These are hardly the comments Iexpected students to make about

the instructors at the college where Itaught—not our student-centered, mul-ticultural teachers with master’sdegrees. Last summer, as I was sittingin a preservice orientation program fornew teachers, I realized that somethingvery wrong was happening in some ofour classrooms. Here we were as for-eigners, as guests in this country,telling members of the local populationthat their traditions are backward, theirunderstanding not quite modern orWestern enough, their way of life dra-conian. In what role did the teacherssee themselves when they made thesecomments? Were they proselytizers?Liberators? Imperial troopers?

At that moment, it became clear tome that in light of all the benefit, hope,and cross-cultural understanding that

English language teachers bring to thiscountry in terms of their teaching, thereare other darker, more unpleasanttruths about what takes place in class-rooms here. This article examines theidea of necessarily incorporating target-language culture into English languageteaching and suggests a better approachthat teachers should take when teachingEnglish in foreign contexts.

I begin by stating the obvious: Teach-ing is very much a human enterprise.As such, English language teachersthroughout the world need to under-

stand the delicate complexity of thisenterprise within their particularteaching contexts. So many humancharacteristics are constantly at playin the classroom, including fear (ofmistakes), hope (of acquiring a lan-guage for a better future), joy (atusing the language correctly), anger

(at misunderstanding the material),and confusion (with difficult or abstractconcepts). As teachers, we ought be tobe sensitive to that reality and to thefact that much more is taking place inthe classroom than simply the teachingof English.

The quotes at the beginning of thisarticle speak to the dire need forTESOL professionals to be culturallysensitive to and respectful of the localcontexts in which they teach. We arenot proselytizers. We are not teachingto deconstruct students’ perception ofreality. We are not here because we are

OUT OF THE BOX

Adopting an InterculturalApproach to Teaching English as an InternationalLanguage By Sulaiman Jenkins

19DECEMBER 2008 |

One teachersuddenly said thatshe thinks Saudigirls are oppressed,spoiled airheads.

Yes, we have been offended by one ofthe teachers because she was talkingabout our lives and how we aremiserable and deprived and we don’thave freedom like in other countries andwe just care about our looks and we are

shallow, and we don’t careabout anything exceptmoney and being spoiled.They must

know, as wemust know, that everycountry has differenttraditions, so we mustrespect each other withoutmocking. —Asadi, 2007

Miss X doesn’t like my

perfume, which is

Arabic, and every time

I walk by she

says I stink,

even when I

am not

wearing it.

One student saidsomething about theProphet [praise be untohim] and the teachersaid, “Who said Godcreated the world?”

culturally superior. (I would argue thatteachers who do feel like this ought tofind another career; these feelings arecompletely antithetical to all thatTESOL represents). From what peda-gogical models do comments like theseoriginate? What are the pedagogicalbenefits of forcing students to questiontheir belief systems, of ridiculing them?

Statements about the necessity ofintegrating target-language cultureinto language learning contain (some)elements of plausibility. From a prag-matic standpoint, failure to under-stand some of the cultural influenceon using English may inhibit learnersfrom functioning and communicatingwell in an English-speaking country.But in analyzing this position, twocritical issues emerge. The first relatesto understanding the role of culturenot within the context of a national orregional language but within the con-text of a global language that is spo-ken across linguistic and culturalboundaries (McKay, 2000). The secondissue relates to the assumption thatthe target-language culture is neces-sarily desired and accepted by Englishlanguage learners.

The Role of English as an International Language

English has become the gateway ofaccess to technological advancement,scientific research and medicine, andbusiness for many developing nations.As such, it has assumed features thatneed to be reanalyzed accordingly. Inhis analysis of international languages,Smith (1976) argues that they differfrom national or regional languages inthe following ways:

• An international languagebecomes denationalized.

• There is no necessity for nonnativespeakers to internalize the culturalnorms of native speakers.

• The purpose of teaching an inter-national language is to facilitatethe communication of learners’ideas and culture in that medium.

The denationalization of a languageindicates that use of the language hasexpanded beyond its national orregional boundaries, and it is used as ameans of wider communicationbetween members of different cultures.Within this framework, the more itsuse expands, the less connected itbecomes to its culture.

Smith (1976) challenges the idea thatthe incorporation of target-languageculture is a necessary enterprise whenusing an international language. Suchincorporation in English languagelearning is a superfluous task whenstudents are learning the language tofunction exclusively in local contexts.

And the incorporation of target-language culture is of little significanceif students or institutions are explicitlylearning the language to communicatefirst language (L1) ideas and culture.So for those who express the functionof English in their society as a purelyinstrumental tool and medium of com-municating L1 ideas and culture, as theMinistry of Education in Saudi Arabiahas done, the incorporation of target-language culture is not desirable.Therefore, incorporating Western ide-

ologies (about democracy, sexual orien-tation, legal systems, gender relations,religion, evolution, etc.) is secondary tothe main objective: learning English.

Intercultural Approach vs.Bicultural Approach

Some teachers of English as aninternational language (EIL) workingin foreign contexts assume that stu-dents want to learn more about target-language culture, perhaps based onthe notion that language and cultureare inherently wedded. Some even goso far as to believe that students areenamored with Western culture andreadily accept all that the West repre-sents. In helping teachers adopt themost appropriate approach, teachereducators need to think about the dif-ferent views that language learners,governments, and institutions haveregarding the relationship betweenlanguage learning and target culture.

It is fitting to talk about these viewswithin the context of Byram’s (1998)intercultural/bicultural paradigm.Byram presents two approaches to lan-guage learning. There are those whowish to learn the language and basicknowledge of the target-language cul-ture without accepting or necessarilyidentifying with it. These individualstake an intercultural approach to lan-guage learning. Then there are thosewho wish to learn the language whilesimultaneously incorporating, internal-izing, and acclimating to the target cul-ture. These individuals take a biculturalapproach to language learning.

For language teachers heading toforeign countries to teach English, it isessential to understand these two mod-els and the implications that each mayhave in terms of teacher practices andlearner outcomes. Assuming that everycountry, college, or classroom adoptsone particular approach to languagelearning is highly problematic and may

Assuming that everycountry, college, orclassroom adopts oneparticular approachto language learningis highly problematic.

OUT OF THE BOX

20 | ESSENTIAL TEACHER

result in teachers doing the very thingsthat elicit comments such as those atthe beginning of this article.

Adopting an InterculturalApproach by Default

Essentially, the least presumptuous,and thus most advisable, thing to do isto adopt an intercultural approach toteaching EIL in foreign countries as thedefault approach. Doing so will miti-gate the risks of incorporating target-language culture when it isn’t desiredand committing cultural infractions bypresenting material or ideas that thelocal culture does not find culturallyappropriate.

In adopting this approach, teachersmust employ or be aware of key ele-ments to be effective. Knowledge of thelocal culture is imperative. Even ifteachers may not agree with certainpractices or beliefs upheld by the localcommunity, with this knowledge theyshould be able to discern the appropri-ate from the inappropriate and betterunderstand the teaching context. Thiscan be achieved by doing the following:

• learning about the function of Eng-lish in the local community

• learning extensively about the cul-ture to determine cultural(in)appropriateness

• developing materials (if none areavailable) or tailoring materials tobe culturally appropriate and sothat the local culture is represented

By taking these steps, teachers willbe better equipped to serve people invarious communities who choose toacquire English in order to help them

achieve in their local context,and the teachers will be ableto do so without compromis-ing students’ self-percep-tions. Sharing and exchang-ing cultures is beautiful; sub-

ordinating, criticizing, and patronizingstudents and their culture is heinous.

Adjusting to the Local CultureBefore coming to Saudi Arabia, I did

a number of things to prepare myselffor my journey to this foreign land,including a great deal of independentreading about the country’s culture.Being Muslim, I had a basic under-standing of the fundamental issues, butnonetheless, Saudi Arabian culture isdrastically different than my native U.S.culture. Doing this reading helped megain a general understanding of whatwas acceptable and unacceptable. Afterall, I would be a guest in this country.So, first and foremost, I would need torespect its customs, regardless of how Ifelt about them.

When I arrived in Saudi Arabia andbegan teaching, I noticed that thematerial students were learning wasnot entirely representative of their cul-ture and some themes were culturallyinappropriate. Because of some of thebackground knowledge I had gainedabout the country and the culture, Iwas able to supplement the materialby including activities that were cul-turally safe and relevant. The resultwas that students felt much more com-fortable in the classroom because theyknew that their ideas and culture werewelcomed, which ultimately wouldhelp them focus on the more importantlearning issues.

One of the ways in which I built rap-port with students was to elicit fromthem—via discussions, videos, newsarticles—the topics that they want totalk about and the things that interestthem the most. This strategy made Eng-lish class a place for them to express

themselves and talk about their issues.One student complained harshly abouta teacher who did nothing but playAmerican/Western movies in class (tomany students’ objections), specificallymentioning a comedy targeted at Amer-ican youth. He asked, “How could thecollege allow a man like him to behere?” The student was noticeablyuncomfortable about the entire situa-tion. Where was the learning opportu-nity for this student? How were hisneeds being addressed?

As teachers in foreign contexts, if wefail to adopt an intercultural approach,we run the risk of causing unnecessarypain and discomfort for students, espe-cially if we have preconceived notionsabout their culture and beliefs. Howev-er, do not misconstrue the content ofthis article as suggesting that Westernculture has no place in teaching EIL.Certainly there is no harm in learningabout another culture. In fact, it isthrough this critical enterprise thatimportant cross-cultural bridges areformed. However, teaching cultureshould be a safe and healthy, mutuallybeneficial exchange—not one that com-promises students’ self-perceptions.

ReferencesAsadi, L. (2007). Unpublished manuscript,

Al-Yamamah College, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Byram, M. (1998). Cultural identities inmultilingual classrooms. In J. Cenoz & F.Genesee (Eds.), Beyond bilingualism (pp.96–116). Clevedon, England: MultilingualMatters.

McKay, S. L. (2002). Teaching English as aninternational language. Oxford: OxfordUniversity Press.

Smith, L. (1976). English as an internationalauxiliary language. RELC Journal, 7(2),38–43.

Sulaiman Jenkins is the academic advisor atGolden Gate Saudi, a private educationalconsulting firm in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

21DECEMBER 2008 |

We are not proselytizers. We are notteaching to deconstruct students’perception of reality. We are not herebecause we are culturally superior.

OUT OF THE BOX