Cultural Awareness in E F L Instruction: Rationale and Suggestions for Implementation

• Published in: 영어교육연구, 16(4) pp. 161 - 204
• Main Author: Ross,Robb
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Korean
• Published: 팬코리아영어교육학회 01.12.2004
• Subjects: 영어와문학
• ISSN: 1226-6566; 2671-9460

This paper begins by outlining culture’s evolving role and function in language teaching. While in previous centuries students would learn an L2 and attempt to access the target culture through its literature and great works, more contemporary approaches strive to achieve Cultural Awareness or Intercultural Communicative Competence. These focus on the important task of providing learners with the cultural knowledge and skills needed to successfully interact with members of a target culture. Korea’s own experience in cross-cultural contact is then discussed, emphasizing that due to historical and political factors Korea’s awareness of other cultures has been, until relatively recently, rather limited. Next, this article argues that a greater emphasis on cultural content is warranted and necessary. In considering a typical communicative exchange it is often the L2 speaker’s level of cultural awareness that determines its success, rather than the L2 speaker’s mastery of grammar, for example. Finally, in attempting to improve learners’ level of cultural awareness, instructors do not need to discard existing and preferred teaching methods. Only a more principled focus on the selection of materials and choice of tasks is required to implement a process that will improve Korean L2 learners’ cross-cultural communication skills. KCI Citation Count: 1