The study investigated Mainland Chinese English teachers' perceptions of culture and intercultural competence, culture teaching and the development of intercultural competence in their English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classes. Drawing on a mixed-method multiple case study research design, this study focused on six Chinese EFL teachers in a key senior high school in Mainland China. The findings of the study revealed that the case participants had an incomplete and insufficient understanding of culture and intercultural competence. There was also a gap between their willingness to promote culture teaching and intercultural competence in their EFL classes and their actual culture teaching practices. The individual and external challenges they encountered with the embedding of cultural elements into their EFL classes were identified. Based on the findings of the study, practical implications for promoting culture teaching and intercultural competence in EFL classes were offered in relation to different stakeholders.

Keywords: Culture teaching, English language teaching, intercultural competence.