AbstractSocieties are defined by their cultures which are deeply entrenched in their minds, and thus reflected in the way they perceive the world around them, and in their communication with others. Hence, this study investigates the extent to which Arab EFL students' understanding of culturally loaded words is similar to that of native speakers of English and whether their English proficiency level plays a role in their understanding of these words. The sample consists of three groups; 10 native speakers of English (NS), 10 advanced learners of English (ALS) and 10 intermediate learners of English (ILS) studying at the University of Jordan in Amman, Jordan. The respondents were asked to rate the suitability of seven culturally loaded words in fully contextualized sentences. The study concluded that EFL learners both (ALS) and (ILS) have insufficient awareness and comprehension of culturally loaded words. Statistical analysis of the three groups' ratings demonstrated that (ALS) understanding of culturally loaded words seemed to approximate to that of the (NS) but still their results differed statistically from those of the native speakers. Additionally, the English proficiency level of the (ALS) and the (ILS) played a role in their perception of culturally loaded words, but it was not enough to yield statistically significant differences.Keywords: Culturally loaded words, Perception, EFL learners, Culture, Vocabulary1. IntroductionLanguage and culture are tied together by an indivisible bond. McDevitt (2004) argued that the attempt to learn and culture separately is impracticable. It may not be possible to learn a certain without being exposed to its culture, since this may increase the possibility of a communication breakdown, when we are communicating with speakers of other languages. Such problem may result from lack of knowledge of what is considered proper and acceptable and what is not in other cultures.We use our to communicate with each other and to establish social relationships with people around us. Kramsch (1998) stated that language expresses cultural reality in that, it is easy to communicate with people who speak our because we have the same social and cultural background (p.3). Thus, we do not encounter many problems in interpreting their speech correctly. However, when we are communicating with speakers of other languages, we have to be careful as we may say something we believe to be appropriate in our culture when it turns out to be offensive or inconsiderate in their culture. In a recent study, Hwang (2006) compared the cultural values in English and Chinese, he pointed out that a certain act of politeness in the Chinese culture may be considered as violation of privacy by native speakers of English. He concluded that in cross cultural communication, it is necessary to think about what we say beforehand, bearing in mind its appropriateness in others' culture, and act accordingly to avoid communication failure and misconception. Our cultural awareness can help us have a successful conversation with speakers of other languages and develop our ability to convey massages. According to Bada (2000), EFL students encounter many difficulties in conveying messages to native speakers of English, because they are not aware of the cultural factors related to these speakers and that is what calls the need for cultural literacy in ELT (cited in Genc & Bada, 2005).Al-Fallasi (2007) reported, in a study she undertook to explore compliment responses by Arabic speakers and native speakers of English (NS), that some compliment responses by Arabic speakers are regarded as odd or insincere by some NS of English. This is due to the fact that they are not aware of the culture that lies beneath the surface, and goes beyond these responses and vice versa. She concluded that such communication problems may occur as a result of first (L1) influence on second (L2). …