| Summary: | 碩士 === 中原大學 === 應用外語研究所 === 96 === In recent years, English has been identified as the first foreign language in many countries. The world is becoming more like a global village and knowledge of related cultures is becoming valuable in the instruction of the English language. In addition, it was also indicated that understanding the norms of social interaction in intercultural contexts leads to effective communication. Thus, understandings of social and cultural backgrounds are crucial for effective communication.
Culture has a great influence on the language development process and the way people use the language. Language learning should not be separated from culture. The concept that learning a language is not only learning the linguistic knowledge but also its culture has been emphasized greatly. Therefore, it is essential for learners to equip with English-language cultural knowledge in their English learning. Studies pertaining to culture in language teaching indicate that culture should be incorporated in language learning and teaching. However, literature specifically concerning university faculty’s viewpoint on the relationship between culture instruction and English teaching is relatively lacking. The purpose of this study was to investigate Taiwanese university English faculty’s perspectives on incorporating English-language cultures into their English teaching.
In order to answer the research questions, a survey with a five-point Likert type scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) was designed and utilized. The questionnaire consists of six categories. A total of 51 items were developed and used in this survey. The target population for this study represented university English instructors in Taiwan during the Fall Semester of 2007. The sample in this study included 146 English faculty members from 13 universities in Taoyuan County in Taiwan. Seventy-six valid faculty responses (52%) were used for data analysis. The statistical analysis methods including descriptive analysis, Independent-Samples T test, One Way ANOVA, Post Hoc Multiple Comparison (Tukey), and correlation analysis were carried out to answer the research questions.
Results derived from the statistical analyses indicated that there were differences in English instructors’ familiarity of culture of English speaking countries based on their nationality, years of living in English speaking countries, language use in class, and experience of English instruction. Differences were found in instructors’ opinions on the incorporation of English-language cultures into English teaching based on instructors’ gender and nationality. Differences were found in current English teaching situation at the university level based on English instructors’ nationality. Additionally, differences were found in difficulties of English speaking countries culture instruction at the university level based on English instructors’ gender, nationality, and language use in class.
It is concluded that most university English faculty hold positive attitudes towards the incorporation of English-language cultures into their teaching. Most English instructors agree with the concept that it is necessary to learn English-language cultures in order to master the English language. The incorporation of English-language cultures into English teaching was indicated to enhance learners’ international understanding, reinforce their communicative competence, and raise their learning motivation. This study presents recommendations to university administrators, instructors, and researchers with the aim of achieving a more effective incorporation of English-language cultures into English teaching.
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