Intercultural Practice in a Village School in Sri Lanka: A Dynamic View of Learning Context

Abstract

This research examines intercultural practices of an English program taught by international volunteers at a village school in rural Sri Lanka. Viewing learning contexts as complex adaptive systems, this research delineates the multi-layer complexity of intercultural contexts and discusses that intercultural learning practices are intertwined with actors and locations. By conducting two-month field work and 27 in-depth interviews, this research offers fresh insights looking into intercultural practices on a community level which involve international volunteer teachers, village students, their parents and village people. From the perspective of nexus of practice, the results highlight that emotional encounters and social interactions on a community level are central to intercultural learning. The results offer implications for intercultural educators and practitioners considering the recent multilingual landscape of rural villages in developing countries. We call for reflexive understandings of intercultural learning and online space which go beyond the traditional notions of the nation-state.

Keywords

Intercultural learning / interviews / practice / rural village / Sri Lanka

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