PRE-SERVICE ENGLISH TEACHERS’ ATTITUDES TOWARD AND EXPERIENCE OF TEACHING CULTURE AND INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Abstract

Research into cultural awareness (Moran, 2001) and intercultural communication (ICC) (Byram, 2008) has gained increasing research attention in recent decades; however, their role within teacher education programs remains underexplored. This mixed-methods study investigates the extent to which culture and ICC are represented in English teacher education at the University of Pécs (UP) and explores pre-service English teachers’ attitudes toward and experience of teaching these areas. Data were collected through a curriculum analysis of six English teacher education programs and a self-designed online questionnaire completed by 153 pre-service English teachers. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, while qualitative responses were examined through thematic analysis. The findings indicate that culture is generally regarded as an important component of English language teaching, although it is typically allocated a limited proportion of classroom time. Participants most frequently associated culture with cultural products and practices, such as literature, traditions, holidays, food, and everyday life, while deeper cultural perspectives received considerably less attention. Teaching culture was commonly linked to audiovisual materials and communicative activities. In contrast, ICC emerged as a less familiar and less frequently taught domain. Participants reported uncertainty regarding its meaning and implementation, which may reflect the limited presence of intercultural training within current curricula. The study highlights the need for more systematic integration of culture, intercultural communication, and intercultural competence (Deardorff, 2006) development into English language teacher education.