LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AND CULTURAL AWARENESS: IMPACT OF BLACK LIVES MATTER IN EFL INSTRUCTION

Andrea Roxana BELLOT; Anca Daniela FRUMUSELU

doi:10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.15

Authors

Andrea Roxana BELLOT Department of English and German Studies at Rovira i Virgili University (URV) in Tarragona, Spain. Email: andrearoxana.bellot@urv.cat. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0561-2132
Anca Daniela FRUMUSELU Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at University of Lleida (UdL), Spain. Email: ancadaniela.frumuselu@udl.cat. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4395-7841

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbphilo.2024.4.15

Keywords:

Black Lives Matter (BLM), cultural awareness, English language skills, literature & cultural studies, social consciousness

Abstract

Language Proficiency and Cultural Awareness: Impact of Black Lives Matter in EFL Instruction. This paper evaluates the effectiveness of a Black Lives Matter (BLM) teaching unit designed to enhance students' cultural awareness and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) skills. Employing a mixed-method approach, the study investigates students' viewpoints through online questionnaires. The methodology integrates pre- and post-questionnaires to analyse the pedagogical impact, drawing on established theories of communicative competence and intercultural pedagogy to contextualize the study. The results demonstrate that the project significantly contributed to students' social consciousness development while also improving their English language proficiency.

REZUMAT. Competența lingvistică și conștientizarea culturală: Impactul unității didactice Black Lives Matter în contextul EFL. Această lucrare evaluează eficiența unei unități didactice Black Lives Matter (BLM) concepută pentru a conștientiza studenții la nivel cultural, dar și pentru a le îmbunătăți abilitățile de limba engleză ca limbă străină (EFL). Studiul investighează opiniile studenților prin intermediul unor chestionare online, printr-o abordare metodologică mixtă. Metodologia folosită integrează chestionare aplicate înainte și după desfășurarea unității didactice pentru a analiza impactul pedagogic, bazându-se pe teorii consacrate ale competenței comunicative și pedagogiei interculturale pentru a contextualiza studiul. Rezultatele demonstrează că proiectul a contribuit semnificativ la dezvoltarea conștientizării sociale a studenților, îmbunătățindu-le totodată competența lingvistica în limba engleză.

Cuvinte-cheie: Black Lives Matter (BLM); conștientizare culturală; abilități în limba engleză; studii literare și culturale; conștiință socială

Article history: Received 18 July 2024; Revised 17 November 2024; Accepted 25 November 2024; Available online 10 December 2024; Available print 30 December 2024.

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