Abstract
The current study aimed to investigate the Iranian high school EFL learners’ multicultural personality traits (MPTs) based on their differences in age. To this end, a convenient sample of 138 junior and senior high school learners aged between 14 and 18 years old were selected. Data were collected through a Multicultural Personality Questionnaire. It measures MPTs (open-mindedness, cultural empathy, emotional stability, social initiative, and flexibility) on a five-point Likert scale. An independent samples t-test was used to check the differences between MPTs of junior (14–16) and senior (16–18) high school students. MANOVA was utilized to see the differences between components of MPTs of participants in these two groups. Findings indicated that there is a significant difference between MPTs of junior and senior high school learners in terms of open-mindedness and cultural empathy. That is to say the younger group exhibited more open-mindedness and cultural empathy. Moreover, the results revealed that they were not different in terms of other components of MPTs as social initiative, emotional stability, and flexibility. Besides considering differences between target and native language cultural values and society norms, teachers should attempt to improve students’ cultural empathy and open-mindedness in order to gain the students’ knowledge of language and attain educational purposes.
Highlights
English is identified by its native and second language speakers as well as its geographical distribution and its application in organizational and diplomatic contexts [1].erefore, learning English becomes the essential issue for the whole world. e question here is learning English is not just learning the language
A one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) analysis was performed in order to answer the second research question of this study
Regarding the second research question, the findings of this study revealed that there is a significant difference between cultural empathy and open-mindedness of both two groups. e younger group showed more cultural empathy and open-mindedness than the older group which means that learning a foreign language (English) had a role in changing these traits of their multicultural personality traits (MPTs)
Summary
English is identified by its native and second language speakers as well as its geographical distribution and its application in organizational and diplomatic contexts [1].erefore, learning English becomes the essential issue for the whole world. e question here is learning English is not just learning the language. According to Stein [2], it is impossible to teach or learn a language without its culture, for culture is the necessary content for language use. Culture has taken an important place in foreign language teaching and learning studies. Communication problems may arise among speakers who do not know or share the norms of other culture. To solve the communication problems in the target language in the EFL classrooms, the learners need to learn the target culture within the syllabus, and the teachers should be sensitive to the learner’s fragility so as not to cause them to lose the motivation [3]. It is known that the students, who are in need of developing cultural awareness and cultural sensitiveness, are normally those who are least disposed toward these goals. Teacher’s task is to make students aware of cultural differences and not pass value judgments on these
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