The path to reading comprehension through intercultural competence in the multicultural EFL classroom^*

* The data presented in this article were collected within the framework of the author’s doctoral studies and appear in her doctoral dissertation, which can be accessed at http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/44403/.

ABSTRACT

This article illustrates the significance of intercultural competence in teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) to a multicultural group of students in a matriculation preparation programme in Israel. It is based on an action research using a case study approach to examine the role of cultural background in the acquisition of EFL. Drawing from intercultural competence theories, it is argued that while cultural background plays an important role in students’ entry level and approach to learning EFL, in general, and reading competence, in particular, it does not play a determining role in their progress and achievements. Rather, students with high intercultural competence, regardless of cultural background, entered a dialogue and engaged with students of other cultures, which was associated with an ability to enter a dialogue and engage with a text in English. Students’ intercultural competence was developed by the creation of a ‘classroom culture’ where structured and unstructured activities guided by the teacher spurred engagement and negotiation processes between students of diverse cultural backgrounds for the purpose of enhancing intercultural competence and English reading comprehension skills.

מאמר זה מצביע על חשיבותה של יכולת בין-תרבותית בלמידת אנגלית כשפה זרה לקבוצת סטודנטים רב-תרבותית במכינה קדם-אקדמית בישראל. המאמר מתאר מחקר פעולה העושה שימוש בגישת מחקר מקרה כדי לבחון את תפקידו של רקע תרבותי ברכישת אנגלית כשפה זרה. המחקר מתבסס על תאוריות של יכולת בין-תרבותית וטוען שבעוד שרקע תרבותי משחק תפקיד חשוב ברמת הכניסה וגישת הלמידה של אנגלית כשפה זרה, הוא אינו משחק תפקיד מכריע בהתקדמות והישגים. לעומת זאת, סטודנטים עם יכולת בין-תרבותית גבוהה, ללא קשר לרקע תרבותי, פיתחו דיאלוג עם סטודנטים מתרבויות שונות. נמצא קשר בין יכולת זו והיכולת לפתח דיאלוג עם טקסט באנגלית. יכולת בין-תרבותית של סטודנטים התפתחה על ידי יצירת 'חלל שלישי' בכיתה הרב-תרבותית בה פעילויות מובנות ולא מובנות מודרכות על ידי המורה, עוררו מעורבות ותהליכי הידיינות בין הסטודנטים למטרת פיתוח יכולת בין-תרבותית ומיומנויות הבנת הנקרא באנגלית.

מילות מפתח: יכולת בין-תרבותית, רב-תרבותיות, אנגלית כשפה זרה, הבנת הנקרא, אינטגרציה

KEYWORDS:

• Intercultural competence
• foreign language education
• multiculturalism
• cultural identity
• intercultural exchange
• immigrants

Acknowledgments

I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to my PhD supervisors at the University of Sussex, Prof. Judy Sebba and Dr Andrew Blair, for their insights, guidance and support, and to Dr Michal Arnon, The Academic College at Wingate, for her assistance in the statistical analysis of the data in this study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Devora Hellerstein-Yehezkel (PhD) is the Coordinator of English Studies and Head of the International Relations Department at the Academic College at Wingate, Israel. Her courses and research focus on the preparation of students for academic reading by enhancing critical analysis of texts. Devora was born in South Africa, lived in Israel as a child and immigrated to the United States at the age of nine where she grew up. She completed her B.A. in French and Spanish Studies at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, IL (1992), and her M.A. in Spanish and Latin-American Studies at Duke University, Durham, NC (1995). During her graduate studies she began to teach Spanish as a foreign language. In 1995 she returned to Israel where she began teaching Spanish and English. Teaching a language in the old-new country and engaging with students of many diverse populations allowed Devora to gain more experience and knowledge about intercultural competence and its significance in the language classroom. In 1998–2000 she took part in a research project to build English language curriculum to new immigrants in Israel from Ethiopia led by Dr. Erica Garb and Prof. Alex Kozulin. In 2003 she co-authored with Dr. Marina Rosenberg a matriculation preparation book for the 4-pt English exam entitled STAR: Steps to Academic Reading (Publisher: Eric Cohen Books, Ra’anana). In 2013, Devora completed her doctoral thesis at the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, entitled Celebrating Diversity: The Significance of Cultural Differences on Reading Comprehension Processes of the Young Adult EFL Learner in a Matriculation Preparation Programme in Israel which she defended before Prof. Michael Byram and Dr. Joanna Westbrook. Devora is currently involved in research on the development of programmes to enhance intercultural competence in the multicultural EFL class for the purpose of encouraging dialogue among students of diverse cultural backgrounds as a facilitator in developing dialogue with written texts.

ORCID

Devora Hellerstein-Yehezkel http://orcid.org/0000-0001-7453-8442

Notes

* The data presented in this article were collected within the framework of the author’s doctoral studies and appear in her doctoral dissertation, which can be accessed at http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/44403/.