| Culturally Responsive Teaching in TEFL Curriculums: Exploring EFL Teachers' Experiences |
| Paper ID : 1020-CNF-FULL |
| Authors |
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Hussein Meihami * Department of English Language, Imam Khomeini International University, Qazvin, Iran |
| Abstract |
| This study attempted to investigate the EFL teachers' experiences concerning the culturally responsive teaching (CRT) principles during their BA, MA, and PhD in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) programs. Through a phenomenological research design, the experiences of 14 Iranian EFL teachers were explored by conducting a series of phenomenological interviews. Giorgi's (2009) five-step method to analyze/synthesize phenomenological data was used to analyze the interviews. Moreover, the TEFL curriculums across different levels, BA, MA, and PhD were explored for CRT-related courses based on the CRT principles. The findings showed that although some courses at BA, MA, and PhD levels included CRT principles, not all of these courses were addressed by the universities. Moreover, the findings also revealed that EFL teachers had different experiences concerning the courses that included CRT principles. On the one hand, EFL teachers did not have positive and sufficient experiences with the courses developing CRT principles, including developing cultural knowledge, developing cultural-related teaching methodology, creating cross-cultural communities, and developing affirmative attitudes toward cultural diversities. On the other hand, the findings showed the positive experience of EFL teachers with some courses that included two CRT principles: sociocultural consciousness and constructivist view of teaching. It can be concluded that the TEFL curriculums do not appropriately address CRT development among EFL teachers. However, as discussed in this paper, TEFL curriculums have some critical possibilities across different levels that can help EFL teachers to become culturally responsive teachers. |
| Keywords |
| Culturally responsive teaching, EFL teachers, TEFL curriculum |
| Status: Accepted |