Indonesian EFL teachers’ beliefs about incorporating cultural aspects in their multilingual and multicultural EFL classrooms

Abstract

The inseparability between language and culture makes the provision of target language cultures (TLC) compulsory in a foreign language (FL) education. However, due to the global use of English dominated by non-native speakers (NNS) and the need to protect local cultures, conformity to English native speaker (NS) cultures in Indonesian English as a foreign language (EFL) context may be viewed as inappropriate. Influenced by their beliefs, determining whose cultures to present in multilingual and multicultural Indonesian EFL classrooms thus could become a source of tension among Indonesian EFL practitioners. To avoid potential conflicts, a study revealing the practitioners’ beliefs about delivering cultural aspects in the country’s EFL context was deemed necessary. This descriptive study utilised an online questionnaire and semi-structured interviews to portray sixty-eight Indonesian EFL teachers’ thoughts about incorporating cultural aspects in their multilingual and multicultural EFL classrooms. The findings reported the participants’ view of culture as an essential element in FL education. TLC was perceived as a source of language learning motivation, and the provision of TLC enhanced learners’ skills, knowledge, and understanding to interact successfully in an FL. In other words, conformity to NS cultures was observed in FL education in general. However, in English classes, the participants prioritised the inclusion of Indonesian cultures to protect the country’s multilingualism and multiculturalism. Additionally, international cultures were desirable to prepare learners for broader cross-national communications. Besides enriching literature on the related field, the findings could be used to develop a model for culture-based instruction, particularly in Indonesian EFL.