The Interface between Iranian EFL Teachers' Intercultural Sensitivity and Their Ethnic and Demographic Backgrounds

Abstract

Given the ever-increasing trend of interconnectedness among nations on the one hand and the importance of professional development of foreign language teachers on the other, educational systems need to be reoriented to address intercultural dimension of language teaching and its interface with social and ethnic identities as its inseparable components. This study aimed at investigating the relationship between Iranian EFL teachers' intercultural sensitivity level with thier ethnic background, age, and gender. To collect the data, Chen and Starosta's (2000) Intercultural sensitivity scale (ISS) and a demographic background information questionnaire were utilized. The results of the t-test and a Pearson correlation indicated that there is a statistically significant relationship between gender and intercultural sensitivity. But, there is not a statistically significant relationship between age and intercultural sensitivity. Similarly, the relationship between ethnic background and intercultural sensitivity turned out to be insignificant.Keywords: Iranian EFL teachers; Intercultural Sensitivity; Gender; Age; Ethnic background