Teachers and Students’ Attitudes towards the Integration of the Target Culture in the English as a Foreign Language Class: A Case Study

Abstract

Language and culture are like two sides of the same coin, the music on a radio or the soul in a body. The two are so interrelated that separating them is almost impossible. Therefore, teaching a foreign language implies integrating the target culture. In this context, this study aimed to investigate teachers and students’ attitudes towards the integration of the English culture in the EFL curriculum at the University of Sétif 2.  A Semi-structured interview with six English language teachers and a questionnaire to 53 third-year English students were the tools used to collect the necessary data. The analysis of the data showed that all the teachers were for the integration of the target culture in the EFL classes. The study also revealed that students who had positive attitudes towards the target culture represented only 28% of the sample. Therefore, the researchers suggested that the concept of target culture be properly defined within the EFL class and appropriately approached to sustain interest. Moreover, teachers are encouraged to integrate certain aspects of the target culture, such as language, norms, and values, to avoid misunderstanding, and respect each other’s cultural rights.