The Role of Culture in Foreign Language Teaching with Special Reference to "Iraq Opportunities" Textbooks for the Intermediate

Abstract

AbstractThis research paper endeavors the incorporation of teaching culture into foreign language classes. Teaching culture can be used as a motivating factor for encouraging the learners to learn the foreign language(i.e. English) .It tries to find answers why and how culture is taught by designing a questionnaire conducted to (215) teachers of English for the intermediate stage in Basrah governorate and its districts for the academic year 2011-2012.The study showed that nearly most of the teachers of the selected sample are untrained to teach culture either they lack of knowledge and experience or lack of aids, techniques and strategies and the time for teaching culture. This led the teachers to neglect teaching some of the cultural aspects. In addition, the findings showed that the Iraqi culture is very limited compared to the English one and other cultures in the prescribed textbooks. Many teachers suggested the inclusion of the Iraqi, Islamic and Arabic cultures in the prescribed textbooks.