Intercultural Experience and Teacher Professional Development

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of intercultural experience on teacher professionalism. The main methods for data collection consist of semi-structured interviews and survey questionnaires. Analysis of participants’ experiences of Department for International Development’s (DFID) English language teaching projects shows that intercultural experience has a significant impact on both Chinese teachers’ and British trainers’ professional development. The impact on Chinese teachers is to induce a more rational view on teaching and learning practice and a more balanced attitude towards tradition versus innovation. Exposure to different teaching cultures and the intercultural experience itself is found to have led to a stronger awareness of the meaning of culturally sensitive pedagogy in both Chinese and British ELT professionals. The significant implication for teacher education is to take a holistic and cognitive view of educating teaching professionals and assist teachers to build up the capacity to act on their knowledge base in their teaching arenas.