INVESTIGATING THE ROLE OF AMERICAN AND BRITISH CULTURAL COMPETENCE IN IMPROVING EFL STUDENTS' INTERPRETATION SKILLS

Nguyen Thanh Tan Phat, Thach Son Le

Abstract


Culture and language are inseparable from each other. Consequently, the integration of cultural content into language education becomes highly valuable, promoting the embracement of diverse cultures and intercultural understanding. This research aimed to explore the viewpoints of English major students on the importance of acquiring competence in American and British cultural competence for interpretation skills. A survey with two sections was employed to gather data from 32 participants, and descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Overall, the study's findings indicated that EFL students had positive attitudes towards American and British cultures and the integration of these factors in interpretation courses. However, challenges arise when interpreting between Vietnamese and English due to unfamiliar cultural terms and concepts, as well as the lack of equivalent idioms in Vietnamese-English and English-Vietnamese interpreting. In the light of findings, the study provides essential recommendations for students and educators, emphasizing the need to enhance students' academic performance and intercultural competence as well as foster positive perceptions of the target cultures.

 

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Keywords


interpretation, students’ perceptions, students’ perspectives, cultural competence, cultural awareness

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.46827/ejfl.v7i3.5105

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