The intercultural and the literary : trimming down prejudice in the context of EFL text interpretation

الملخص EN

The current work brings to light the recent claims inciting for weaving foreign language culture within the very tissue of language learning.

the paper claims for the positive impact of intercultural knowledge on alleviating the rate of negative prejudice about native speakers and easing lines of mutual understanding.

a questionnaire and an interview were used to explore their views about points related to culture, literary readings, and prejudice formation.

the findings showed that FL students attach import to cultural knowledge and to its weight on literary understanding.

the results showed that FL students hold negative prejudices originated in many factors.

the interview results demonstrated that students are not that flexible with the prejudices they have, at the same time they are conscious that the latter are inherited and are not fixed rules.

the findings proved that students discuss the issue of prejudice in class debates whenever the occasion permits.