Songul Dogan Ger: Developing Students’ Cultural Diversity Awareness and Intercultural Communicative Competence in English Classes
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7 The Place of Culture in Teaching Materials Used in an International School in Budapest – Data Source 3: Teaching Materials Analysis
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7.3 Findings
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7.3.3 The Components of ICC
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7.3.3.5 Components of Intercultural Communication in the Year 9 Materials

7.3.3.5 Components of Intercultural Communication in the Year 9 Materials

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The Year 9 fiction materials showed continued emphasis on the target culture, with the components of attitudes, knowledge and understanding, and skills more prominent than action. Students were primarily encouraged to engage with characters through affective dimensions such as empathy and sympathy. Activities invited them to reflect on how they would feel in a character’s situation, reinforcing emotional connection and understanding. However, these responses remained individualised, lacking opportunities to situate feelings within broader social or cultural critique.

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Knowledge and understanding were explicitly developed through the historical and social contexts embedded in the literary texts. Beliefs, values, and practices linked to the target culture were presented, alongside conventional and nonverbal forms of communication. Mime-based tasks were used to develop students’ sensitivity to body language, allowing for expressive interpretation without relying on verbal cues. While informative, these exercises mostly offered cultural facts or behavioural cues, rather than encouraging students to interpret cultural narratives or examine underlying ideologies.

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A range of skills was fostered in the fiction materials, particularly linguistic and discourse skills. Tasks focused on the analysis of punctuation, grammar, and literary techniques, supporting students’ critical reading abilities. Multiperspectivity was embedded through activities that asked students to describe characters from another character’s point of view, thereby nurturing the ability to understand multiple perspectives and fostering relational thinking. Interpreting and responding to others’ feelings also featured in various exercises, contributing to students’ capacity for intercultural interpretation. One task, which required analysis of the author’s use of language in conveying sociohistorical context, particularly extended word meanings, exemplified how discourse analysis could support deeper engagement with cultural content.

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Action, though present, remained a minor element in the fiction materials. It was largely confined to reflective discussion tasks where students were asked to consider differing viewpoints through the lens of literary characters. These instances, while valuable, lacked a structured progression toward intercultural mediation or engagement with real-world dilemmas, and did not challenge students to take ethical or dialogic stances on cultural conflict or exclusion.

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The nonfiction materials for Year 9 also focused predominantly on target culture issues, with a strong emphasis on linguistic and discourse skills. Students were tasked with analysing formal and informal styles, identifying implicit meaning, and evaluating the effectiveness of the author’s language. In one noteworthy example, a speech by MP Emma Lewell-Buck on the overrepresentation of BAME children in UK custody was paired with an excerpt by Oscar Wilde on child imprisonment. This juxtaposition invited students to compare perspectives across time, offering a rare opportunity to develop multiperspectivity and draw on action-oriented themes such as challenging stereotypes. However, students were not prompted to relate these issues to other global contexts or to explore intersections with their own lives.

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Despite the inclusion of texts addressing injustice, the materials offered limited space for intercultural comparison or critique. While some activities implicitly developed CDA—for example, through exposure to texts discussing systemic inequality—there was minimal follow-up to help students engage with these topics through the lens of intercultural reflection or civic action. Students were not encouraged to consider how similar social issues might manifest across cultures, nor were they provided with tools to mediate cultural differences or advocate for shared human rights.

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The summary at the end of the unit highlighted the presence of all ICC components in the KS3 materials, particularly the development of CDA and ICC through literature. Indeed, texts drawn from British and American literary traditions did contribute to students’ openness, respect, and critical empathy. However, the broader pedagogical framing remained confined to knowledge-level engagement, rather than interrogating the roots of shared cultural norms or the implications of power, identity, and inequality. While students occasionally researched cultural topics or demonstrated skills of discovery, relating skills—especially through cross-cultural comparisons—were poorly developed. Similarly, although action was included in the form of discussing contrasting views, it rarely extended to acts of advocacy, negotiation, or intercultural mediation.

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When juxtaposed with findings from previous studies, a number of parallels and divergences emerge. Like earlier research, the current analysis confirms the dominance of target culture representation, and the inclusion of deep culture mainly at higher proficiency levels. However, unlike most textbook-based studies, this analysis found some evidence of critical engagement with cultural norms, such as prejudice and discrimination. Nevertheless, the scarcity of compare/contrast tasks echoes previous findings and underscores a persistent shortcoming in fostering students’ critical intercultural understanding.

Jegyzet elhelyezéséhez, kérjük, lépj be.!

Importantly, the context of this study—where English was the medium of instruction rather than merely a foreign language subject—allowed for deeper integration of literary content and its potential to enhance CDA and ICC. Elements of little c and deep culture, particularly those related to race, justice, and power, were embedded in the British and American texts. While these references were still largely restricted to the target cultures, their analytical and emotional depth suggests that such materials could be effectively adapted to EFL/ESL contexts to promote richer forms of intercultural learning. A more scaffolded inclusion of relating, action, and critical dialogue, however, remains essential to transform knowledge into intercultural competence.
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