Liza Navarro will be defending her PhD proposal at 3:00 pm (Pacific Time) on Tuesday, December 22nd virtually via Zoom.
All are welcome to attend.
Join Zoom Meeting (please arrive 5 minutes early)
Meeting ID: 623 9410 5256
Passcode: 237237
Supervisory Committee:
Dr. Monique Bournot-Trites (supervisor), Dr. Sandra Zappa-Hollman and Dr. Ryuko Kobuta
Title: Exploring British Columbia French immersion language teachers’ conceptualizations and pedagogical practices of culture and intercultural communicative competence: A case study
Abstract:
Approaches to teaching in the language classroom have shifted over time from a strictly linguistic approach (Chomsky, 1969) to a communicative approach (Hymes, 1971) and more recently to an intercultural communicative approach (Byram, 1997; Lussier et al., 2007). The intercultural communicative approach supports learners’ linguistic development of the target language and develops their cultural knowledge, perspectives, values and beliefs of those from the target language (Jedynak, 2011) and from other languages and cultures. Intercultural communicative competence (ICC) helps language learners to successfully navigate across varied perspectives, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs when interacting with speakers of other languages and cultures (Byram, 1997; Deardorff, 2006). Thus, language scholars argue for culture teaching approaches in the language classroom affording learners with opportunities to develop ICC (Lussier et al., 2007; Zhu, 2018).
Models and guides for ICC (Byram, 1997; Lussier et al., 2007) have provided theoretical foundations for the development of ICC, however, research suggests that in practice language teachers either overlook culture teaching (Salazar & Carballo, 2011; Xiaohui & Li, 2011), prioritize linguistic objectives (Castro et al., 2004) or continue to reduce teaching about culture to facts to be memorized (Risager, 2007). In Canada, there is a paucity of research concerning French immersion (FI) teachers’ conceptualizations and pedagogical practices of culture and ICC. Furthermore, whereas FI schools in B.C. have transitioned to a new curriculum that recognizes the relationship between language and culture and that mandates FI teachers to provide opportunities for learners to be exposed to francophone cultures and First People’s worldviews (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2018), it remains unclear how FI teachers view culture’s role in the classroom and how they are including culture in their teaching practices in B.C. To address this gap, this study proposes to answer the following questions:
1. What are FI language teachers’ understandings of culture and ICC?
2. How do FI language teachers’ conceptualizations of culture and ICC inform their pedagogical approaches?
3. What possible issues and challenges do FI language teachers face when teaching culture and/or fostering ICC in the language classroom?
Drawing on Zhu’s (2018) four pedagogical approaches to culture and Byram’s (1997) model of ICC, this case study will investigate the culture teaching conceptualizations and practices of six 5th grade B.C. FI teachers in Vancouver. The study will analyze each case individually as well as identify common themes among the group. Data will include a pre-interview questionnaire, five semi-structured interviews, four classroom observations and reflective journal entries by the researcher. Nvivo will be used for thematic analysis of the data. Data codes will be theoretically driven as well as inductively formed throughout the course of the study.
Offering insight into FI teachers’ views and culture teaching in their classrooms, including the resources they use, this study has the potential to create new lines of thought and inquiry to develop teaching models that support culture teaching practices in language classrooms, and to lead to the design of professional development opportunities to support FI teachers.