Translating intercultural experiences into pedagogic insights: shifts in language teachers’ perceptions of English as a language for intercultural communication

Abstract

These days, many pre-service and in-service language English language teachers now complete at least part of their professional training overseas. There is, thus, an important question concerning the impact of intercultural encounters on teachers’ perspectives towards the English language and the teaching of English. This paper reports on a study of how a small group of in-service teachers interpreted their experiences of intercultural communication in the UK whilst completing an MA TESOL degree, illuminating the nature of teachers’ perceptions of language and culture and how teachers translated insights derived from reflection on experience into pedagogic insights for the teaching of English as a global language. The findings reveal that participants’ views shifted away from highly normative conceptions of English language use as they recognised the variability and fluidity of communication in real-life intercultural encounters. Based on critical moments in their communication experiences, teachers articulate the importance of broadening their own learners’ perspectives on diversity within the English language and helping them develop cognitive and attitudinal tools to interact appropriately with diverse others. The paper contributes to understanding of the facilitative potential of teachers’ reflections on their own experiences of linguistic and cultural diversity in coming to formulate pedagogical ideals and concrete methodological possibilities.