ABSTRACT
The English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom is typically associated with a physical location where the students, under the guidance of a teacher, follow a program that is designed to help them learn the target language, even though it is not widely spoken in the community. During the learning process, they may be exposed to other languages and cultures if their peers are from diverse backgrounds. In many cases, however, they will be sitting alongside classmates who share the same ethnicity and first language. The students may be in the class for a variety of reasons. Some may be obliged to take an EFL class as a program requirement. Others may have opted to enroll for personal reasons (e.g., to secure a better job, to prepare for study abroad, to facilitate travel to English-speaking countries, to gain exposure to another language and culture, for pleasure or literary pursuits). Whatever the driving force behind their presence in the classroom, the students will not only be exposed to linguistic features of the target language, but, willy-nilly, cultural elements as well. The aim of this chapter is to consider the relationship between language and culture, and
the cultivation of intercultural communicative competence within such a language learning context. For this purpose, we might imagine an English language classroom in an institution of higher education in Dubai, a language institute in Tokyo, or a secondary school in Mexico City. We may visualize a teacher, students, blackboards (or whiteboards), books, materials, and the requisite uncomfortable chairs. We might even see a computer or two, with a language laboratory nearby. As the target language is English, discussion must take into account the status and global spread of the language, including the development of world Englishes. Within this classroom setting,1 the learners are exposed to the dynamic created by interaction
between the teacher, students, and language-culture learning materials. In the learning process, the students are apt to encounter new ideas and ways of being that may challenge their sense of self. Although this enhanced awareness of self and other may spur the development of intercultural competence, it may also be disquieting and raise uncomfortable questions about the positioning and status of their first language (L1) and local culture(s). The relationship between language and culture and intercultural development is very complex and has significant
implications for the FL (foreign language) classroom, especially when the learning of a powerful, global language is involved. This chapter begins with a discussion of the evolving status of English and its growing
influence on the world stage. Attention is drawn to implications for the teaching of English as a foreign language (EFL) and English as an international language (EIL) in non-English-speaking communities. Drawing heavily on the work of Risager (2007), we look at the debate between the teaching of English as a national language and the more recent transnational paradigm and its implications for FL teaching. Discussion then centers on teacher thinking about culture and intercultural communicative competence in relation to the foreign language classroom and how it may affect the teaching of EFL/EIL. We then focus on the process of becoming an intercultural person, with particular attention paid to the classroom context. Relevant models of intercultural communicative competence are examined along with pedagogical implications for EFL/EIL classroom situations. Finally, suggestions are offered for research that could lead to further improvements in the teaching and learning of English in situations where the language is not widely used in the community.
