Articles for Teachers

These are statements that one might encounter when discussing the inevitability of teaching the target culture in language classrooms. What is so significant about teaching culture? Why is it such an important element to be considered in the second/foreign language classrooms? Let us first state the common belief that most language educators share and then come back and answer the aforementioned concerns.

It appears that culture, as an ingrained set of behaviors and modes of perception, becomes highly important in the learning of second/foreign language. A language is a part of a culture and culture is a part of language; the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significant of either language or culture.

To give a comprehensive answer to the forgoing questions and statements, one needs to take the following into consideration. The world we live in requires people who can communicate effectively in at least one other language and who have related culture insights and understanding. This cannot take place unless the culture is to be fully integrated in a systematically planned way as a major point of the curriculum.

Without cultural insight and skill, even fluent speakers can seriously misinterpret message they have read, and the message they intend to communicate can be misunderstood. This is because students do not fully comprehend the essential framework in which language functions, namely culture. As a result, culture competence should be encouraged at all stages. Another aspect that makes teaching cultures a vital element in the second/foreign language setting is the student’s attitude toward the culture of the target language. Students’ success in acquiring the second language is related to how they view the other culture. Students with positive attitudes are more highly motivated and that increased motivation to learn strengthens the likelihood that a variety of desired behaviors will emerge such as greater participation in class, continuation of language study, and better retention of language skills. Attitudes affect not only the students’ motivation to learn the language, but also their willingness to learn about and participate in acculturation. The degree of acculturation determines the language learners’ competence, and without acculturation language competence will be incomplete. Consequently, teaching culture helps students in shaping their subjectivities, enhance their social experience, challenge their culture assumptions and alter their modes of thinking.

Furthermore, language and culture are connected in various ways. Language acquisition does not follow a universal linguistic sequence, but differs across cultures. The process of becoming assimilation in society is recognized through exchange of language in particular social situations, the native learner, in addition to language, acquires linguistic patterns in his or her culture. Therefore, language and culture cannot be separated. Foreign language teaching should work toward language-in-culture and culture-in language, rather than seeking ways of teaching culture as a separate skill. Language and culture should be seen as constituting a single domain of experience.

The forgoing arguments indicate how importance it is for teachers of English in particular, and second language teachers as a whole, to pay attention to the process of learning culture which has a vital impact on being able to understand foreign society and communicate in its language.

About the Author:

Khalid Al Seghayer has earned his Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics from the University of Pittsburgh in 2003. His research interests include Computer-Assisted Language Learning and second language reading. He has taught English in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United States of America. He has published in TESOL Quarterly, Language Learning and Technology, CALL Journal, Internet TESL Journal, CALICO Journal, CALL-EJ Online, and the APA News. He has served as the chair-elect (2002-2003) of the EFL Interest Section in TESOL and the editor of the Newsletter in TESOL (2002-2004). He also served as the Chair-Elect of the Non-Native English Speakers (NNEST) in TESOL (2003-2004). Currently, he is the Chairman of the English Department at Imam University .