom activities, and extra
sources that teachers will prepare before classes. Through analyzing these data, I will understand
teachers’ capabilities and intentions to apply their knowledge regarding IC to their classroom
performance.
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 17
Interview and summary sheet. I will conduct three timed interviews for each participant;
one 30-minutes and two 10-minutes interviews. The first interview will be conducted at the first
stage of the data collection. The purpose of the interview will be to probe personal and
professional experiences concerning cultural sensitivity and the level of IC. The interview
questions in the interview protocol (see Appendix B) will be designed to collect data and will be
made up of three categories: participants’ schema on culture, their location on the DMIS
continuum, and intercultural competence including knowledge, attitude, and skills. The other
two interviews will follow after observing classrooms and exploring documents respectively.
Investigating the participants’ syllabi and classroom materials will be followed by a final
interview. In the interview, I will explore the extent of applicability of IC theories that the
participants have. Right after classroom observations, I would like to listen to the teachers’ self-
reflections about the classroom conversations for 10 minutes. All interview data will be gathered
by means of an audio recorder and in the form of memos. Following each interview, there will
be also the possibility to ask additional questions via phone or e-mail to clarify the meaning of
their answers.
overview of the main points of the interview, initial thoughts, and follow-up questions that will
Analytical memos. So as to integrate raw data such as interview and observations, I will
complete analytical memos. Through writing analytical memos, I will summarize my major
findings and reflect and interpret them on particular aspects. I expect that by means of creating
analytic memos, I can construct an extra level of data analysis; it could be between the raw data
Coding. Carspecken (1996) introduced the most fundamental analytic techniques and
suggested that the analytic procedure that researchers made speculations regarding the meanings
of interaction recorded and repeated during an entire qualitative study. As Carspecken’s (1996)
procedure of data analysis, I will read through those several times to be familiar with them,
trying to understand the holistic meanings and getting an impression of the field. Then, taking
context into consideration, in some cases there will seem to be mixed messages. I will conduct
meaning fields by virtue of articulating the range of meanings from the view of the first person.
In order to perform validity reconstructions, I will analyze the phenomena horizontally by dint of
placing validity claims with in the three categories, possible subjective claims, possible objective
claims, and possible normative-evaluation claims, and vertically by noting the level of
foregrounding or backgrounding of a particular claim. Sometimes I will construct hermeneutic Commented [APS10]: Participant claims?
postures and the length of pauses. Furthermore, I will use typologies to analyze my
observational data. Through the typologies which constitute a tertiary layer of analysis, I can
locate meaning related to power. I will adapt Max Weber’s (1978) typology of interactive power
After coding, I will divide the data into meaningful analytic units. Identifying
meaningful segments from transcriptions, I will conduct the process of marking segmented data
with theme names. All participants’ responses will be compared to find similarities and
differences.
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 19
validity of data and uncertainty, there are important and effective strategies that can help
addressed how validity can be established with researchers’ responsibility and in the process of
decision-making, saying ““responsible” researchers could strive for ongoing and disruptive
dialogues with study participants and collaborative communities thus opening spaces for
themselves and others to challenge the authorities of oppressors, to allow margins to speak and to
dislocate decolonizing privilege (p. 608).” Therefore, among many approaches to construct Commented [APS11]: You seem to be taking a critical
approach. Does your lit review reflect that and your RQ?
that is, is teaching English in a non US country have
trustworthiness, I will allow the interpretations of two groups of people, my peers and the implications related to power and agency or are you not
exploring that? You don’t need to but your analysis should
participants. To examine if my theoretical interpretations fit the data and to check biases and align w/ your quest.
interpretations with my two peers. Also, to investigate if the degree that I accurately portray the
reconstructions, I will include their views as alternative interpretations. The future readers will
decide for themselves, comparing the different perspectives. Triangulation will be sought by
using multiple sources of data; observations, interviews, and some documents such as syllabi and
teaching materials.
Proposed Limitations
Although I will try to prepare carefully, there will be some unavoidable limitations. This
research will be conducted with only a small size of population, under 9 participants and
furthermore, the samples will be all volunteers. Therefore, it is hard to expect for the
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 20
conducted in order to investigate Korean EL teachers’ IC, which means the all participants will
be Koreans who will have English as their foreign language. When I translate participants’
narratives in English, I might confront some challenges caused by the differences of not only
languages but also cultures. Furthermore, because I will transcribe all audio-recordings from one
classroom observation, three different interviews for each participant, it could be rigorous time-
consuming works so that it may be more difficult for me to maintain a consistent passion and
attitude. Finally, due to the power relationship between the researcher and participants which is
Ethical considerations
According to Punch (2000), social researchers should consider ethical issues, as this type
of research is closely connected to people. Therefore, firstly I will obtain the approval of IRB to
ensure that this study will adhere to ethical standards. Then, the informed consent form (see
Appendix D) will be provided. The participants will be informed that they will be free to
withdraw from the study whenever they want to without any penalty. Participants’
confidentiality and anonymity will be guaranteed by not revealing the identity for the
Potential significance
This study will be conducted to explore K-6 English language teachers’ understanding of
IC and practices of the theories of IC in their classrooms in Korea. This exploratory research
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 21
could be meaningful to teacher educators when they adapt or develop IC training programs for
teachers, to policy makers when they enact language education policy considering the aspects of
IC, and to developers of curriculum and teaching materials when they incorporate a cultural
framework in the curriculum and provide cultural content and instructional pedagogies. The
findings of this study will show some aspects of the current situation of in-service teachers’ IC
Reference
Publications.
sensitivity. In R. M. Piage (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 21-71).
Bennett, M. J., Bennett, M. J., & Allen, W. (2003). Developing intercultural competence in the
Brody, J. (2003). A linguistic anthropological perspective on language and culture in the second
language curriculum. In D.L. Lange & R. M. Paige (Eds.), Culture as the core:
Multilingual Matters.
Chen, G. M., & Starosta, W. J. (1997). A review of the concept of intercultural sensitivity.
Levy, J., & Thompson, J. (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Research in International
Byram and A. Feng (Eds.) Living and studying abroad: Research and practice (pp. 232-
Hill, I. (2006). Student types, scholl types and their combined influence on the development of
Hofstede, G. (2011). Dimensionalizing cultures: The Hofstede model in context. Online readings
603-610.
13(3), 37-60.
Levy, J. & Fox, R. (2015). Pre-service teacher preparation for international settings. In Hayden,
M., Levy, J., & Thompson, J. (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Research in International
McArthur, T. (2003). Oxford guide to world English. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No.
3246039)
Longman.
and skills: Models and approaches. Intercultural Education, 22(6), 453-466. doi:
10.1080/14675986.2011.644948
Paige, R. M. (2005). Culture learning dimensions. In J. Bennett & R. M. Paige (Eds.), Workshop
manual: Training design for international and multicultural programs. Portland, OR:
Kappler, J. C. Chi, & J. P. Lassegard (Eds.) Maximizing study abroad: A students’ guide
to strategies for language and culture learning and use (2nd ed., pp. 40-41).
Minnesota.
Paige, R. M., Jorstad, H., Siaya, L., Klein, F., & Colby, J. (2000). Culture Learning in Language
Popkewitz, T. S., Rizvi, F. (2009). Globalization and the study of education. Chicago: NSSE.
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 25
Punch, K. (2000) Developing Effective Research Proposals. London, California, New Delhi:
Sage.
Pusch, M. D. (2004). Intercultural training in historical perspective. In Landis, D., Bennett, J. M.,
& Bennett, M. J. (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training (pp. 13-36). Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage.
Satyanath, S. (2006). Globalization, politics and financial turmoil: Asia’s banking crisis.
Seelye, H. (1993). Teaching culture: Strategies for intercultural communication (3rd ed.).
Sercu, L. (2006). The foreign language and intercultural competence teacher: the acquisition of a
Suarez-Orozco, M. M., & Qin-Hilliard, D. (2004). Globalization: culture and education in the
Tam, K. (2004). English(es) in global and local perspectives. In K. Tam, & T. Weiss (Ed.),
English and globalization: Perspectives from Hong Kong and China (pp. 1-22). Hong
Tian, J. (2013). Beliefs and practices regarding intercultural competence among Chinese
Van Hook, C. W. (2000). Preparing Teachers for the Diverse Classroom: A Developmental
Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretive sociology (Vol. 1).
Young, T. J., & Sachdev, I. (2011). Intercultural communicative competence: exploring English
Zhao, Y. (2010). Preparing globally competent teachers: A new imperative for teacher education.
Appendix A
Recruitment E-mail
Dear XXX,
My name is XXX and I am a PhD student at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia,
USA, where I am studying Teaching and Teacher Education.
Given your position at XXX elementary school, would you be willing to participate in my study?
Your participant would be voluntary and your responses would be kept confidential.
Dates: I can be flexible on the time and date depending on your availability.
Location: As I will be recording the interview and observation, it may work best to meet
in your office and classroom, but if you prefer another location for the interview, just let
me know.
If you are willing and available to participate in this study, please respond to this email by
returning a completed pre-interview questionnaire and informed consent form (both attached).
I’ve also included a copy of the 30-minute interview protocol so you can see the interview
procedures and interview questions. Two 10-minute interviews will be open-ended structured
about your teaching practice, and syllabus and materials.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at this email, XXX@gmu.edu, or
by phone, XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration and I look
forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
XXX
Appendix B
Interview Protocol
Interviewer:
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 28
Interviewee:
Date:
Location:
Time of Interview:
Leadoff question: Tell me about your first day of teaching in a culturally diverse class. How did Commented [APS12]: Will you ask about teaching EFL?
you approach to students?
Possible questions:
1) What do you believe intercultural competence is?
1-1) How do you strive for it in your classes?
2) Have you ever traveled or lived in different countries? Tell me about your first experience
when you visited another country and met the local people
2-1) Describe cultural differences of which you were aware.
2-2) If you did both, could you explain the differences between them?
3) Tell me about a memorable moment when you taught students who came from different
cultures.
4) Tell me about a time when you felt like a student struggled with cultural differences in your
class?
4-1) Describe the situation and the way that you dealt with it.
4-2) How did the students react to your management?
5) Have you ever encountered an uncomfortable situation caused by cultural differences between
your and others
5-1) How did you handle the situation/emotion?
6) Tell me about the most interesting or challenging incident or event that occurred when you
were teaching about cultures in a language class.
8-3) When you found students relying on or referencing stereotypes, how did you deal with
them?
9) Tell me about a time when you felt that you have changed your style to teach students from
different backgrounds.
Appendix C
Pre-Interview Questionnaire
Thank you for taking the time to complete this questionnaire. Your responses will be kept
confidential and any references to your responses will be masked to protect your identity.
6. Native language(s):
Bachelors: Doctorate:
Masters:
10. How many years have you been in the field of Language Education?
11. (a) How long have you been in your current position? (b) What are your responsibilities?
(Please provide an overview of key responsibilities or attach a job description.)
K-6 KOREAN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE 3
12. How do you define intercultural competence? (Note: this question is not to assess your
definition, but rather to give you a few minutes to reflect upon and provide your definition. Your
definition will be the context that is referred to in your one-on-one interview.
Appendix D
Informed Consent Form
Dear XXX,
Thank you for your interest in this pilot study. The following information is provided to
help you decide whether you wish to participate in this study. Your participation in this study is
completely voluntary and you are free to withdraw at any time without it affecting your
relationship with this department, individual, or the University.
The purpose of this study is to investigate the development and application of
intercultural competence in international educators. Data will be collected using a classroom
observation and three one-on-one interviews, with an estimated time burden of 2 hours (total).
Data will be collected in XXX, 20XX. Please do not hesitate to ask questions about the study
before participating or during the study. I would be happy to share the findings with you after the
research is completed.
Your personal information and responses are strictly confidential and will be used solely
for academic research purposes. Your identity will not be published with written responses
without written consent. Data from this research will only be reported in the aggregate, unless
otherwise specified. There are no known risks and/or discomforts associated with this study.
Please sign and date this consent form. You are signing it will full knowledge of the
nature and purpose of the procedures. A copy of this form will be given to you to keep. Thank
you.
____________________________________ ___________________________
Signature Date
THE EFFECT OF MENTOR RELATIONSHIPS ON PHYSICS TEACHERS’ SELF- 14
EFFICACY DURING THEIR FIRST YEAR OF TEACHING
Jin, Formatted: Highlight
You have crafted an important and interesting study. You could narrow and collect less data to
make it more manageable and deeper if you like. It is heavy on culture and light about EFL
which can be ok but see my comments. You have included studies that will give you ideas for
design as well. You are in excellent shape to move forward with this and refine further. Solid
foundation to build from and I can see you have been reading a lot!