Cultural Awareness in Pre-Service Early Childhood Teacher Training: A Catalogue of British Cultural Elements in Peppa Pig

• Published in: Education sciences Vol. 13; no. 10; p. 1021
• Main Authors: Estrada-Chichón, José Luis, Sánchez-Cabrero, Roberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.10.2023
• Subjects: British culture; Cartoon television programs; Cartoons; College teachers; Cultural instruction; Culture; Didacticism; Early childhood education; Educational Benefits; Educational Resources; English as a foreign language; English as a second language; English as a second language instruction; English proficiency; Foreign language learning; Individualized Instruction; Language acquisition; Language culture relationship; Language instruction; Language proficiency; Language teachers; Mass media; observation; Preservice teachers; Second Language Instruction; Second language teachers; Student teachers; Teacher education; Teaching; Teaching Methods; Television programs; Text analysis; Young Children; United Kingdom; Spain
• ISSN: 2227-7102; 2227-7102
• DOI: 10.3390/educsci13101021

Foreign language teaching should integrate the culture embodied in the target language. However, raising cultural awareness does not systematically produce the intended effects when considered an integral component in the teaching context. This quantitative research study focuses on creating a catalogue featuring elements representative of British culture in the animated television series Peppa Pig as part of pre-service early childhood education teacher training in English as a Foreign Language (EFL). This prompts the examination of the potential of Peppa Pig to not exclusively enhance EFL proficiency but to foster a comprehensive understanding of British culture for non-native speakers. Eleven pre-service teachers at the University of Cádiz, Spain, analysed the 52 episodes of Peppa Pig’s season 1 and classified all elements into 13 categories, according to the Qualitative Text Analysis approach. To minimise differences between evaluators, each element of each episode was only checked if at least three evaluators agreed; therefore, 1050 elements were identified, with 501 elements verified in 48 of the 52 episodes. The resulting catalogue contributes to selecting the most significant Peppa Pig’s season 1 episodes concerning British culture elements. The major limitation of the investigation may be the fatigue experienced by the evaluators.