CULTURAL FACTORS IN ENGLISH CLASSROOM: REALITY AND THE IMPACT

Nina Suzanne

Abstract


Learning a language means learning a culture. It is widely known that when people learn a new language, automatically they also learn the culture of the community even though do not learn it particularly. Consequently, understanding other culture can help learners to learn the language well. However, being successful in learning a new language is not the only goal for the learners. Unconsciously, a new idea and environment could influence their perspective and even characters. One of media that can affect learners easily is a textbook which may consist of a lot of reading materials. English students at IAIN Batusangkar read a lot of words, sentences, paragraphs, essays, articles, passages, journals and other reading materials that mostly written by western authors that expose many terms, language and live style, and also opposite view. The students’ need to know about English or American culture to help them learn English language well is a fact. On the other hand, their characters turn into more westernized and obscured their local culture is another serious fact. This article is written to describe the importance of cultural aspects; cultural awareness, the need of special attention on local culture, and the selection of appropriate reading materials to support the cultural issues in English as a foreign language classroom.


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References


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