The role of culture in the foreign language classroom

Abstract

Communication like many human activities is constrained by individual and cultural factors- It is not enough to learn only the form of a language to communicate. Moreover, many commun ica t ion faiJures are the result of lack of cross-cultural understanding rather than a lack of linguistic competence. The goal in foreign language teaching must be to develop "communicative competence." The development of "communicative competence" in the foreign language involves much more than linguistic competence. Communication also involves developing an awareness of the way of life and the traditions of the people whose language is being studied. Thus, learning the cultural roots of a language is essential for meaningful fluency. In other words, an understanding of culture makes language study more meaningful. According to the field of anthropology, culture should not be isolated from language; it should be used to teach language as well as provide content and focus for what the foreign language student should know in order to function harmoniously in various sociaj situations in the target language environment.