Communication and Culture

CULTURAL AWARENESS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHING AND

LEARNING IN VIETNAM
I- Introduction
1. Background
Nowadays, teaching and learning English has unceasingly developed in Asia countries
including Vietnam. However, whether teaching and learning English is in a proper way and
whether teachers and learners have a right awareness of the language they are teaching and
learning. Illustratively, English is just considered a foreign language in Vietnam but a number
of Vietnamese learners are aware of the role of English in their lives, thus, they are willing to
come to English schools, educational institutions, and language centers to study English
seriously and professionally. They desire to communicate fluently in English with foreigners
in their offices and in their daily lives, master four language skills (listening, speaking,
reading, and writing) perfectly for their international tests of English (TOEIC, TOEFL, and
IELTS). This leads to the need of numerous English language teachers, both native-speaker
teachers and Vietnamese teachers. These teachers come to class to satisfy the thirsty of the
students for learning English, they teach English for communication, English with four skills,
and English grammar. However, whether they are ware of that they are language teachers then
that they have to teach cultural awareness to their students when they are learning another
language beside their mother tongue. Moreover, whether the students are conscious of that
language has strongly related to culture that cannot be separated and ignored when learning a
language. If both teachers and learners are, they will understand why their students often
forget to say ‘thank you’ to their partners in communication, why they are not familiar with
questioning rather than answering, why their students are not good at writing in English style
and so on. Obviously, cultures of both the native and target language, are, themselves, barriers
that prevents students from learning a foreign language successfully and perfectly. The barrier
might be an invisible one to the learners if their teachers do not awake and develop the
cultural awareness in the learners during their learning of a foreign language, English.
2. Aim and significance
This writing aims at clarifying the culture and language elements in teaching and
learning a language, reviewing and discussing the relationship between culture and language,
and the necessity of cultural awareness in a foreign language teaching and learning. Then that
needs in Vietnam are inferred. Thanks to that, the writer also wants to supply techniques that
help English language teachers to apply in order that their students’ cultural awareness is
raised and developed when they learn English.

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The most significance of the writing is contributing partly to awaking teachers and
learners’ cultural awareness in teaching and learning English in Vietnam. During the English
teaching and learning, they should be conscious that cultural elements always exist.
Therefore, it requires teaching cultural awareness in language teaching and learning.
Because of the limit of the assignment, this writing is based on the theory of linguists,
and discussions and results of researchers. The writer reviewed by citing selectively the
related ideas and adding her critical ideas through her understanding and reality to the writing.
II- Related definitions
1. Cultural awareness
1.1. What is culture?
Culture is defined as the pattern of meanings embodied in symbolic forms, including
actions, utterances and meaningful objects of various kinds, by virtue of which individuals
communicate with one another and share their experiences, conceptions and beliefs
(Thompson, 1990 in Kachru, 1999, p.77)
Drawn on five interrelated dimensions, culture is defined as that ‘the evolving way of
life of a group of persons, consisting of a shared set of practices associated with a shared set
of products, based upon a share set of perspectives on the world, and set within specific social
contexts (Moran, 2001, p.24). With this definition, Moran (2001) collects all the ideas of
educators and scholars who have defined culture, language, or communication. All the
components and aspects including tangible and intangible products or artifacts, verbal and
nonverbal practices such as language and other forms of communication and self-expression
as well as actions, explicit and implicit beliefs, values and attitudes, broad and local social
contexts or circumstances, and individual and collective members in that culture are brought
into the definition of culture.
There is another definition of culture preferred because it implicitly shows the
relationship culture and language in itself. Culture, according to Hinkel (2001), includes
speech acts, rhetorical structure of text, socio-cultural behaviors, and ways in which
knowledge is transmitted and obtained. It is manifested through body language, gestures,
concept of time, hospitality, customs and even expressions of friendliness.
1.2. What are cultural awareness and its component?
Cultural awareness, central to the notion of intercultural communicative competence,
involves an understanding of both the culture of the language being learned and learners’ own
culture (Baker, 2003).

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At a higher level, in intercultural communication, it is commonly to use the term

‘intercultural awareness’ that is the process of becoming more aware of and developing better
understanding one’s own culture and other cultures all over the world (Yassine, 2006). It
includes set of attitudes and skills listed below.
 Observing, identifying and recording
 Comparing and contrasting
 Negotiating meaning
 Dealing with or tolerating ambiguity
 Effectively interpreting messages
 Limiting the possibility of misinterpretation
 Defending one’s own point of view while acknowledging the legitimacy of
others
 Accepting difference. (Rose, 2004 cited in Yassine, 2006)
The cultural awareness of students process four levels or stages. The first level is that
students are aware of stereotypes, and in the next two level, they realize significant contrast
between those and their own from ‘unbelievable’ to ‘believable’. After experiencing the
culture, from the standpoint of the insider, students understand how another culture feels, the
final level of cultural awareness process (Hanvey, 1979 cited in Moran, 2001, p.161).
2. Language teaching and learning
Language is, according to linguists, as a complex communication system must be
analyzed on levels comprising phonology, syntax, morphology, semantics and lexis,
pragmatics, and discourse (Mitchell & Myles, 2001).
Moran (2001) defines language as a product of the culture that plays a distinct role.
Language is created to carry out cultural practices of members in that culture, to identify and
organize all their cultural products, to name the underlying cultural perspectives in all the various
communities. All components of language, words, expressions, structures, sounds, and scripts serve
the culture. From this viewpoint of a cultural scholar, language is a window to the culture (p.35).
III- Discussion
1. What is the relationship between culture and language?
Culture, language and communication that are the three concepts interrelated and
embedded should be mentioned together in the writing though the relationship between
culture and language is discussed.

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Culture shapes our views of the world and language is the most representative element
in any culture. Any item of behavior, tradition or pattern can only be understood in light of its
meaning to the people who practice it (Peck, 1984). This relationship is viewed as two sides
of the same coins that one is inseparable from another (Morgan, 2001). This means that
teaching a language brings out teaching the culture in which it is created.
From the viewpoint of Brown (1994) that language and culture are interwoven so that
one cannot separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture,
Cakir (2006) argues that there is a close relationship between language and culture. It is
widely recognized because there is relation between the form and content of a language and
the beliefs, values, and needs present in the culture of its speakers (p.156).
Synthetically, in his own words, Nguyen (2010) remarks the followings describing
undoubtedly the relationship comprising,
 Culture shapes our language, which in turn shapes the way we categorize out thoughts
about the world and our experience in it;
 Culture cannot be separated from language because culture provides a speaker
meaning of language in use;
 To reach the potential meaning of an utterance, the surface linguistic meaning of
language needs to be supplemented by reference to two levels of the social contexts:
context of situation and context of culture;
 To interpret a text, three levels of meaning, surface linguistic, situational, and cultural,
need to be considered together. (pp.52-53)
Consequently, new terms are appeared to reflect the very close relationship between
language and culture, namely linguaculture (Kramsch, 1989; Faniti, 1995), languaculture
(Agar, 1994), or language-and-culture (Byram and Morgan, 1993) (Moran, 2001, p.35).
2. Why does it need to teach cultural awareness in language teaching?
In this part, the question why culture is important in language teaching, specifically, in
foreign language teaching, is mostly focused. Thanks to that, it is understood implicitly and
explicitly that cultural awareness and teaching cultural awareness are really necessary to be
taken account in language teaching.
Without the study of culture, foreign language instruction is inaccurate and
incomplete. For foreign language students, language study seems senseless if they know
nothing about the people who speak it or the country in which it is spoken. Language learning
should be more than the manipulation of syntax and lexicon (Peck, 1984). Sarigul and

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Ashton-Hay (2005) explains that it is much more meaningful to understand the cultural
context of day to day conversational conventions such as greetings, goodbye, form of address,
thanking, etc. than to product grammatical utterances. This means knowing what is
appropriate to say to whom, and in what situations. It infers that language learners need to be
aware of the cultural element when using language in communication. In another word,
learning a language will also involve learning the culture the language expresses (pp 5-6).
Sharing the same idea, in his study, Hong (2008) finds that if the teachers don not
bring in the cultural aspect of the language into the classroom, language teaching itself cannot
bring out the intended results and student do not fully understand the language in context.
In addition, because of the close relationship between language and culture, the aim of
language teaching is not only the communicative competence but also cultural competence, in
another word; an alternative term is intercultural communicative competence. This means that
cultural competence or intercultural competence is considered as the fifth one of components
of communicative competence based on that many researchers and scholars state that teaching
language and teaching culture or teaching cultural awareness cannot be separated or devalued.
From the idea of Krasner (1999) that linguistic competence is not enough for students
to be competent in that language, Peterson and Coltrane (2003) suggest that students need to
be aware of cultural features such as the culturally appropriate ways to address people, make
requests, agree or disagree and express gratitude and so on. They argue that language use
must be associated with other culturally appropriate behavior so that communication activity
is successful. Therefore, even taught explicitly or implicitly, cultural awareness should be
raised through relevant activities of teachers in charge.
Focusing much on the role of English language in intercultural communication, Moss
(2002) proves that by raising awareness of cultural differences and the breaking down of
stereotypes and prejudices, we, teachers and learners, may help to foster tolerance and
understanding between nations. With English recognized as the lingua franca of the ‘global
village’, it has a crucial role as the medium through which dialogue between different races
and nations can take place (p.24). In English language teaching in Portugal, she believes that a
greater awareness of British values and customs can help learners communicate more
successfully in a range of social contexts. Knowing certain forms of address and expressions
of politeness in English, for example, help a learner regarded as more acceptable and
agreeable to a native English speaker. Consequently, through cultural awareness activities,
learners will have the comparison between their host culture and the target one. From that,
they have knowledge of cultures better and then know to communicate appropriately in

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different contexts of cultures. In addition, because language is tied up with culture, knowing
what language is appropriate in what situations is an important part of communicative
competence (Moss, 2002, p.24).
In his paper, Cakir (2006) finds that language learners do not appreciate the
importance of learning culture until they visit a country or go abroad and experience the
difficulties. In addition, the problem gets more serious to language learners who learn and use
target language to comprehend, interpret, translate, and produce written or oral texts. Thus, he
strongly believes that the problem is caused by the lack of cross-cultural awareness. He also
states that language is culture and culture is language. Then in English foreign language
classroom, when teachers teach the language, they automatically teach culture. He adds that
the aim of mastering a language is to reach communicative competence, thus, teachers cannot
ignore cultural element that is referred to the sociolinguistic competence, one of components
of communicative competence. Consequently, learning to understand target language’s
culture help students use words and expressions more skillfully and authentically; understand
the language and situationally appropriate; act naturally with the person of the other culture;
recognize and accept their different actions; and make the other speaker feel at home in the
learner’s own culture. Moreover, if teachers and learners are aware of socio-cultural and
socio-linguistic differences existing between student’s native language and target language,
they will learn why sometimes there is unintended pragmatic failure and breakdown
happening in their communication. Eventually, it might help them to find out an appropriate
remedy for those communicative situations (pp 156-158).
In another author’s writing, Zhang and Yan (2006) deeply take account on the
influences of culture on the components of language teaching and learning including
vocabulary, listening, speaking, reading, and translating. They come into a conclusion that
teachers, especially, Chinese teachers ‘do teach student the foreign language culture in classes
when teaching goal is communicative competence’ (p. 75). They base on the idea of Mc Leod
(1976) that when teaching a language, the second language or a foreign language, teachers
inevitably already teach culture implicitly.
Thanks to the role of culture in language teaching and the need of intercultural
communicative competence mentioned, it is strongly proved that the cultural awareness is one
of the aspects must be firstly considered in language classroom. According to Baker (2003),
cultural awareness is viewed as an intrinsic part of language teaching and without it
successful communication may be impossible.

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With the purpose of communication with native speakers and having the acceptance
from them in their community, as Cakir’s viewpoint (2006), language teachers need to make
learners aware of cultural differences, not pass the value judgments on these differences.
Therefore, in classrooms, learners should be exposed to the differences as much as possible.
These activities involving cultural problems will help them to:
 Develop the communicative skill;
 Understand the linguistic and behavior patterns both of the target and the native
culture at a more conscious level;
 Develop intercultural and international understanding;
 Adopt a wider perspective in the perception of the reality;

 Make teaching sessions more enjoyable to develop an awareness of the potential

mistakes that might come up in comprehension, interpretation, and translation and
communication. (Cakir, 2006, p. 157)
Interested in a broader topic, intercultural competence in EFL in Vietnam, Nguyen
(2007) proves that Vietnamese learners of English use it to communicate more with the
second learners of English rather than with the native speakers. This leads to the need of
intercultural understanding and competence. It is obviously drawn out from the point that
learners firstly should be aware that culture plays an important role in their learning English.
In Vietnamese situation, in respond to the call for reform in English language teaching and
learning, she proposes that intercultural awareness should be considered alternative.
IV- Implications for English language teaching and learning in Vietnam
1. What are requirements for English teachers and learners in Vietnam?
It is obviously that language and culture always have a close relationship. Thus, to get
the best target of learning English, language teachers should be aware that they have to
increase and develop their students’ cultural awareness that partly influences the success of
communicative competence and daily communication.
Vietnamese teachers who teach English as a foreign language should know that
English is a language of a quite different cultural context, Western culture and context that is
nearly contrary Vietnamese ones, Eastern culture and context. Therefore, it requires them to
make their best efforts into raising and developing cultural awareness of their students,
enriching cultural knowledge through English lessons.
Teachers should have an amount of knowledge about the target culture and cultural
issues presented in the textbook. As Moss (2002) suggests, English teachers should approach

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Western cultural productions, especially, those of English such as televisions, internet, films,
newspapers, literature works, and so on to update their cultural development and knowledge
of the language they are teaching.
The purposes of Vietnamese learners of English, nowadays, are not only for
examinations at school but also for communication at work and in English speaking countries
(Nguyen, 2010, p.22). To help learners to reach the purposes represented in communicative
skills, teachers should have a combination between teaching language and culture. Then they,
Vietnamese teachers and researchers need to find out an integrated approach to teach
language and culture simultaneously in a lesson.
2. What are applicable techniques for teaching cultural awareness in Vietnam?
In order that English teachers can awake and develop cultural awareness of their
learners, and satisfy the requirements, I would like to present some cultural activities and
techniques that are most familiar and applicable in Vietnamese classrooms below.
Culture Capsules
The teachers show an essential difference between an American and a foreign custom
(i.e. dating, cuisine, pets, and sports) that is illustrated by visuals such as images and realia
originating from the target culture. Then they can raise questions to involve the class in
discussion (Hughes, 2001). Peterson and Coltrane (2003) add that the students can do a
research or an investigation to find out the answers. They even can write a brief summary or
make presentation in front of the class. It is believed that these activities will help teachers can
keep larger cultural issues.
Culture island
Teachers design the classroom with posters, pictures, maps, and a frequently changing
bulletin board that is viewed as a cultural island. This will be attractive to students, awake
them to cultural issues. Teachers can also request students to present short production of their
interesting posters on the wall. (Peck, 1984; Hughes, 2001)
Newspapers
Many cultural aspects are not usually in the textbooks but newspapers, therefore,
teachers can ask their students to compare two versions of text, one in the foreign newspaper
and another in their newspaper. The items they have to make comparisons are such as
headlines, advertisements, sports pages and comics and so on. Thanks to this activity,
students’ cultural insights are better (Hughes, 2001)
Projected media

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Using films, slides and television programs is successful techniques if teachers know how to
combine them with their lessons. It can provide student cultural insights and a welcome variety of
classroom activities (Hughes, 2001). Moreover, Peterson and Coltrane (2003) think that these are
really helpful for students to witness behaviors not obvious in the texts.
Ethnographic studies
Teachers will let their students, in groups, go out and carry out ethnographic
interviews or observations native speakers in their community. They can record in their
notebooks, or on audiotapes, or videotapes. It is assumed that this activity is effective for
students to learn about the target language and culture (Peterson & Coltrane, 2003).
Celebrating Festivals
It is considered as the most favorite activity of many students (Peck, 1984). Teachers
together with their students have activities to welcome big holidays and festivals of target
culture such as parties, games, contests. By experiencing these activities, students might be
more aware of cultural issues and get more knowledge about the target culture.
Thematic discussion
Use activities involving cultural values of the target language and designed for every
level in the classroom help learners be familiar with the target culture. Cakir (2006) has
suggested that, at the elementary level, teachers raise topics related to discussion of their daily
life such as their families, their living conditions, their schools, their relations with their
friends, the festivals and holidays in their country, etc. to their learners. At the intermediate
and advanced levels, some topics learners can discuss such as historical events, society
organization, production, business events, and history of art, music, and film.
V- Conclusion
Generally, culture issue and teaching culture in language teaching and learning,
especially, English, have been recently concerned a lot in researches, books, articles and
writings. It seems that communicative competence, the aim of language teaching and learning,
is no longer famous for its four sub-competences, linguistic competence, discourse
competence, strategic competence and socio-linguistic competence (Kumaravadivelu, 2006,
p.17). Instead, it is preferred five competences including those four and intercultural
competence that is called ‘intercultural communicative competence’. Obviously, it cannot be
denied the closely tied relationship between culture and language and the essential role of
culture in language teaching and learning, therefore, the needs of teaching cultural awareness
should be satisfy in language classroom. From that trend, Vietnamese teachers and learners of
English cannot deny cultural elements in their context. Particularly, it is necessary for them,

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both teachers and learners, to recognize that cultural awareness is the first thing they have to
take into consideration. Consequently, available activities and techniques for teaching cultural
awareness presented are recommended seriously to Vietnamese teachers of English in order
for the hope of the best in teaching and learning English here.
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