In spite of a plethora of studies focusing on the relationship between language learning and cultural teaching, cultural education gets ignored in many English language teaching programs. WHY?
Dear researchers, your detailed views are really appreciated.
I am not sure if cultural education is totally ignored In every EFL context around the world. Students come in contact with the culture of the foreign language at least in a small degree. However, if cultural education does not take place is because textbooks and curricula do not foster this kind of education; these courses mostly focus on the learning of the language itself, that is the grammar and the vocabulary, and the purpose of such courses is not to integrate students to the foreign culture but to make them able to communicate in the foreign language. Nevertheless cultural education should be taught in every EFL context
Teaching culture is important to language learning, because so much of the practical language use is made up of culturally-based idioms.
But often the EFL teacher is not a native speaker, and understanding the idioms and culture may be difficult. The teacher may choose not to address culture at all, so as to not appear uninformed in the eyes of students.
What makes the learning of a language a worthwhile and rewarding experience is the culture it represents. Culture refers to the the beliefs, behaviors, objects, and other characteristics common to the members of a particular group or society and it is an important parameter through which people are identified. According to the Whorfian hypothesis every language gives its speakers a specific world view. When these views are far apart having very little in common , language learning becomes very difficult. In such situations, language teachers should help learners understand and appreciate the differences in opinion regarding the relationship between language and culture . This paves the way for acculturation because it can help to illuminate the diversity of views held toward the use of language. Unsurprisingly, as you have rightly observed , in some EFL/ESL contexts, the component of culture is ignored and teachers mainly focus on grammar teaching or literal translation of L2 texts where it is not necessary to broach up the sensitivities posed by the relationship between language and culture.
Language is not culture-free; on the contrary, language use or communication style is heavily ruled by cultural values and norms. Competency in linguistic knowledge does not guarantee successful and fruitful communication. Cultural competency is necessary in order to avoid misunderstanding and confusion. Curricula and language teachers in our institutions highlight the importance of linguistic competency which is constituted with the knowledge of pronunciation, writing system, vocabulary and grammar syntax for the language production and mostly neglect cultural competency as it needs full knowledge of culture values; a tremendous amount of time and energy is to be spent to appreciate the language they are learning and communicate appropriately.
dear @ Michael W. Marek, your reply is really wonderful. thank u for sharing ur great views.
dear professor @ Reza Biria, thank u for sharing ur perfect answers.
dear @ Aida Mohammad Ali Bakeer, your comments are valuable. thank u for ur contributions
I am not sure why, but I am sure that understanding a culture helps understanding the language
It is as the result of the concentration on linguistic competence of students, time limits And curriculum or college requirements The text books also are not design to integrate cultural activities into the lessons. Furthermore, the Islamic countries ban such an integration with regard to the obvious reasons we all know. English language teachers also are unaware of this inclusion which should be rooted in their educational background or lack of this in their training course. However, language could not be separated from the culture.
dear @ Mehrnaz Jamali, your views are valuable. thank u for sharing them
You are right
Most of teachers ignore that , though it is an important issue in the teaching field
There are a number of reasons regarding this issue. Since English language courses are mainly based on promotion of the linguistic competency of learners. Also, English language teachers are not enough qualified and experienced in this field to integrate the cultural issues into thd lessons. Furthermore,there’s always been other limitations such as time and specific syllabus that are arranged for the teachers with regard to different college requirements.
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