EFL student teachers' renewed comprehension of interculturality and research about interculturality

Jairo Enrique Castañeda-Trujillo
Universidad Surcolombiana, Colombia
Jhon Eduardo Mosquera-Pérez
Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, Colombia
Lisseth Rojas-Barreto
Universidad Surcolombiana, Colombia

Researching interculturality can be a complex task because of the multiple angles to consider in the context of English teacher education programs. This article aims to analyse the experiences of five Colombian EFL student teachers who participated as assistants in a cross-cultural and cross-national research project. Information was gathered from research group conversations and reflections written by the EFL student teachers around their work within the research. The data analysis showed that the EFL student teachers' participation in the research project contributed to giving a new significance to their understanding of the concept of interculturality and being intercultural. In the same way, they had the chance to demystify some ideologies learned during their major. And lastly, EFL student teachers renewed their attitude toward the intercultural research process. Finally, it is concluded that the active participation of EFL student teachers in research aimed at promoting interculturality contributed to their understanding of interculturality within their professional practice.
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Authors: Jairo Enrique Castañeda-Trujillo is currently a doctoral candidate in education focusing on ELT and holds a masters degree in education with an emphasis on ELT from Universidad Externado de Colombia. He is an assistant professor and researcher in the undergraduate and masters programs in ELT at the Universidad Surcolombiana, Neiva, Colombia. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3002-7947 Email: jairo.castañeda@usco.edu.co Jhon Eduardo Mosquera Pérez holds a bachelor and masters degree in ELT from Universidad Surcolombiana and a masters degree in learning and teaching processes in second languages from Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana. Currently he is a is a full-time teacher educator at the Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia, in Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4027-3102 Email: jhon.mosquera01@uptc.edu.co Lisseth Rojas Barreto holds a doctorate in education from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, and a masters degree in language teaching from Universidad Pedagógica y Tecnológica de Colombia. She is a full-time professor and researcher at the Universidad Surcolombiana, Neiva, Colombia, and directs the masters program in English Language Teaching. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4262-9726 Email: lisseth.rojas@usco.edu.co Please cite as: Castañeda-Trujillo, J. E., Mosquera-Pérez, J. E. & Rojas-Barreto, L. (2023). EFL student teachers' renewed comprehension of interculturality and research about interculturality. Issues in Educational Research, 33(1), 23-40. http://www.iier.org.au/iier33/castaneda-trujillo.pdf