Language is an important element in human culture. The culture in which a person lives greatly influences the attitudes, values, ideas, and beliefs of the person; hence there is the need to understand every aspect of one’s culture for evaluative, preservative and globalisation purpose (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2011). Therefore, language—as the most important means of communicating, transmitting
information and providing human bonding—has an exceptionally important position inside any culture (House, 2007). Language learning entails not only linguistic knowledge, but also the awareness of the importance of the context and motives behind communication. Learning a new language is a complex process, so is language teaching. Teaching any language necessarily involves teaching culture, as culture shapes the way language is structured and used (Dellit, 2005). To further stress this point, Valdes (1986) states that it is virtually impossible to teach a language without teaching cultural content.
In addition, Lê, Lê and Short (2009) maintain that it is not possible to separate language from its culture and that it is therefore necessary to combine the teaching of a language with the culture of the target language. There is no question that the successful integration of culture and language teaching can contribute
sensitivity can play a vital role in the security, defence, and economic well-being of this country, and that global understanding ought to be a mandatory component of basic education (Galloway 1985; Lafayette & Strasheim 1981, cited in Hadley, 2000).
In most cases in language learning, there was little explicit connection between the classroom and the world outside it. Therefore, language teaching and learning require an understanding of the fundamental relationship between language and culture. As Malinowski (cited in Stern, 1983) argues, the study of any language spoken by a people who live under conditions different from our own and possess a different culture must be carried out in conjunction with a study of their culture and of their environment. Where the language is learnt as a foreign language the target community is usually physically and psychologically distant, for example when Mandarin Chinese is learnt in Australia or German in America. Culture teaching provides the context without which the language remains an empty code and lacks credibility from the learner’s perspective (Stern, 1992).
Englebert (2004) suggests that to teach a foreign language is also to teach a foreign culture, and it is important to be sensitive to the fact that our students, our colleagues, our administrators, and, if we live abroad, our neighbours, do not share all of our cultural paradigms. Studies of the role of culture in language and language teaching suggest that every attempt to communicate with the speaker of another language is a cultural act. The basis of what is termed intercultural
language teaching and learning involves recognition that culture is fundamental to the way we speak, write, listen and read (Crozet & Liddicoat, 2008). Intercultural studies are becoming increasingly more important in the global environment. Ho (2009) argues that intercultural language learning is a stance on language teaching and learning that emphasises the interdependence of language and culture and the importance of intercultural understanding as a goal of language education. It is increasingly being promoted as a way to develop learners’ ability to negotiate meanings across languages and cultures and prepare them for living in a
multicultural world. No longer is linguistic proficiency the sole aim of teaching and learning in the language classroom: that is, at the same time as students learn the foreign language they gain a set of intercultural understandings which allow
them to explore why language is as it is, and how processes of language and culture impact on meaning making (Moloney & Harbon, 2010).
It has been widely recognised that language is the main medium through which culture is expressed. It can be stated that a language is a part of culture and a culture is a part of a language.As Byram and Morgan (1994) claim, it is axiomatic that cultural learning has to take place as an integral part of language learning, and vice versa. Culture and language seem to be inextricably entwined (Charmaz, 2006); the two are intricately interwoven so that one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture (Brown, 2000). Moreover, Stern (1983) states that “the language learner should not only study the cultural context (‘language AND culture’) but that he should be made aware of the interaction between language and culture (‘language IN culture’, ‘culture IN language’)” (p. 206). Language itself is defined by a culture. Language is the key or the “ticket” to the culture, with which students can enter the culture and participate within it (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004). One cannot be competent in language if one does not also understand the culture that has shaped and informed it. In other words, one cannot learn a language if one does not have an awareness of its attendant culture, and how that culture relates to one’s own first
language/culture. Therefore, it is not only essential to have cultural awareness, but also intercultural awareness. In conclusion, intercultural awareness, as a
fundamental feature of language and an integral part of language learning, is important at all levels.
Equally important, since language reflects the culture of speakers, students should be given insights into the habits, customs, and values and the ways in which these are similar to or different from their own. It is imperative, however, that learners appreciate that all people have culture and there are no good or bad cultures (Finocchiaro, 1974). The learners studying foreign languages should not only be equipped with the languages themselves but also their cultures. Brembeck (1977) suggests that to know another’s language and not his culture is a very good way to make a fluent fool of oneself . As students progress through a foreign language program, it is expected that they will increase their awareness of the culture or cultures’ characteristic of the speakers of the language under study. This
broadened awareness may touch on all aspects of culture: the people’s way of life as well as the geographic, historical, economic, artistic, and scientific aspects of the target society (Valdes, 1986).
For the purpose of this study, therefore, it was important to consider the strong link between language and culture and highlight the role of discourse in expressing cultural values and norms through language. Byram (1989) places “cultural studies” at the core of foreign language learning and proposes a model of four related parts, namely language learning, language awareness, cultural
experience, and cultural awareness.
In recent years,a great volume of literature has received a lot of attention on culture study in language. Regarding the reason teaching culture in language is important, researchers provide opinions from different perspectives. It is worth mentioning that Chastain (1988) describes three reasons for the culture component being so crucial in language learning:
• First, language and culture are inseparably bound; therefore, complete comprehension during any type of intercultural communication depends upon the participants’ awareness of the social and cultural significance of the words and expressions employed;
• Another fundamental reason for the inclusion of culture is intercultural understanding itself. International understanding is one of the basic goals of education in the modern, interdependent world community of nations;
• The third principle reason for stressing culture in language classes relates to the students. One the one hand, students are extremely interested in the people who speak the language they are studying. On the other hand, it is probable they know very little about the basic aspects of their own culture. (p. 298)
Significantly, too, the needs of learners are considered to be the most important factors when deciding what to teach. According to Van Els (1983), there are three needs of foreign languages learners:
• desirable goals closely linked to language competence, but for which such competence is not a prerequisite, like familiarity with another people's literature or culture;
• particular skills or areas of knowledge not necessarily linked to foreign language competence, like the development of students’ intellectual powers.
As Stern(1992) reiterates, “one of the most important aims of culture teaching is to help the learner gain an understanding of the native speaker’s perspective” (p. 216). “Even though not all teachers are native speakers, all teachers are the culture bearers, the representatives of the culture in the classroom” (Curtain & Dahlberg, 2004, p. 33). Figure 2.1 shows how language and culture articulate and that the interconnection of language and culture is important for language learning:
Culture Language World knowledge Culture in context Spoken/written genres Culture in general text structure Pragmatic norms Culture within utterances Norms of interaction Culture in the organisation and selection of units of language Grammar/lexicon prosody pronunciation/kinesics Culture in linguistic and paralinguistic structure
Figure 2.1 Points of articulation between culture and language-Adapted from Liddicoat et al. (2003, p.
9).
As Liddicoat et al. (2003) also claim, language and culture interact with each other in a way that connects culture to all levels of language use and structures; that is, there is no level of language which is independent of culture. However, the sheer vastness of culture makes it impossible to tell learners everything they need to know about the target culture. The strategies regarding this issue will be further explored in the discussion chapter.