Knowledge thresholds of pre‑service efl teachers interpreting traditional Chinese medicine in “journey to the west”

Abstract

It is a cultural and pedagogical issue on how to describe Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) by using English. To globalise Chinese cultural heritage, it cannot be realised without TCM. However, the pre-service EFL teachers usually have insufficient knowledge to understand TCM cultural annotation properly from “Journey to the West”. Therefore, this study sets out to identify the knowledge base that pre-service EFL teachers need to acquire in order to comprehend and convey TCM cultural knowledge in the classroom. The theories were behaviourism and andragogy theory of adult learning. A sequential explanatory design was utilised combining surveys and focus group interview. A total of 486 pre-service EFL teachers, 36 teacher educators, 40 medical lectures and 30 medical professors participated in the study. They were recruited by random and purposive sampling technique for different phases. Survey gauged 592 participants’ perceived competence to interpret TCM cultural knowledge in the “Journey to the West.” Focus group interview with 5 teacher educators, 2 medical lecturers and 3 medical professors further investigated perceived gaps in knowledge. The analysis was descriptive and thematic. Results indicated that pre-service EFL teachers experienced significant level of ambiguity in interpreting the TCM vocabularies. Qualitative data showed a pressing need for more integrated teaching models to develop TCM cultural knowledge and intercultural communicative competence together. It implicates a necessary change in EFL teacher education. It is to integrate explicit TCM culture into the curriculum. Future studies should focus on the creation and testing of culturally materials to maximise cultural influence and promote cross-cultural teaching effectiveness in EFL settings.