Perspectives and Preferences towards Teaching Culture in EFL Classroom: Senior High School Context in Indonesia

Abstract

Language and culture are two things that cannot be separated; therefore, while learning or teaching a language, there is a high possibility of also understanding the culture of the learned/target language. Despite the inseparable bond between language and culture, the inclusion of culture in teaching English as the mandatory foreign language in Indonesian schools is scarce. Most English teaching and learning processes focus on developing the student's understanding and mastery of language skills. Misunderstandings might happen during communication with people from different cultural backgrounds since English is served as a foreign language in Indonesia. Hence, teaching culture in an EFL classroom is required in this case. This case study investigated senior high school EFL teachers' and students' perceptions of the notion of culture and its significance in English classrooms. Moreover, the source of culture and the cultural themes were additionally examined. Six English teachers and seventeen students around Central Java joined in this research. The researchers used close-ended questionnaires and interviews to collect the data. The findings revealed that the teachers and students had varied views towards the definition of culture. They also believed that culture was a crucial part of English teaching, and they preferred some themes such as daily life, music, values and beliefs to learn in their EFL classroom. The research implies that the cultural teaching aspects in EFL classrooms are integral to linguistic elements.