Turkish High School Students' Perceptions of Culture Learning in Foreign Language Classrooms

Abstract

Language and culture are thought to be interrelated by many researchers. Some find it valuable to integrate cultural elements into language teaching whereas others oppose the idea claiming that English is a lingua franca. There has been much research regarding the opinions of teachers or university students on this debate. However, learners excluding university students have not been fully explored up to date. The aim of this research was to investigate Turkish high school students’ perceptions of the place and role of culture learning in foreign language classrooms. Data were collected from 126 high school students through a questionnaire. In addition, interviews were conducted with 10 voluntary participants. For data analysis, descriptive statistics were conducted via SPSS, and the interview was analysed thematically. According to the results, the participants have positive perceptions of culture learning in language classrooms. Most of them are aware of the inseparable relationship between culture and language. They think cultural elements should be incorporated in language teaching. The findings were triangulated with the data obtained from the interviews. Interviewees agreed on the idea that culture should be taught along with the language. Rather than focusing on only the ideas of decision-makers, learners’ opinions should be investigated more in designing curriculum, as they are the subjects of learning.