Exploring the Feasibility of Integrating Culture Learning into Taiwan's Foreign Language Education

Abstract

Although culture learning is closely connected to language learning and definitely essential to developing students' communicative competence for cross-cultural communication in the global society, the importance of culture learning to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning is often ignored by MOE (Ministry of Education) and English teachers in Taiwan. Thus this paper draws upon domestic and international literature to explore the factors that hamper culture learning in a foreign language classroom and the ways that can integrate culture learning into Taiwan's foreign language education. While finding that the stereotypes about culture among the public as well as the limited knowledge of both the target culture and the approaches to culture teaching among educators and English teachers in Taiwan are the main factors that make culture learning separate from language learning in a foreign language classroom, the researcher concludes that with the trend toward globalization and internationalization English teachers in Taiwan need to understand more about the nature of culture learning and shatter the illusion that linguistic knowledge is the most important element in cross-cultural communication. In order to integrate culture learning into Taiwan’s foreign language education, the researcher also concludes that English learning materials and teaching approaches as well as the goals of Taiwan's foreign language education should be adjusted appropriately. 136-Abstract Although culture learning is closely connected to language learning and definitely essential to developing students' communicative competence for cross-cultural communication in the global society, the importance of culture learning to EFL (English as a Foreign Language) learning is often ignored by MOE (Ministry of Education) and English teachers in Taiwan. Thus this paper draws upon domestic and international literature to explore the factors that hamper culture learning in a foreign language classroom and the ways that can integrate culture learning into Taiwan's foreign language education. While finding that the stereotypes about culture among the public as well as the limited knowledge of both the target culture and the approaches to culture teaching among educators and English teachers in Taiwan are the main factors that make culture learning separate from language learning in a foreign language classroom, the researcher concludes that with the trend toward globalization and internationalization English teachers in Taiwan need to understand more about the nature of culture learning and shatter the illusion that linguistic knowledge is the most important element in cross-cultural communication. In order to integrate culture learning into Taiwan's foreign language education, the researcher also concludes that English learning materials and teaching approaches as well as the goals of Taiwan's foreign language education should be adjusted appropriately.