MOVING BEYOND LANGUAGE: AWARENESS OF EFL LEARNERS IN TARGET LANGUAGE CULTURE

Abstract

What students in EFL classes think and feel about the target language culture has always been in a great domain for all teachers and other stakeholders. It is always a great concern, whether or not learners accept and absorb the target language. They may find it useless or unnecessary, even though the course books or classroom activities exposed them to it. This study reports on the measures on the perceptions of Turkish EFL Learners toward the target language culture. It examines the meaning of culture; whether it is important to have knowledge and information on the target language culture; and the advantages and drawbacks of learning the target language culture to make the questions in the minds clear. The study involved 20 EFL learners at a university in Turkey. It used in-depth interviews with the participants, and attempted to identify the learner’s perceptions concerning the target culture. The research results show that the participants’ perceptions on the target culture vary greatly.