Social and Cultural Focus in EFL Learning. Does Understanding Target Language Culture Increase Interaction in the EFL Classroom?

Abstract

The value of encouraging interaction in the EFL classroom has been well documented in the literature and numerous methods have been indicated as being beneficial in this respect. Similarly, there is also a growing recognition of the value of incorporating social and cultural learning about the target language and its speakers into the EFL curriculum. In line with Vygotsky’s view that learning is social construction that occurs when individual integrate and participate in activities and knowledge sharing, this would suggest that incorporating cultural and social learning into the language learning classroom can increase the integration of students. Drawing on definitions of culture, highlighting potential routes to providing information about target language culture and identifying the connections between cultural knowledge and language proficiency and communicative competence, the perspective is put forward that social and cultural learning can lead to increased integration in the EFL classroom.