Enhancing Intercultural Awareness through Third World Feature Films

The aim of language education is to develop intercultural competence and awareness so that learners can become cosmopolitan citizens in the global society. Intercultural competence refers to learners having mutual understanding about other countries and developing their own identity. Foreign feature films can provide an important input to understanding the cultural, political and historical situations of the other countries. In this paper, intercultural communicative competence will be reviewed and how foreign feature films can enhance students' intercultural awareness will be explained. Three recent feature films about Afghanistan, Sierra Leone and Rwanda were chosen to teach about current situations and critical issues in each of the three countries. Pedagogical implication on how to use foreign feature films in the EFL classroom is suggested. In the further study, it is suggested that specific guidelines using various films can gain more benefits through films.