Intercultural Language Teaching in Arabic Language Classes: An Investigation of Textbook Content, Teacher Beliefs, and Classroom Practices in a Higher Education Institution in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

This thesis is based on a qualitative exploratory enquiry into the affordances and constraints surrounding the implementation of intercultural language teaching and learning in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It involved a case study of three teachers using three textbooks as materials for instruction at the Institution of Teaching Arabic at Al-Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University. The study was guided by three questions on how culture is incorporated into Arabic language classes on the basis of textbooks, teachers’ beliefs and their practices. The research is located within the interpretive paradigm and entailed an instrumental case study informed by textbook analysis, semi-structured interviews, classroom observations and post-lesson discussions. The textbook’s quantitative and qualitative analysis was guided by the modified criteria suggested and used by Dinh (2016); Liddicoat (2004); McConachy (2009); Sahraee (2018); Shin et al. (2011). Meanwhile, qualitative thematic analysis was used to interpret meanings in the transcribed content of the teachers’ data. The findings showed a static, culturalist way of representing culture within the examined textbooks, which therefore rarely encourages the development of intercultural teaching and learning. The textbooks’ constraints are typified by weaknesses such as the dominance of the target culture, the representation of culture through facts or artefacts rather than lived experiences and practices and deficiencies in the layout, visuals and accompanying activities. Similarly, the analysis of the teachers’ beliefs and teaching practices revealed that despite their willingness to teach culture, the limitations of the textbooks, their beliefs about culture and its relationship with language and some institutional policies hindered intercultural language teaching in the observed classes. By focusing on three aspects: textbooks, teachers’ beliefs and their practices, the study filled the gap in research on intercultural education in Saudi context and identified missed opportunities to improve intercultural language teaching in Arabic classrooms. Thus, this research contributes to the literature by uncovering the factors that affect the development of intercultural teaching and learning in Saudi Arabia and offers practical implications for Arabic institutions and teachers in the country.