On the role of English in Iranian learners’ intercultural awareness

Abstract

This dissertation investigated the role of English in Iranians learners’ understanding of culture and intercultural awareness, from the perspective of both the formal teaching of English and of learners’ informal experiences of learning and using English. The theoretical framework drew on research on English as a global lingua franca in an increasingly globalized world and research on the role of culture in language teaching and learning. Methodologically, the study was qualitative in nature and content analysis and thematic analysis were applied in analyzing the data. Two data sets, comprising seven global English textbooks and in-depth interviews with eight – young adult – learners were analyzed. The results were reported in three substudies. The first substudy, focusing on the formal teaching of English, analyzed an English language textbook series used in a private language institute. This specific study is important given the enormous popularity of private language institutes in Iran and the central role textbooks play in the courses they offer. The second substudy focused on the nature and quality of learners’ understanding of culture and intercultural awareness. As the role of English is not limited to formal education, the third substudy focused on learners’ informal experiences in learning and using the language outside the classroom and the ways in which it enhanced or hindered their intercultural awareness. The results showed that English played a positive role in learners’ development of intercultural awareness. English provided them with numerous resources and opportunities to learn and expand their horizons. This positive role was most clearly observed in learners’ reports of their personal experiences in learning and using English rather than the formal textbook-centered education they had received in private institutes. The results also showed English as feeding into cultural stereotypes. This was manifested both in the reductionist and essentialist portrayal of cultures in the textbooks, mainly in their reliance on national paradigms, and in how the participants made sense of others in their intercultural interactions in English. Moreover, the results highlighted the twofold role of English in an era of globalization. On the one hand, English was the primary medium for accessing mainstream cultural products and ideologies, mainly from a Western point of view, while on the other it acted as a bridge to alternative cultures beyond the uniformity and the homogeneity of – mainstream – cultural products and values. The findings of this research thus indicate the multiple and complex role of English in learners’ understanding of culture and intercultural awareness in the context of Iran. Keywords: intercultural awareness, intercultural competence, English as a lingua franca, culture, English language learners, globalization, cultural stereotypes