ABSTRACT

Improving teachers’ intercultural competence is one of the keys for successful implementation of intercultural education. This paper explores Vietnamese primary education teachers’ level of intercultural competence as one of the first steps towards intercultural education in this country. The ISS-15 questionnaire was used to collect data from 70 teachers working in different schools and English centres in Hanoi City. Data were analysed through descriptive statistics: one-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results show homogeneity although teachers’ backgrounds and working contexts are varied. Teachers show high degrees of interaction engagement and enjoyment as well as respect for cultural differences. However, their levels of interaction confidence and attentiveness are moderate. Our conclusions suggest that teachers need to develop their intercultural competence (IC), especially in terms of practice skills. They demand to implement intercultural education (IE) in Vietnamese schools, as well as to help citizens realize its outstanding role for the necessary socioeconomic changes of the country nowadays.

摘要

提高教师的跨文化能力是成功实施跨文化教育的关键之一。本文探讨了越南初等教育老师的跨文化能力水平，这是该国迈向跨文化教育的第一步。ISS-15问卷用于从河内市不同学校和英语中心工作的70名教师收集数据。通过描述性统计分析数据：单向方差分析和Kruskal-Wallis检验。结果显示出同质性，尽管教师的背景和工作环境各不相同。教师表现出高度的互动参与度和娱乐性，并尊重文化差异。但是，他们的互动信心和专心程度中等。我们的结论表明，教师需要发展其跨文化能力（IC），尤其是在实践技能方面。他们要求在越南学校中实施跨文化教育（IE），并帮助公民发挥其在当今国家必要的社会经济变革中的杰出作用。