Abstract
Culture-embedded teaching is integral to teaching foreign languages. In Saudi higher education, the cultural aspects of the target language is poorly integrated in foreign language education due to rigid doctrinaire ideologies. This study, using a survey research design, aimed to introspect the perceptions of EFL instructors about culture and literature teaching in EFL college programs, particularly in Saudi Arabia. The study also explored the perceptions and attitudes of EFL college English language instructors concerning the integration of culture in English language education programs. Utilizing a descriptive research methodology, the researchers made use of questionnaires and interviews to tap into the perceptions of faculty responsible for teaching English as a foreign language courses in the EFL program of the College of Languages and Translation, King Khalid University. The survey and interviews also examined the EFL teachers’ attitudes towards the integration of literature teaching in English education. The findings showed that EFL instructors were concerned with explicit teaching of cultural issues through literature as an excellent source of culture-laden material for foreign language learning. However, due to meagre literature teaching, the current program is short of presenting adequate culture content integration. Barriers perceived include over-use of indigenous cultural and Islamic themes that interfere with proper teaching of the target language. Findings also revealed that teachers entertained positive attitudes toward integrating culture in language education through using a variety of methods and techniques. Pedagogical implications advocate the importance of integrating culture into foreign language teaching courses, especially in the literature curriculum stream as well as integrating real-life conversational excerpts for teaching culturally-laden content in listening and speaking courses. Suggestions for further research topics on culture integration in ELT are presented eventually.
Highlights
Introduction and BackgroundLearning a foreign language entails a lot of learning from the target foreign culture, since "learning new languages opens the minds of students to other people's lifestyles and “increases opportunities for cross-cultural understanding” (p. 105) [1]
The questionnaire was designed to introspect the views of teachers about three significant aspects of literature teaching: (1) perceptions about the importance of foreign language education and literature education in EFL classrooms; (2) participants’ perceptions of and attitudes towards culture teaching in the current literature curriculum; and (3) methods and techniques of integrating literature education in the EFL curriculum in Saudi Arabian universities
The purpose of this study was to introspect the perceptions of teachers and their attitudes towards using literature courses in culture education in the foreign language classrooms in a Saudi university
Summary
Introduction and BackgroundLearning a foreign language entails a lot of learning from the target foreign culture, since "learning new languages opens the minds of students to other people's lifestyles and “increases opportunities for cross-cultural understanding” (p. 105) [1]. The teaching of culture, or acculturation, does not equate to the transmission of information about the population of the community or country whose language is targeted by learning, even though this type of knowledge is an important element in the foreign language education program [9]. This is true because culture is just a fountain of details and experiences that can be utilized in foreign language education if necessary. Foreign language education should teach learners how to reproduce or even circumvent the socially (un) accepted norms both in their own culture or in the target culture, which entails some kind of intercultural awareness integrated in the foreign language curriculum
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