Cross-Cultural Perspectives in EFL Education: Exploring Students' Experiences in Narrative Texts

This study examines the experiences and interpretations of cross-cultural perspectives through narrative writing by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students, inspired by Indonesian folktales. This research, grounded in Byram’s Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC) framework and Narrative Inquiry theory, examines students' ability to maintain their cultural identity in English and the challenges they encounter in cultural-linguistic expression. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, with a narrative writing prompt as the research instrument, utilising data from 50 student-authored English narratives, collected through a classroom-based writing task conducted under supervision. These were analysed through rubric-based coding corresponding to ICC dimensions (cultural accuracy, use of local terminology, translation techniques, and intercultural misunderstandings) and narrative inquiry criteria (voice, structure, and reflection). The rubric-based analysis procedure allowed for categorisation of intercultural and narrative elements using descriptive statistics. Research indicates that the majority of students exhibited cultural awareness and adaptive linguistic strategies: 86% maintained cultural accuracy, 90% retained local terminology, and 78% employed adaptive translation methods. Furthermore, 86% had a logical structure, reflective significance, and an individual voice. Nonetheless, 22% showed dependence on literal translation, while 14% revealed intercultural misinterpretation or narrative disjunction. These findings confirm that culturally rooted narrative writing improves linguistic development and intercultural understanding. The research provides empirical support for the incorporation of local culture texts into English as a Foreign Language training and advocates for instructional scaffolding in metaphor, pragmatics, and narrative discourse.