Exploration of Classroom Cultures in EFL

Abstract

This article documents an investigation of classroom cultures within the context of teaching English in a Russian university and aspires to shed light on the context of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in Russia. It provides a comprehensive understanding of what classroom cultures the teachers of English create, and how their vision of these cultures is influenced by the context in which they are situated. Echoing previous research suggesting that classroom contexts are co-constructed, this study also accentuates students’ contributions in their implicit role in the construction of classroom cultures. The findings reveal that tensions that arise in the classroom trigger processes of negotiation between teachers and their students. Owing to these negotiations, the teachers manage to acquire the students’ acceptance of their rules, and this appears to be considered as some sort of ‘validation point’ for the teachers, which, in turn, facilitates the development of the teachers and their respective classroom cultures. This finding positions the students as central to the teachers’ estimations of themselves.