Abstract
Utilizing a pre-experimental pre-test post-test design, this study investigated the effect of an authentic audio-visual American sitcom (Friends) on the intercultural sensitivity (ICS) and intercultural effectiveness (ICE) of a sample of male and female upper-intermediate English students. To this aim, 34 Iranian EFL students were selected through convenient non-random sampling. In order to assure the participants' homogeneity in English proficiency, the selected students were given the Oxford Quick Placement Test prior to the intervention. Over a 10-week period, the participants were presented with nearly 30-min-long episodes of Friends in a flipped context, two episodes every week uploaded to the accompanying website. An online 10-item quiz on the day of watching and a next-day meeting were held. During the online discussion meetings, the participants discussed cultural questions tailored to the aims of the study. The required data were collected through the administration of the intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS) and intercultural effectiveness scale (IES) in pre- and post-test assessments. The analyses of the data indicated that both ICS and ICE improved significantly during the intervention. However, ICS indicated more improvement. In addition, a semi-structured interview was administered to the participants to examine their perception of the flipped classroom experience. Having analyzed the data using MAXQDA 2020, some significant themes emerged which are reported. On the whole, the participants portrayed positive attitudes toward using technology in flipped classes. The educational and practical implications are discussed.
Highlights
This test is devised by Oxford University Press (OUP) and the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate (UCLES) (Syndicate et al, 2001)
The assumptions of normality and homogeneity of variance were explored before conducting the main statistical analyses
This study attempted to investigate the effect of cultureembedded audio-visual Friends sitcom on intercultural sensitivity (ICS) and intercultural effectiveness (ICE) of EFL students in English language institutes in Kerman
Summary
Since culture and language are closely entwined, it seems problematic to teach language without cultural conceptualizations (Byram and Feng, 2004; Lantolf, 2006; Risager, 2007, 2020; Thorne and Lantolf, 2007; Baker, 2012; Sharifian, 2012; McConachy, 2017). Lave and Wenger (1991, p. 73) well contends that “language and culture should be seen as a whole” and underlain in languaculture, which reflects Vygotskian (1978) theory, i.e., learning is initially social and individual (Agar, 1994; Risager, 2012). The rationale for using FC is its strength in increasing student–student and student–teacher interactions (Lage et al, 2000; Thorne et al, 2009; Murdock and Williams, 2011; Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Boucher et al, 2013; Enfield, 2013; Schultz et al, 2014), creating more diverse inand out-of-class learning materials and activities (Gannod et al, 2008; Bishop and Verleger, 2013), helping learners become more empowered to take responsibility for their own learning, and thereby promoting self-regulated learning (Laman et al, 2012; Mok, 2014) Students in this model have greater opportunities to become autonomously reflective learners (Enfield, 2013). What is the effect of the implementation of flipped classrooms on the learners’ perception?
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