Introduction

Many books and articles have been written with the intent to show the interrelationship between language and culture. Some of these works explicitly state that a person cannot successfully learn one without the other. Due to the short length of this paper, the intention is to provide a brief overview of the need for incorporating culture with language in the teaching of a foreign language to adults. Some examples of how this may be accomplished will also be included.

With global economies and trade expanding at exponential rates, more and more adults have to negotiate with businesses from other cultures. One of the difficulties for many people regardless of their country of origin is overcoming their ethnocentric thinking. Ethnocentric, meaning that one's own cultural way of doing things is the best and most efficient. All cultures have ethnocentric thinkers.

Cultural impact on business

Many business people are finding that learning foreign languages is to their advantage for advancement within the company or for expanding their own company's reach. However, learning a language alone is not sufficient. In the preface of his book Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands, Koehler (1994), Director to the Wharton Export Network expands on this subject by stating,
 

Globalization, by definition, requires you to deal with, sell to, and/or buy from people in other countries. These people probably speak different languages, have different cultural attitudes, and have different historical backgrounds. They cannot be dealt with, sold to, or bought from in the same way as a domestic company. Multicultural awareness is a vital component of any global marketing strategy. (p. viii)

Morrison, Conaway, and Borden (1994) provide a serious example as to why knowledge of different cultures is essential to adults, especially those in the business world.
 

The Thom McAn Company traditionally sells shoes with a nearly-illegible "Thom McAn" signature printed inside the shoe. But when it tried to sell footwear in Bangladesh, a riot ensued in which more than fifty people were injured. It seems that the "Thom McAn" signature looked like Arabic script for "Allah". Outraged Muslims decided that Thom McAn was trying to get Bangladeshis to desecrate the name of God by walking on it-an insult in any culture, but especially in Bangladesh, where the foot is considered unclean. (p. ix)

Native English speakers who are familiar with this shoe brand, may find this a humorous story. If it were your own culture being denigrated in some way, it would not be as comical.

Culture as an essential component of language learning

Much of learning a language is beyond the boundary of learning vocabulary and grammatical rules. Languages, whether written or spoken, are symbols that express thoughts. Therefore, many experts agree that these components are inclusively necessary when learning a new language. According to Brown (1991) "Second language learning is often second culture learning" (p. 33). Hence, a language is not mastered until the cultural underpinnings have been learned as well. Brooks (1964) states
 

If we teach language without teaching at the same time the culture in which it operates, we are teaching meaningless symbols or symbols to which the student attaches the wrong meaning; for unless he is warned, unless he receives cultural instruction, he will associate American concepts or objects with the foreign symbols.

It is not possible to teach language successfully without teaching cultural components as well. The key here is that in order to teach language successfully, the teacher must not only be an expert in the target language, but also the cultural expert of the cultures that utilize that language. Unfortunately, research suggests that language teachers are not always prepared to present the cultural aspects that their students need in order to be successful.

Schmidt-Rinehart (1997) states many foreign language teachers welcomed the change of focus from teaching grammar to communication in the classroom, thus expanding their scope of instruction. "The new standards urge that teachers create learning environments for students that will foster achievement in the five goal areas of communication, cultures, connections, comparisons, and communities" (p. 202). Unfortunately, according to Schmidt-Rinehart, many are not professionally prepared to meet these standards. Reasons for this include the isolation of some language teachers from the target language, in-service training programs are not specifically for language teachers, and many do not have the opportunity for extended study abroad due to their family and financial obligations. When teachers are not able to continue to sharpen their own language skills, they are weakened, and therefore they become less effective as teachers.

Schmidt-Rinehart states that the usual opportunity for a language teacher's trip abroad is escorting a group of students. Due to the restrictions of this juncture, the teacher has limited access to the local people to develop deep and meaningful conversations. Without this experience, the teacher has lost out on possible important events in which to increase their knowledge base.

Bialystok and Hakuta (1994) point out the increase in the number of high schools in the United States that now teach Japanese as opposed to five years earlier. The number has increased to 770 from 200. However, they state that Japanese is one of the hardest languages for native English speakers to master. Of the 770 schools offering Japanese, under 40 percent of the teachers were native speakers. Only a few more than one third of the teachers had ever taken a course in the structure of the Japanese language. lncredulously, 73 percent of the non-native speakers had only three years or less of formal language instruction. Their effectiveness not only as teachers of the language, but as transmitters of culture is more than questionable.

Solutions

One of the most obvious solutions to the lack of qualified language teachers is that the non-native speakers be encouraged to get the education necessary to teach. The education of the teacher is not limited to being fluent in a language. Teachers who are not educated in the cultural understanding of the target language are only being partially prepared for their teaching tasks. Additionally, it is not enough to be culturally fluent in one culture of the target language, but several, so that the teacher is able to discuss the differences in the cultures where that language is primarily spoken. 

Language teachers need continual in-depth language opportunities in which to maintain and increase their skills and on-going training in the pedagogical advancements in language teaching as well as in-depth cultural understanding. Krashen (1997) advocates the use of comic books, magazines, newspapers, and novels all in the target language for incorporating culture in the classroom. The second component is a continuation of the first. He proposes the provision of free reading time with the student selecting their choice of material to read. Krashen explains that studies that have been completed after these programs showed high student enthusiasm as well as a high achievement in acquiring the target language in addition to cultural components.

Lozanov (1988), the creator of Suggestopedia suggests in his teachers' manual that the way to make culture evident is with quotations; pictures of great art, and original poetry are included in each lesson to give the student the motivation to understand the culture as well as learn the language (p. 67). James (1999) having done research with foreign language teachers questioned how they include culture with the teaching of language. Natasha, a native Russian speaker and Russian teacher in Houston, Texas discussed the importance of the cultural influence in this way.
 

When they think in their new language, they themselves are creating. When they take a new identity, they are not following the traditional rules. In their new identity, they can expand their thinking in the Russian culture. This is so important. They start to think like a Russian. All of a sudden, they start to like Vodka. (she laughs) Because why? Because this is the adjective of Russian culture. It helps them to feel Russian. By taking these names and these occupations, it helps them overcome the barrier. They are not a stranger, an intruder to a new world. They feel like they belong to a world that is theirs. (p. 215)

Pablo was another participant in the research of James (1999). Pablo is a Spanish teacher in a Total Immersion school in Costa Rica. He infers that being in the culture, the student can also learn the "gestures, diversity of greetings, what they can and cannot do or what is not usual to do with the language"(p.257). In this situation, the surroundings are the teachers. 

Brown, Collins and Duguid (1989) verify Pablo's beliefs. "Given the chance to observe and practice in situ the behavior of members of a culture, people pick up relevant jargon, imitate behavior, and gradually start to act in accordance with its norms" (p. 34). In addition, Brown et al. discuss the cognitive need to learn within context in order for the student to obtain the implicit meanings that can only be learned through experiences. As they state,
 

Activity, concept and culture are interdependent. No one can be totally understood with other two. Learning must involve all three. Teaching methods often try to impart abstracted concepts as fixed, well-defined, independent entities that can be explored in prototypical examples and textbook exercises. But such exemplification cannot provide the important insights into either the culture or the authentic activities of members of that culture that learners need. (p. 33)

Conclusion

To sum up, teaching a second language is not sufficient to educate a student for being functional in that language without the cultural components intertwined. However, there is a need for the teacher to be educated in the cultural differences of the target language as well in order to be totally effective in the second language classroom.

Bialystok and Hakuta (1994) succinctly conclude the need for language learning and cultural understanding by stating, 
 

Learning a second language is not simply a technical feat: it is an expansion of perspective. We live in a world community that speaks more than five thousand distinct languages. We cannot hope to understand ourselves and our own place in this world without understanding the enormous impact of linguistic and cultural diversity on the human social condition. Recognizing the implications of learning a second language and understanding something of the process of its acquisition propel us toward this goal. (p. 10)

References

Brooks, N. (1960). Culture in the classroom. In J. D. Vales (Ed.), Culture bound. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Brown, H. D. (1991). Breaking the language barrier. Yarmouth, ME.: Intercultural Press.
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989). Situated cognition and the culture of learning. Educational Researcher, 1, 32-39.
James, R. (1999). The Lozanov method/Accelerated learning and total immersion in adult second language learning: Teachers' reflections on the effectiveness of non-traditional methods. Unpublished doctoral dissertation: University of San Francisco.
Krashen, S. D. (1997). Foreign language education the easy way. Culver City, CA.. Language Education Associates.
Lozanov, G., & Gateva, E. (1988). The foreign language teacher's Suggestopedic manual. New York: Gordon and Breach Science Publishers.
Morrison, T., Conaway, W. A., & Borden, G. A. (1994). Kiss, bow, or shake hands. Holbrook, MA: Adams Media Corporation.
Schmidt-Rinehart, B.C. (1997). Authentic materials and Mexican immersion: A professional development program combining pedagogy, language, and culture. Foreign Language Annals, 20, 201-209.