Multicultural Teaching in Nigeria’s English Language Classroom: Examining Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Preparedness

Multicultural Teaching in Nigeria’s English Language Classroom: Examining Secondary School Teachers’ Perceptions and Preparedness

Patience Ihianakuihiomen Olemekwu Aika patience.igubor@uniben.edu University of Benin (Nigeria)
Summary: 
This study examined the state of multicultural teaching and teachers’ perception of their preparedness for it in secondary schools in Benin City, Nigeria. Two research questions and two hypotheses guided the study. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. The one hundred and twenty-nine (129) English Language teachers in Benin City constituted the population of the study. A sample of 98 English Language teachers selected through multi-stage sampling participated in the study. Data for the study were obtained using the ‘Questionnaire on English Language Teachers’ Awareness and Perception of Integrating Cultural Contents in ELT’ (r = .78). Data collected were analysed using Mean, Standard Deviation, t-test and ANOVA. Results revealed that teachers integrated culture in ELT. Additionally, although teachers felt adequately prepared to integrate culture in ELT, they indicated a need for further training in multicultural education. Teachers were not found to significantly differ in terms of their perceptions of preparedness for multicultural teaching based on sex and qualification. Based on the findings, it was recommended that teacher education programs be reviewed to accommodate multicultural education in ELT while in-service training should be provided for employed teachers.
Keywords: 
Intercultural competence
ELT
teacher perception
teacher preparedness
multicultural teaching.
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