Since culture and language are closely entwined, it seems problematic to teach language without cultural conceptualizations (Byram and Feng, 2004; Lantolf, 2006; Risager, 2007, 2020; Thorne and Lantolf, 2007; Baker, 2012; Sharifian, 2012; McConachy, 2017). Lave and Wenger (1991, p. 73) well contends that “language and culture should be seen as a whole” and underlain in languaculture, which reflects Vygotskian (1978) theory, i.e., learning is initially social and then individual (Agar, 1994; Risager, 2012). This relationship is complicated due to the fact that the goals of learning foreign languages have recently changed from linguistic to intercultural communication (Byram, 1997; Sercu, 2005; Piasecka, 2011), and cultural systems may be associated with one or more than one language (Sharifian, 2012). Similarly, non-native English speakers must deal with their native language culture, foreign language culture, and interlocutors' culture.

It has been appropriately argued that communicating in English with individuals from different cultures is an important ELT topic (Nieto and Zoller Booth, 2010; Baker, 2012; Widodo et al., 2017; Tofighi et al., 2021). Foreign language learners (EFLers), in this regard, need to be exposed to a diverse range of authentic cultural representations to develop an awareness of the intended language–culture (Byram, 1989; Lave and Wenger, 1991; Roberts et al., 2000; Richards, 2005; Beresova, 2015; Akbari and Razavi, 2016; Fernández-Agüero and Chancay-Cedeño, 2018). The benefits of authentic materials include enhancing comprehension, providing specific language, adding cultural points, boosting motivation, and broadening knowledge of the language (Kim, 2015; Badri and Salehi, 2017). Furthermore, authentic materials encourage EFLers to notice, respect, and appreciate cultural variations (Davis, 1997; Smith and Rawley, 1997; Erkaya, 2005).

Additionally, authentic audio-visual materials facilitate the development of foreign language skills by integrating image, sound, and culture (Baltova, 1999; Vanderplank, 2010). Equally, Desai et al. (2018, p. 405) hold the view that “In cases where actual exposure to other cultures is not feasible, films can be a medium of simulation to immerse oneself in a different culture.” Desai et al. (2018) believe that since films represent culture visually, they will help students reconsider their current beliefs about other cultures, explore peculiarities, accept, and eventually adapt to them. Accordingly, sitcoms, such as Friends, in which one can clearly observe how people interact and behave during events like Thanksgiving and Christmas (Mudawe and Mudawe, 2020), are appropriate resources for integrating language and culture (Kozhevnikova, 2014).

On the other hand, research has shown that the accessibility, along with the convenience and ubiquity of technology-mediated instruction, fosters self-regulated learning, which is a key concept in flipped classrooms (FCs; Clark, 2007; Murdock and Williams, 2011; Chen Hsieh et al., 2017; Namaziandost et al., 2021). FC effectively integrates tradition and online education by exploiting both in- and out-of-class time (Mattis, 2015), through presenting pre-recorded video clips prior to the class, allowing the students to learn at their favorable pace, pause, rewind, and replay the videos (Yu and Wang, 2016; Chen Hsieh et al., 2017; Tsai, 2019), leading to a more active type of learning (Galway et al., 2015). According to Doman and Webb (2017), online activities help shy and apprehensive-of-speaking-in-class students more. To fulfill this aim, using communication technology for presenting pre-recorded videos is essential (Yu and Wang, 2016; Chen Hsieh et al., 2017).

Due to the inter-relationship between culture and language learning being ignored in an EFL context like Iran (Turizo and Gómez, 2006; Sharifian, 2012; Ajabshir, 2019; Razmi et al., 2020; Tirnaz and Haddad Narafshan, 2020), and the impracticality of playing videos in classroom considering the facilities and timing, FC seems an appropriate choice for both incorporating culture and presenting it.

Furthermore, an important factor that predicts the students' motivation in learning is the positive perception of the learning environment (Unsal, 2012). Ryan and Deci (2000) claim that if students are free to self-regulate their learning in electronic environments, their intrinsic motivation will be encouraged. Feelings of competence will enhance intrinsic motivation when accompanied by a sense of autonomy (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Out-of-class activities will intrinsically motivate students more than the traditional mode of practicing activities (Abeysekera and Dawson, 2015). By providing flexible learning environments (Yarbro et al., 2014), out-of-class exercises, and improving students intrinsic motivation (Johnson, 2013; Chen Hsieh et al., 2017; Thai et al., 2017), FC has the potential to attract promising perceptions (González-Gómez et al., 2016; Adnan, 2017; Awidi and Paynter, 2019). Accordingly, knowing about students' perception, which is reflective of their motivation, seems significant.

This study, therefore, sought to fill the culture–language gap by using the American Friends sitcom as a culturally rich resource (Kozhevnikova, 2014; Mudawe and Mudawe, 2020) in a way that students may be more sensitive and responsive to cultural diversities and hence gain proficiency in their English learning undertaking. Moreover, the students' perceptions toward the application of technology in a flipped setting is another objective of the present investigation. In what follows, the theoretical framework of the study and the research questions are presented.

The present study draws on cultural-learning frameworks in presenting audiovisual materials and devising discussion questions. Considering in-class activities, concepts of community of practice (Vygotsky, 1978), situated learning, legitimate peripheral participation and learning, the importance of social interactions preceding learning development (Lave and Wenger, 1991), and scaffolding apprentices, more knowledgeable other (MKO), zone of proximal development (ZPD), collaborative learning, and reciprocal teaching-learning (Vygotsky, 1978b) were carefully considered.

Deardorff's (2006) process model of effective and appropriate ongoing development of intercultural competence in intercultural situations proposes a developmental cycle of individual's attitude (respect, openness, curiosity, and discovery), global knowledge and skill (observation, listening, evaluating, analyzing, interpreting, and relating), and internal (empathy), and external outcomes (effectiveness and appropriateness). Deardorff's (2004) intercultural pyramid model shares a lot with his process model; the former is linear but the latter is cyclic, where individuals can enter at any stage. However, the degree of their achievement may differ.

Furthermore, comparing Deardorff's (2006) process model with Byram's (1997) five Savoirs, it seems that an individual's attitude, knowledge, internal outcomes, and external outcomes correspond to Savoir être, Savoir, Savoir comprendre, Savoir apprendre/faire, and Savoir s'engager, respectively. In addition, Bennett and Bennett's (2004) proposed spectrum containing seven instances of denial, defense, reversal, minimization, acceptance, adaptation, and integration has a lot in common with Deardorff's and Byram's models.

Drawing on the aforementioned theoretical grounds, the pre-viewing, while-viewing, and post-viewing stages of this research draw on the process model of Deardorff. The strategies and questions utilized build on Vygotsky's (1978a), Deardorff's (2006), Bennett and Bennett's (2004), and Lave and Wenger's (1991) beliefs as their theoretical foundations. In line with Vygotsky, maintaining that individual development cannot be understood without reference to the social context, this research used the Friends sitcom as the authentic sociocultural context containing authentic cultural instances (e.g., Thanksgiving and Christmas).

Following the illustration of Yarbro et al. (2014), the researchers designed FC instruction with four major pillars of FC: flexible environment, learning culture, intentional content, and professional educator. The pillars of FC were met through the utilization of online presentations, devoting class time to discussing cultural matters, selected Friends episodes by a CELTA-certified teacher-researcher.

This section pays special attention to the literature significant to our research. Unlike traditional teacher-centered classrooms where students were treated as table blanche absorbing information passively (Betihavas et al., 2016), FC is student-centered (Bergmann and Sams, 2012). The rationale for using FC is its strength in increasing student–student and student–teacher interactions (Lage et al., 2000; Thorne et al., 2009; Murdock and Williams, 2011; Bergmann and Sams, 2012; Boucher et al., 2013; Enfield, 2013; Schultz et al., 2014), creating more diverse in- and out-of-class learning materials and activities (Gannod et al., 2008; Bishop and Verleger, 2013), helping learners become more empowered to take responsibility for their own learning, and thereby promoting self-regulated learning (Laman et al., 2012; Mok, 2014). Students in this model have greater opportunities to become autonomously reflective learners (Enfield, 2013).

Akçayir and Akçayir's (2018) review of 71 related research articles revealed that the improvement of students' learning performance was the most frequently reported advantage of the FC. The theoretical foundations of the FC advocate the view that class time should not be merely devoted to delivering one-sided lectures (Bishop and Verleger, 2013).

Additionally, Tsai (2019) mentioned that learning diversity can be reinforced by FC, enabling students to learn over various channels using electronic materials, merely by pausing or rewinding the audio-visual materials. Though, some authors contend that lectures, being pre-recorded, are similarly effective for learning as in-person lectures (McNeil and Nelson, 1991; Zhang et al., 2006). Mok (2014) confirms the benefit of FC by mentioning that students could watch videos many times before the class. Some research found out that by using digital and interactive platforms, FCs can provide distinguished instruction and empower the learning process adapting to the learners' learning styles and pace (Bull et al., 2012; Bishop and Verleger, 2013; Enfield, 2013). Johnson and Marsh (2014) and Tsai (2019) also report that the students become more autonomous in the FC model of self-regulated learning.

Johnson and Marsh (2014) and Mehring (2016) revealed the potential of FCs in EFL education through forming a cooperative communicative language learning environment incorporating language reinforcement activities. Wu et al. (2017) indicated that students' oral proficiency on the IELTS assessment criteria improved significantly after FC instruction.

Some other researchers found that the administration of FC fostered opportunities for learners to structure their knowledge, deliver their ideas, and then experiment with their interpersonal communication skills (Arnold-Garza, 2014; Butt, 2014; Adnan, 2017).

The promising impact of FC on academic settings has been well-reported in many different subjects (Deslauriers and Wieman, 2011; Baepler et al., 2014; Schultz et al., 2014), including foreign language education (Turan and Akdag-Cimen, 2020). Yu and Wang (2016) indicated an improved performance of students undergoing FCs in English business writing.

Tofighi et al. (2021) contend that it is necessary to incorporate ICC in classes. In a study, Desai et al. (2018) investigated the effect of flipped presentation of culture through popular feature films on the cultural intelligence of participants and concluded that FC increased students' cultural intelligence levels. Zhang (2020) explored the development of Chinese learners' intercultural competence through authentic video and found out that their intercultural competence expanded, and students became more culture-tolerant, empathetic, and sensitive. In another study, Jensen (2019) examined the effect of FC on L2 students' cross-cultural critical thinking and found that students' cross-cultural critical awareness improved.

The findings of Zainuddin and Attaran (2016) depicted that not only did students possess positive attitudes toward FCs but also they recommended FCs for other courses and students. This is due to the fact that students believe FC catalyzes learning. Research also indicates that shy and quiet as well as full-time international students are positively impacted by FC, though part-time students face challenges (Zainuddin and Attaran, 2016). The post-survey data by Galway et al. (2015) indicated positive perceptions of students toward FC. Another study (He et al., 2016) found that students had contrasting opinions toward FC; however, their positive attitudes were not significantly different from the neutral position.

The studies done so far have focused on the effect of FC on learners' intercultural communicative competence in an ESL context. What is not yet clear is the examination of the topic in an EFL context where learners have little or no access to intercultural communication in a foreign language. This study is, therefore, an attempt in this regard. Utilizing a pre-experimental pre-test post-test design, the study attempts to investigate the effect of an authentic audio-visual American sitcom (Friends) on Iranian EFL learners' intercultural sensitivity (ICS) and intercultural effectiveness (ICE). Moreover, the students' perceptions toward the implementation of FC are probed. Specifically, this investigation addresses the following research questions:

In what follows the quantitative results followed by the qualitative results are presented.

This study attempted to investigate the effect of culture-embedded audio-visual Friends sitcom on ICS and ICE of EFL students in English language institutes in Kerman. After the two pre- and post-administrations of ISS and IES, the results revealed that both ICS and ICE improved. Though, the samples indicated more improvement in ICS. This enhancement is presumed to be the effect of the intervention.

Regarding the positive effect of FC and authentic audio-visual materials on the enhancement of intercultural competence in general and intercultural sensitivity and effectiveness in particular, the results of this study confirm the findings of Desai et al. (2018), Zhang (2020), and Jensen (2019). Consequently, the development of both ICS and ICE in this study following the models of Byram (1997), Deardorff (2006), and Bennett (2004) reveals that intercultural development through culture-simulated audio-visual authentic material accompanied by scaffolding discussions is plausible in an EFL context where direct exposure to the foreign culture seems improbable (Namaziandost et al., 2022).

Unlike the first research question, to the best knowledge of the researchers, no data were available to correlate the findings of the second research question to the previous studies. Consequently, further research should examine this issue and unravel its unresolved sides. However, the overall findings confirm the positive impact of incorporating culture into the curriculum.

Considering the third research question, the data show positive attitudes of the participants about using FC, which confirms the findings of some other previous research (Galway et al., 2015; Zainuddin and Attaran, 2016). However, the findings of He et al. (2016) showed contradicting attitudes according to which some individuals had positive views, which support the findings of this research, though some others had opposite views compared to the current study.

The findings of this study provide some practical implications for language teachers and students. Since EFL students do not have enough exposure to FL outside the classroom (Ziashahabi et al., 2020; Jamali et al., 2021), this research suggests that students get involved in L2 and its indispensably entwined cultural aspects by flipping the materials. Moreover, FC will enhance students' autonomy and self-regulation by offering 24/7 learning opportunities and consequently foster life-long learning. Besides, through MKO and ZPD, collaboration and schemata activation will be emphasized. Therefore, flipping classes will greatly enhance EFL students' cultural understanding.

As mentioned before, the positive perceptions of individuals can be reflective of their intrinsic motivation. Therefore, if individuals develop positivity on the perception continuum, it will lead to better educational achievement. The findings of this study showed positive attitudes toward FC and the use of technology. Consequently, this mutual relationship of positive perception and motivation may give rise to the further achievement of students. This study, hence, encourages the use of FC and technology in educational settings.

The findings of the study should be interpreted in the context of some limitations. This research studied the effect of FC on ICS and ICE in the EFL context of Iran, yet the findings are not generalizable worldwide as other EFL contexts might have diverse social and cultural textures. Another issue is that all the participants of this study were would-be immigrants; therefore, the results may not account for non-immigrants. Consequently, the mentioned limitations call for the replications of this study in other EFL contexts and with larger samples.

This study used individuals in the source country where they could not integrate (Bennett, 2004), manifest external outcomes (Deardorff, 2004, 2006), and fulfill Savoirs' engager (Byram, 1997). Consequently, the ultimate goal of languaculture (Lantolf, 2007) was ignored. The researchers suggest other scholars explore whether any source country samples would perform in the target country culturally effectively and appropriately so as to see if the models of intercultural competencies are completed thoroughly in target countries.

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/Supplementary Material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author/s.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Yazd University. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

All authors listed have made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the work and approved it for publication.

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

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