Promoting EFL Students’ Intercultural Competence through Teaching Proverbs and Idiomatic Expressions

Abstract

This research aims to investigate oral expression teachers‟ attitudes and perceptions towards promoting students‟ intercultural competence through teaching proverbs and idiomatic expressions at the department of English, Guelma University. Students in the department still face difficulties when it comes to understanding and using proverbs and idiomatic expressions of the target culture. Their unawareness or the misuse of idioms and proverbs can result in cultural comprehension deficiencies when trying to communicate in target language. To achieve the central aim of this study, to answer the research questions, and test the hypothesis, a quantitative method has been used. Accordingly, a questionnaire has been distributed to a sample of 15 oral expression teachers at the same department. The obtained results revealed teachers positive perceptions towards proverbs and idioms and their significant role in understanding the target culture in general and improving the intercultural competence in particular.