Intercultural teaching and learning strategies for global citizens: a Chinese EFL perspective

Abstract

This article reviews teaching intercultural competence in the classroom with a group of homogeneous Chinese university students. This is explored through teaching English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing in a way that changes Chinese students’ thinking. It involves a change of cultural perspectives by placing the concept of ‘the individual’ at the heart of their learning and writing in English. This cultural change through alternative thinking strategies demands that Chinese students critically examine their collective traditions and beliefs that have otherwise influenced their assumptions in learning and in writing in English. This article is derived from teaching strategies that facilitate change through a biographical teaching method, which ensures a personal paradigm shift in the student towards becoming a global citizen.