Developing Cross-cultural Communicative Competence in Pre-service ESL/EFL Teachers: A Critical Perspective

Pre-service teachers need a critical cross-cultural communicative competence in English as a Second/Foreign Language (ESL/EFL). The view is supported here by the findings of a research project that examined the efforts made to develop cross-cultural communicative competence in students enrolled in an M.A course in Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL). The research focused on the conceptualisations of culture utilised within the programme, the professional and cultural identity formation processes that appear to be occurring, and the characterisation of students' analyses of power relations and their own position within these relations (Sehlaoui, 1999). Based on students' perspectives, beliefs, and attitudes as described in Sehlaoui (1999), data-based critical pedagogical implications and classroom activities are suggested.