Intercultural sensitivity of English language teachers in Algeria

Abstract

This paper examines English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers’ intercultural sensitivity (IS) in Algeria. Specifically, it investigates IS level and demographic differences among EFL teachers. Data is gathered quantitatively from a sample of 182 Algerian EFL teachers from middle schools, secondary schools, and universities. Chen and Starosa’s (2000) intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS) is used for data collection. Data entry was carried out with the use of Statistics Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23. The analysis of the results has put forward some interesting findings. The results demonstrate that among the components of IS the mean value of interaction engagement is the highest, respect for other cultures is the second highest, whereas interaction confidence, interaction enjoyment and interaction attentiveness are relatively the lowest. The findings show significant differences among female and male teachers in the interaction enjoyment dimension, i.e., female EFL teachers have more interaction enjoyment than male teachers. However, the study reveals no significant differences among the education levels, teaching experiences, and teaching levels of EFL teachers in IS. The suggestion is directed to teachers to find good ways to establish a productive environment that promotes their IS level.

Keywords:

• Intercultural sensitivity
• interaction
• EFL
• teachers
• Chen and Starosa’sscale

PUBLIC INTEREST STATEMENT

• The study focus was around intercultural sensitivity level and demographic differences among EFL teachers in Algeria.

• The study is significant to anybody who wants to discover how EFL teachers approach intercultural competency.

• The teachers (n =182) are from Saida province middle schools, secondary schools, and university, Algeria.

• EFL teachers in Saida support more interaction engagement and respect for the English language culture.

• Teachers are not confident to interact with learners from different cultures and do not put much effort in interacting with them.

• Teachers highlight the importance of IS as an orientation to understanding how to interact among cultures

• Gender influences teachers’ interaction enjoyment, whereas the level of education, teaching experience, and teaching level do not affect the intercultural sensitivity of EFL teachers.

• The study assists the Algerian government, instructional stakeholders, and instructors broaden their understanding of IS and develop better programs and tactics to impact it.

1. Introduction

In the context of globalisation, classrooms become loaded with students from diverse cultures, and this necessitates a change and development of teachers’ teaching skills. In regards with this issue, IS becomes one of the essential skills that teachers have to be equipped with within multicultural classrooms because it is claimed to consolidate and secure interaction with speakers from different cultures. IS means being mindful to notice others, being eager to learn about other cultures and alter one’s behaviour based on cultural differences (Bhawuk & Brislin, 1992). When EFL teachers are regarded as key players in implementing teaching objectives, they are expected to have cultural awareness, eagerness to learn about other cultures and also have positive attitudes towards students from different cultures. Thus, it is obvious that most of the worldwide modern education systems spot the light on the IS as a critical theme and orientation to help teachers with different gender, experiences, backgrounds, and levels go for communication level development.

Algeria is not out of considerations. The education policy makers in Algeria realized that IS is beneficial for education as it helps abolish communication obstacles between people from different cultures and allow them to get tolerance and respect towards different cultures, traditions, beliefs and behaviours. IS is significant for the Algerian education system because it is closely connected with policymakers and teachers search for better fulfillment of communication application.Algeria is the largest country in Africa and the Arab world that covers an area of almost 2.4 million km². It has a population of approximately 43.8 million people in 2020; nearly 99% of them are of Berber origin and the greatest majority of them are Muslims. Arabic and Tamazight are the two official languages. The education system is centralized and divided into four levels: Primary level, middle level, secondary level, and University level. Besides, the Algerian education system is a multilingual system that includes teaching two official mother tongues: Arabic and Tamazight, and foreign languages: French from the primary school, English from middle school, and other languages from secondary school. In this regard, the government and policymakers felt the need to emphasize IS as the core stone for teachers of different experiences, background, and levels to grasp, accept, and appreciate cultural differences (Kuusisto et al., 2016).

The Algerian EFL teachers, in turn, are doing their best to build IS mainly by considering the diversity of languages and tolerate cultural diversity when teaching English. The Algerian EFL teachers emphasize communication as an entryway to put their instruction in the possible right route for accomplishment. They understand that IS is crucial for teaching practices as it involves the characteristics of self-esteem, self-monitoring, open-mindedness, empathy, interaction involvement, and non-judgmental attitudes (Chen & Starosta, 1997) which lead to directing, regulating, and easing practices in classrooms. In light of that, through our examination of literature pertaining to the subject of our paper, we found that the IS of EFL teachers has been examined in different countries(J.-S. Park, 2013; Mellizo, 2017, 2019; Sarwari & Abdul Wahab, 2017; Spinthourakis et al., 2009; Tamam, 2010). However, cross-national experiences of EFL teachers, who possess cultural knowledge and norms towards the target language, have not been sufficiently researched in Algerian settings. From this angle, this research attempts to bridge the gap by investigating Algerian EFL teachers’ IS.

1. What is the level of intercultural sensitivity of EFL middle, secondary, and university teachers in Algeria as measured by Chen and Starosta’s Model of ISS?

2. Is there any significant difference in EFL teachers’ intercultural sensitivity in terms of gender, levels of education, years of teaching experience, and teaching levels?

Regarding the research questions, this study is expected to be significant as it may contribute in assisting EFL teachers in Algeria to understand IS. Simultaneously, the findings are expected to help Algerian education policymakers, school principals, and teachers in the diagnosis of possible feebleness and strengths of EFL teachers’ IS; therefore, creating programs and strategies to advance it. The findings are also expected to give foundation for proper support for Algerian EFL teachers’ academic teaching; further, it may help foster their level of IS.

2. Literature review

Teaching English as a foreign language does not mean just teaching how to speak English, it is rather about guiding the learners to approach its culture, values, and ways of life from a linguistic perspective. For that, EFL teachers can present a sustained source by accepting differences among cultures. EFL teachers are expected to have an open mind that can lead them to have a high IS level, which can help their students engage in a multicultural context. Atay et al. (2009, p. 124) asserted that “the intercultural dimension in the teaching of foreign languages has become one of the most special concerns for teachers and researchers in the field,” because it may lead to the creation of communication with people of different cultures (Baker, 2012; Halualani, 2010; Trytten et al., 2012; Young & Schartner, 2014). Certainly, the importance of IS lies in the ability to bring discrimination and performance of relevant cultural differences and practising intercultural communicative competence (Hammer et al., 2003).

The common feature of virtually worldwide curricular includes the teaching in multicultural classrooms. It becomes a need for teachers to have a multicultural outlook to behave as intercultural teachers who favour and respect interaction with all students without cultural bias (Major, 2012). It puts teachers in front of starting the job by embracing different ideas and points of view and having creativity and flexibility. In this respect, the multicultural teacher should be educated about being humanistic, fair, patient, and respectful to different views. All of these behaviours and features are involved under the umbrella of IS. Bhawuk and Brislin (1992) refer to this for teachers in today’s schools when they acknowledge IS contribution in envisaging an effective teacher who can work with students of a different culture.

In short, Bhawuk and Brislin (1992) summarised IS as being “effective in another culture people must be interested in other cultures, be sensitive enough to notice cultural differences, and then also be willing to modify their behaviour as an indication of respect for the people of other cultures.” Taylor (1994) considered IS as an emotional dimension of intercultural communicative competence, which basically mirrored empathy and respect for different cultures. Bennett (2004) viewed IS in the people’s interest, sensitivity in cultural differences, and willingness to modify people’s behaviour. Chen and Starosta (1997) related IS to the emotional or affective aspect of intercultural communication and comprises self-concept, open-mindedness, non-judgmental attitudes, and social relaxation (Matveev, 2017). Chen and Starosta (1998) asserted that IS is “an active desire to motivate, understand, appreciate, and accept differences among cultures”. IS is amalgamated with emotions and feelings the individual supports towards cultural differences by having a sense of tolerance and respect to others.

Teachers’ IS has been a topic of discussion among researchers (; Alaei & Nosrati, 2018; Arcagok & Yılmaz, 2020; Karanikola & Balias, 2015; Kim et al., 2017; Segura Robles & Parra Gonzalez, 2019; Tabatadze & Gorgadze, 2014; Yurtseven & Sertel, 2015). Alaei and Nosrati (2018) investigated EFL Iranian teachers’ IS. The researchers opted for LinkedIn professional network to select participants. The sample consists of 167 private language institutes teachers teaching in different cities in the country. The data were collected online using Chen and Starosta (2000) survey model. The findings demonstrated high levels of IS among the participants. More specifically, the perspectives of the participants showed that they are good in respecting the different cultures and interaction enjoyment compared to interaction attentiveness, engagement, and confidence.

Furthermore, Yurtseven and Sertel (2015) explored pre-service teachers’ IS and their practices. By applying the ISS of Chen and Starosta (2000), the researchers did not find a significant variance in pre-service teachers’ IS levels based on gender, the state of going abroad, nationality, and having foreign friends. Likely, Segura Robles and Parra Gonzalez (2019) investigated teachers’ IS levels in Spain. The sample includes two hundred and thirty-six teachers from Ceuta and Melilla cities. The Chen and Starosta’s survey (Chen & Starosta, 2000) was used to gather the relevant data. The results advocated higher levels in IS among the participants, in which interaction enjoyment and attentiveness were perceived to be the highest adopted dimensions. The results also showed that gender differences exist only in interaction enjoyment which indicates that gender has an influence on teachers’ interaction enjoyment.

In Turkey, Arcagok and Yılmaz (2020) also examined the IS of pre-service English language tutors in Turkey. The study involves ninety pre-service teachers from the Department of English Language Teaching, Faculty of Education, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey. The researchers used ISS model of Chen and Starosta (2000) and semi-structure interview to obtain data from the participants. The results exposed that the participants have intercultural sensitivity and feel at ease with it. The researchers concluded that there is awareness among the participants regarding living and coping with different cultures where respect and interaction fall into place. The study also showed that the participants’ IS does not have any relationship with their gender, which means that female and male teachers understand and perceive IS similarly. In addition, M. Park (2006) explored EFL pre-service teachers’ IS in Korea and any significant differences based on a teaching level, i.e., primary and secondary levels. The analysis showed that teaching does not affect the participants’ IS since no significant mean difference appeared Kazazoğlu and Ece (2021) investigated EFL teachers’ IS in Turkey. Interview, focus group discussion, and Chen and Starosta (2000) model was adopted. The findings demonstrated that EFL teachers proficient in more than two languages possessed confidence in interaction. The study also presented that teaching experience affects and cultivates EFL teachers’ IS. Nonetheless, Bayles (2009) investigated the IS of 233 elementary teachers working in five bilingual schools in Texas. The researcher did not find any effect of teaching experience on the participants.

Moreover, In Georgia, Tabatadze and Gorgadze (2014) applied Bennett’s Development Model of IS (DMIS) to measure IS of 395 primary school teachers. The model survey includes five stages: (1) denial of difference; (2) defence of difference; (3) minimization of difference; (4) acceptance of difference; and (5) adaptation/integration to difference. The findings demonstrated that the participants are still in the ethnocentric stage of IS. 68.8% of them are in the ethnocentric stage, while 31.2% in the ethno relative stage. Karanikola and Balias (2015) undertook a quantitative study about teachers’ IS towards learners from a cultural minority in Aitoloakarnania, Greece. Bennett’s Development Model of IS (DMIS) was also adopted to collect the data from 318 teachers. The results displayed that teachers are at the first stage of ethno relative stages of Bennett’s Model, mainly at the acceptance stage. This reflects their acceptance, respect, and openness towards cultural diversity. The findings also indicated that the participants’ IS was not affected by gender and level of education. Whereas, experience with foreign pupils appears to influence teachers’ IS through allowing teachers to cope with issues related to denial and defence.

Within the field of applied linguistics and language education, there exist various models of IS. The most common referenced of all relates to Chen and Starosta model of IS (Chen & Starosta, 2000). The development and validation of the scale of intercultural sensitivity were conducted in three stages. First, a pre-study was administered to make items that illustrate conceptual meaning of IS. Then, the scale was tested by exploratory factor analysis. Finally, the concurrent validity of the instrument was assessed (Fritz et al., 2002). The scale, therefore, encompasses twenty-four items distributed among five dimensions: (a) interaction engagement, (b) respect for cultural differences, (c) interaction confidence, (d) interaction enjoyment, and (e) interaction attentiveness. Interaction engagement refers to the feeling of individuals regarding participation in an intercultural communication. Respect for cultural differences denotes how an individual undertakes orientation and tolerance to different cultures. Interaction confidence is defined as the confidence of the individual in the intercultural context. Interaction enjoyment refers to individual standpoints and perspectives, either positive or negative, vis-à-vis communicating with others of different cultures. Interaction attentiveness revolves around the efforts made by the individual to understand what is going on in the intercultural interaction. This model serves as a basic framework for investigating teachers’ IS because it constitutes a model of more specific view which relates to three aspects of communication, i.e., affective, cognitive, and behavioural, but with more focus on the affective side. These aspects are more applied by EFL teachers in Algeria. Hence, the model serves as a basic framework to explain and measure intercultural sensitivity of teachers who teach foreign languages and are affected by foreign cultures.

3. Materials and methods

This study establishes the scientific and systematic process of the quantitative method in the form of a survey. The study population was English Language teachers from middle schools, secondary schools, and universities in Algeria. Prior to data collection, preparations were made to get approval from schools and universities in Algeria through the Ministry of education. Once approval has been granted, the study’s main objective was clearly explained to teachers participants. All participants were requested to grant consent for the use of their data in this study. It was also emphasized that all data would be kept confidential and would not be divulged apart from the purposes of this study.

To analyse the teachers’ IS, Chen and Starosta (2000) ISS was adopted. The four-point Likert scale questionnaire contained 24 items addressing the following five dimensions: Interaction Engagement (7 items), Respect for Cultural Differences (6 items), Interaction Confidence (5 items), Interaction Enjoyment (3 items), and Interaction Attentiveness (3 items). The response categories of each statement were in an ascending order of weighting: strongly, disagree, agree and strongly agree.

Because the participants were English language teachers, the questionnaire was in English. It was designed using Google Forms and distributed online to 765 EFL teachers from June 2019 to February 2020 to get the maximum number of participants in different cities. Unfortunately, the researchers could not complete the study according to the above date due to COVID-19 crisis circumstances. Nonetheless, the researchers were able to implement the study in only Saida city, Algeria, because the situation in this city fitted due to the Algerian Ministry of Health report. Only 182 teachers filled the questionnaire; these are taken as the participants of the study using random sampling.

The study involves 62 male teachers (34.07%) and 120 female teachers (65.93%); 55 teachers have Bachelor degree (30.22%), 96 teachers have Master degree (52.75 %), 6 teachers have Magister degree (3.30%), and 25havePhD degree (13.73 %). Besides, 87teachers have 1 to 3 years of teaching experience (47.80%), 29have 4 to 6 years (15.94 %),18have 7 to 9 years (9.89 %),and 48havemore than 10 years of teaching experience (26.37 %). Regarding school level, 102 were middle school teachers, 49 secondary school teachers and 31 university teachers.

After collecting the data, data entry was carried out using Statistics Packages for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 23. As the data entry was one of the essential processes in this study, it was carried out with particular attention to obtain valid results. Finally, data analysis and interpretation were conducted. To find out the mean-differences, t-test and ANOVA were used as will be presented in the next section. The mean, standard deviation, maximum, and minimum scores for EFL teachers’ IS level were calculated. An independent sample t-test was used to investigate whether there is a significant difference between male and female teachers’ IS. One way ANOVA was also conducted to investigate significant differences among EFL teachers’ IS in terms of levels of education, years of teaching experience and teaching levels.

The factorial validity was tested for the research tool. The KMO value acquired in this study (0.83) is greater than the values suggested in the literature. The significance of the Chi-square statistics obtained at the end of the BST displayed the normal distribution of the data with multiple variables. BST is established to be significant (X² = 1031**; p ≤ .001). These results demonstrated that the ISS is appropriate for factor analysis (Hair et al., 2014),indicating that factor analysis could be carried out when the KMO value is greater than 0.6 (Field, 2009). The most probable number of variables to match the data is five. Initial EFA with Eigen values for 24 items revealed a five-factor structure. Results showed that the first factor consisted of 7 items whose factor loads ranged between 0.47 and 0.75, the second factor consisted of 6 items whose factor loads ranged between 0.49 and 0.67, the third factor consisted of 5 items whose factor loads ranged between 0.48 and 0.63, the fourth factor consisted of 3 items whose factor loads ranged between 0.46and 0.53, and the fifth factor consisted of 3 items whose factor loads ranged between 0.50and 0.65. The communalities values of items ranged between 0.43 and 0.68. The research instrument items have been confirmed by CFA and all loading values came higher than 0.50 and all factor loadings were statistically significant at p < .01. On the other hand, Cronbach’s Alpha was tested for defining the reliability of IS subscales in the whole sample and was 0.83, 0.75, 0.81, 0.79 and 0.73 respectively. In line with Hair et al. (2014), the validation of the current study tool is acceptable and qualifies for implementation.

4. Results

4.1. Mean and standard deviation of IS of EFL teachers in Algeria

By using the descriptive procedure with the data obtained from the questionnaire, the IS of the 182 EFL teachers in Algeria can be estimated. The questionnaire was divided into five subscales: “Interaction Engagement”, “Respect for Cultural Differences”, “Interaction Confidence”, “Interaction Enjoyment” and “Interaction Attentiveness”. In terms of descriptive statistics, the minimum and maximum scores, mean and standard deviation of these five subscales are presented in the table below.

Table 1 showed that the mean value of interaction engagement is the highest and that of interaction attentiveness is the lowest. From the result, it can be said that EFL teachers have high IS in interaction engagement but low IS in interaction attentiveness.

Table 1. Level of EFL Teachers’ IS

Variables	Number	Min	Max	Mean	Std. Deviation
Interaction Engagement	182	18.00	28.00	24.3187	2.11221
Respect for Cultural Differences	182	16.00	27.00	23.4890	2.09640
Interaction Confidence	182	10.00	21.00	16.9945	2.29700
Interaction Enjoyment	182	8.00	15.00	12.4615	1.70995
Interaction Attentiveness	182	5.00	12.00	9.6319	1.38328

5. Mean comparison by gender

To find the difference between male and female EFL teachers’ IS, descriptive analysis was conducted. The means and standard deviations of the 62 male and 120 female teachers are described in Table 2.

Table 2. Comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS by gender

Variables	Gender	Number	Mean	Std. Deviation
Interaction Engagement	Female	120	24.3167	2.11828
	Male	62	24.3226	2.11764
Respect for Cultural Differences	Female	120	23.4500	2.12962
	Male	62	23.5645	2.04555
Interaction Confidence	Female	120	16.7417	2.42361
	Male	62	17.4839	1.95643
Interaction Enjoyment	Female	120	12.1667	1.81651
	Male	62	13.0323	1.31782
Interaction Attentiveness	Female	120	9.6583	1.43484
	Male	62	9.5806	1.28737

The table reveals that the mean scores of male EFL teachers are higher than that of female EFL teachers in interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction confidence and interaction enjoyment, whereas the mean scores of female EFL teachers were higher in interaction attentiveness than that of male EFL teachers. Therefore, in order to examine whether or not these differences were statistically significant, the independent sample t-test was conducted.

According to the result of the t-test (Table 3), there is gender difference in the interaction enjoyment of IS, but not in the other sub-scales. Therefore, it can be concluded that female teachers have more interaction enjoyment in IS than male teachers.

Table 3. Independent sample t-test of gender differences in EFL Teachers’ IS

Variables	t	Df	P
Interaction Engagement	.083	135.301	.934
Respect for Cultural Differences	−.372	139.196	.711
Interaction Confidence	.380	122.653	.705
Interaction Enjoyment	3.646*	159.890	.000
Interaction Attentiveness	.371	135.762	.711

Note: * The mean difference is significant at 0.01 level.

6. Mean comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS in accordance with their levels of education

In order to find out whether the EFL teachers’ IS was different with regard to their level of education, descriptive analysis was conducted. In this study, teachers’ levels of education were divided into four groups: Bachelor degree holders, Master degree holders, Magister degree holders and PhD degree holders. To make detailed investigation on teachers’ IS by their levels of education, ANOVA was conducted.

The results of table 4 shows that teachers with PhD degree have the highest mean scores and teachers with Master degree holders have the lowest mean scores in IS. Visual presentation of these findings is presented in the following figure.

Table 4. EFL Teachers’ IS in accordance with their levels of education

Variable	Levels of Education	Number	Mean	Standard Deviation
Intercultural Sensitivity	Bachelor	55	87.4182	5.27640
	Master	96	86.1042	5.17174
	Magister	6	86.5000	3.56371
	PhD	25	88.8800	4.17652

To find out whether there is any significant difference among levels of education in IS, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was conducted.

According to table 5, ANOVA result revealed that there was no significant difference in teachers’ IS in regards of their levels of education.

Table 5. Comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS by levels of education

Variables		Sum of Squares	Df	Mean Squares	F	P
Intercultural Sensitivity	Between Groups	174.536	3	58.179	2.288	.080
	Within Groups	4526.480	178	25.430

7. Mean comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS by their years of teaching experience

In order to find out whether the EFL teachers’ IS is different with regard to their years of teaching experience, descriptive analysis was conducted. In this study, teachers’ teaching experiences were divided into four groups: 1–3 years, 4–6 years, 7–9 years, and 10 years and above. To make detailed investigation on teachers’ IS by their teaching experience, statistical analysis was conducted.

The results of table 6 indicate that the mean scores of teachers who have teaching experience of 7–9 years are the highest and those of teachers having teaching experience of 1–3 years are the lowest. To find out whether or not there is any significant difference among EFL teachers’ teaching experience in IS, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied.

Table 6. EFL Teachers’ IS by their years of teaching experience

Variable	Teaching Experience	Number	Mean	Standard Deviation
Intercultural Sensitivity	1–3	87	86.0115	5.22404
	4–6	29	87.5862	4.74731
	7–9	18	87.8889	4.60037
	10 and above	48	87.7083	5.11967

According to table 7, ANOVA results reveal that there is no significant difference in teaching experience of EFL teachers.

Table 7. Comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS by Their Teaching Experience

Variables		Sum of Squares	Df	Mean Squares	F	P
Intercultural Sensitivity	Between Groups	131.299	3	43.766	1.705	.168
	Within Groups	4569.717	178	25.673

8. Mean Comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS by their teaching level

In order to find out whether the EFL teachers’ IS is different in accordance with the levels at which they are teaching, descriptive analysis was conducted. In this study, teachers’ teaching levels were divided into three groups: Middle level, secondary level and university level. To make detailed investigation on teachers’ IS by their teaching level, ANOVA was conducted.

From the result of table 8, it can be concluded that the EFL teachers teaching at the secondary school level have the highest mean scores and those teaching at middle school level have the lowest. To explore whether or not there is any significant difference in IS among EFL teachers’ teaching experience, one way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was implemented.

Table 8. EFL Teachers’ IS by their teaching level

Variable	Teaching Level	Number	Mean	Standard Deviation
Intercultural Sensitivity	Middle school	102	86.1471	5.17495
	Secondary school	49	87.8776	4.50293
	University	31	87.8065	5.45539

According to table 9, ANOVA results reveal that there is no significant difference among teaching levels of EFL teacher’s in IS.

Table 9. Comparison of EFL Teachers’ IS by Their Teaching Level

Variables		Sum of Squares	Df	Mean Squares	F	P
Intercultural Sensitivity	Between Groups	130.118	2	65.059	2.548	.081
	Within Groups	4570.898	179	25.536

9. Discussion

This study aimed to look at the IS of EFL teachers in Algeria. The findings show that among the IS components, interaction engagement has the greatest mean value, followed by respect for other cultures, and interaction confidence, interaction enjoyment, and interaction attentiveness have the lowest mean values. There are substantial differences between female and male EFL teachers in the interaction enjoyment dimension, with female EFL teachers having higher interaction enjoyment than male EFL teachers. However, there are no significant differences in EFL teachers’ education levels, teaching experiences, or teaching levels in IS.

Regarding the statistical analysis, among IS components, the mean value of interaction engagement is the highest, which indicates teachers’ participation in intercultural communication. The results show that teachers are positive about and open-minded towards the English language culture, and they practise culturally responsive teaching in the classrooms. The mean value of respect for other cultures is the second highest, and it is concerned with teachers’ attitudes towards multiculturalism in the classroom. According to the results, teachers have a positive attitude towards English language culture. The mean values of interaction confidence, interaction enjoyment and interaction attentiveness are relatively low. To some degree, the results are similar to the study of Genç and Boynukara (2017), in which higher scores were remarked in the dimensions of respect for cultural differences and interaction engagement, and the lowest score on interaction attentiveness and interaction enjoyment. In this vein, it can be argued that since Turkey and Algeria are similar in different dimensions, including religion and way of life and attribution of English as a foreign language, the two studies results consider respect for cultural differences and interaction engagement as the highest dimensions of IS. It is not enough for teachers to only be aware about with different cultures, but they are expected to have a confidence and communication skills.

Next, independent sample t-test and one way ANOVA were applied to examine the differences among demographic characteristics such as gender, levels of education, years of teaching experiences and the levels of teaching. Concerning gender differences, out of 182 participants in this study, the number of male teachers is 62, and that of female teachers is 120. In terms of independent t-test, there is a significant difference in the subscale of interaction enjoyment by gender (p < 0.01). It is found that female English language teachers have more interaction enjoyment in IS than male teachers. However, there are no significant differences in other subscales such as interaction engagement, respect for cultural differences, interaction confidence, and interaction attentiveness by gender. This result confirms Segura Robles and Parra Gonzalez (2019) findings in which interaction enjoyment was found to have a significant difference. This result points to the issue that Algerian female teachers change their willingness and behaviour in accordance with the context they are in. Thus, having a high level in interaction enjoyment for females is the product of the influence of eagerness and willingness in state of “becoming” and “not was”.

Regarding levels of education in this study, teachers’ levels of education were divided into four groups: Bachelor degree holders, Master degree holders, Magister degree holders and PhD degree holders. According to the results of One Way ANOVA, there are no significant differences among the levels of education of English language teachers in Algeria. However, it is found that teachers with PhD degree have the highest mean scores, and teachers with master degree holders have the lowest mean scores in IS. Similar results are reported by Bayles (2009), whose participants did not show significant differences in education level. In this respect, EFL teachers in Algeria are the voices and the knowledge that show English language culture; hence, practice and background cannot be simply put-off from having IS. These are caught within the two ideologies of exercising power in transmitting English language culture and having IS.

Furthermore, teachers’ teaching experiences were divided into four groups: 1–3 years, 4–6 years, 7–9 years and 10 years and above. The ANOVA results revealed no significant differences in the teaching experience of EFL teachers. However, there are a bit non-significantly differences favour teachers who have a teaching experience of 7–9 years than those who have 1–3 years of experience by the mean score of each category. These findings are similar to those of Bayles (2009), who did not identify significant differences in terms of years of teaching experience. IS is not influenced by teaching experience, which denotes a concentration upon teachers’ interpersonal responses throughout their career to a foreign culture. They do make concerted efforts to achieve a considerable level of “involvement”.

Apropos levels of teaching, levels were divided into three groups: middle, secondary, and university. The statistical results demonstrated that secondary school teachers have the highest mean scores, and those teaching at the middle school level have the lowest. However, ANOVA results revealed no significant difference based on teaching levels of EFL teachers in IS. These findings contradicts those of M. Park (2006), in which the analysis showed that teaching level does not affect the participants’ EFL pre-service teachers IS in Korea.

10. Conclusion

The current study, which was designed to look into the IS of Algerian EFL teachers, came up with some startling findings. The results demonstrate that the ISS showed satisfactory rate of validity and reliability. All subscales (Interaction Engagement, Respect for Cultural Differences, Interaction Confidence, Interaction Enjoyment and Interaction Attentiveness) show improvements in both internal consistency reliability and validity. Thus, the five-factor model developed by Chen and Starosta (2000) seems to be a generic model that is culture-free for the Algerian context. Besides, they have high scores in interaction engagement and respect for the English language culture and low scores in interaction confidence, interaction enjoyment and interaction attentiveness. This denotes that EFL teachers in Algeria support more interaction engagement and respect for the English language culture.

In addition, it is also found that teachers’ IS is not affected by demographic variables, including levels of education, teaching experience, and teaching level. Studying the effects of education level and teaching experience on IS of EFL teachers may play a crucial role in considering them as new variables in professional development and training programs. Also, investigating the effect of teaching level on EFL teachers’ IS may bring enormous contributions in organizing EFL teaching process (Rengi & Polat, 2014). However, the results advocated the effect of gender on IS, especially on interaction enjoyment. Gender is found to play a significant role because it revolves around differentiation from the sort of activity in which masculinity/femininity does not refer to gender inequalities, but rather, it focuses on differentiation on the basis of activity. For example, masculine cultures focus on earnings, advancements, and assertiveness at work. In contrast, feminine cultures seek personal relationship goals such as getting along with co-workers and superiors and working in friendly environments (Morales, 2017). Hence considering the role of gender in IS might provide a base for needs analysis of weaknesses and strengths of males and females in teaching.

The results of the current study will be of interest to anyone who is keen to be familiar with how EFL teachers perceive intercultural competence. Besides, teachers are required to rethink how to establish a productive environment that fosters their level of respect for cultural differences, interaction confidence, interaction enjoyment, and interaction attentiveness. Our hopes are that this study may stand as a contribution to the literature of education in general and that of EFL instruction in particular. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that investigated Algerian English language teachers’ IS. Hence, taking the current study results into account may aid the Algerian government, instructional stakeholders, and tutors in expanding the understanding of IS and finding better programs and strategies to improve it positively.

Like other studies, this study is subject to some limitations. The study was subjected to 182 EFL teachers. Hence, this study is unlikely to give a complete picture of EFL teachers’ IS in Algeria. Further, the research findings cannot be generalized to all Algerian EFL teachers because only few participants were involved. To counter the limitations, the study trustworthiness has not been enhanced by using one research instrument, i.e., survey. This latter may not picture well the IS. In this respect, some research suggestions on the topic could be made for the researchers. First, a similar study could be designed for learners and other agents, including principals, to identify their perspectives. Next, it is recommended that further studies will involve larger numbers of participants from Algeria. Then, interviews and classroom observations will be more effective in further studies to gain more insights on the topic.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Prof. Nacif Labed and Mr. Abd El Karim Talbi from Algeria for taking time and effort necessary to revise the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Azzeddine Boudouaia

Azzeddine Boudouaia is a PhD student at the School of Education in Central China Normal University, China. He received his Master’s degree in Didactics of EFL from Djillali Liabes University, Algeria. His research focuses on curriculum design and implementation, EFL instruction and learning, and teachers’ education.

Khin Wint War Htun

Khin Wint War Htun is a PhD student at the School of Education in Central China Normal University, China. Her research interests include curriculum studies, teacher education, and pedagogy.

Abdo Hasan Al-Qadri

Abdo Hasan Al-Qadriis an Assistant Professor at Xi’an Eurasia University, China. His research focuses on education and psychology.

Yam Saroh

Yams Saroh is currently pursuing PhD at the School of Education in Central China Normal University, majoring in Curriculum and Teaching Methodology. Her research interests include curriculum, teaching method, EFL, ELT, and higher education.

Abderrazak Beddiaf

Abderrazak Beddiaf; studied foreign languages and Politics; Magister in Linguistics, currently pursuing his PhD; lecturer at University. He has some research works related to English teaching and linguistics.