Abstract:

Building on the notion of communicative competence and the speech act theory, professionals in the field of language pedagogy have become increasingly aware of the need to include a cultural component in language curricula, and focus has been on devising appropriate techniques for addressing cultural elements while teaching linguistic skills. If culture cannot be escaped in the language classroom, it seems reasonable to make the most of it. With language content expanded to include cultural matter, syllabus designers, textbook writers and teachers face compelling questions: Should culture be regarded as an integral component in language teaching / learning, or is it to be treated as supplementary optional material? How can such a vast topic as culture be incorporated into an already crowded language syllabus? Which cultural aspects are relevant to language learning? When should they be introduced? The goal of this paper is to argue for the systematic teaching of culture, and to demonstrate how foreign language teachers can incorporate it into their lessons. Questions as why, what, when, and how to teach will be discussed at length, drawing on the works of prominent scholars in the field.

Keywords:

Culture, culture teaching, foreign language teaching / learning, fifth skill.