Fostering Cross-Cultural Understanding Through Southeast Asian Multicultural Literature: Insights from Preservice ESL Teachers’ Learning Experiences

This study investigated the relationship between culturally diverse learning experiences and cross-cultural understanding in the teaching of Southeast Asian multicultural literature among preservice teachers of English as a Second Language (ESL). Guided by the framework of culturally responsive teaching, it examined how specific instructional activities such as creative dramatics, visual arts projects, graphic organizers, writing workshops, and research tasks relate to the critical, empathic, and conceptual dimensions of cross-cultural understanding. The study employed a quantitative descriptive-correlational design and gathered data from 107 preservice ESL teachers enrolled in a state university in the Southern Tagalog region of the Philippines through a validated researcher-made questionnaire. The results indicated that all five learning activities were perceived as highly relevant, with research tasks and creative dramatics receiving the highest mean scores. Cross-cultural understanding was also found to be highly manifested, with empathic and conceptual understanding registering higher levels than critical understanding. Statistical analysis revealed a significant positive relationship between the relevance of culturally diverse learning experiences and the level of cross-cultural understanding. The findings affirm the pedagogical value of integrating culturally responsive strategies in literature instruction to promote intercultural awareness and appreciation. These results suggest that ESL teacher education programs should strengthen the integration of multicultural literature in the curriculum to enhance both literary competence and intercultural competence. Incorporating such approaches in teacher training may better prepare future educators to design inclusive, culturally sensitive learning environments, thereby contributing to the broader goals of equity, respect for diversity, and global citizenship in education.