EFL Teacher's perceptions of their sociocultural competence in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity

Abstract

The following research presents the phenomenon of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in the context of immigration in Chilean public education. Witnessing cultural and linguistic diversity within a classroom is becoming more common. Therefore, the dilemma in question is how English teachers teach for both local and foreign students. As a result of those mentioned above, in this research, the Sociocultural Competence of the English teacher is considered the main factor and how it is developed in a culturally and linguistically diverse classroom context. Following this line, this research aims to analyze English teachers’ perceptions of their sociocultural competence in the classroom context of cultural and linguistic diversity. This research is descriptive with a qualitative approach, which uses the semi-structured interview as an in-depth data collection technique. English teachers from five public schools with the most foreign immigrant students in Los Ángeles, Biobío region, Chile were interviewed to carry out the investigation. Subsequently, content analysis is carried out. Concerning the results, it is pointed out that English teachers lack knowledge about Sociocultural Competence in English as a foreign language in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity