On Intercultural Awareness: Where Does it Stand in the Literature Classroom?

Abstract

The current study attempts to investigate the place of intercultural awareness in the literature classroom. It ims to determine whether intercultural awareness is emphasised by literature teachers and whether it is promoted through the teaching of literature. Accordingly, within the context of this study, two research questions are ised: (1) Is intercultural awareness emphasised in the literature classroom? (2) Does teaching literature ontribute to the promotion of learners’ intercultural awareness? In response to the questions, a descriptive method is opted for. To obtain the necessary data, a questionnaire is administered to Sixty students of English at the epartment of Foreign Languages, University of Mila, and another questionnaire is administered to ten teachers of terature. The major research findings reveal that intercultural communicative competence is indeed emphasised in the literature classroom and that literature teaching helps to promote learners’ intercultural awareness. Eventually, the research work proffers a multiplicity of recommendations for pedagogy and future research with the urpose of drawing more attention to learners’ intercultural awareness in the teaching of literature