Cultural Differences In Second Language Teaching

In the classes I teach, I generally tend to focus on the sociological environment of the learners by respecting the fact that differences are what make us human beings. Culture as a part of our daily lives, has a dominant affect on the way learners perceive English being taught to them. There are times when I ask my students if they feel comfortable with the materials we are using in the classroom. Their response is not really caring. They do not seem to pay attention to differences they have between Turkish and English language culture. They have been educated with the books almost on the same basis and content throughout the years and they do not show any interest on the issue. Yet, they immediately react to any related case if any occurs …show more content…
Clearly, this data shows that our assumptions on the effects of culture in second language teaching are not meeting with the reality. Majority of the teacher participants mentioned that there are cultural similarities around the world making English language a common ground. Therefore, learners do not experience cultural shock during the process. Some participants even referred to the fact that cultural differences may help learners to compare and contrast their knowledge with newly acquired one. Some learners are found to be quiet welcoming to new cultures and …show more content…
Learners have been exposed to similar type of material during their education starting from primary school to university level. Therefore, differences do not block the flow of the process and similarities enhance the possibility of comprehension. Yet, existence of cultural differences and similarities in second language teaching is still inevitable. However, its effect on learners during the English language-learning period depends on the level of acceptance of the