Chapter 1: Introduction
This chapter presents the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study.
1.1. Rationale
English has gained its great popularity in Vietnam, a country attempting to develop
her technological capacity and to increase her participation in the global processes. For
many people in Vietnam, English is seen as one of very necessary means to get a good job.
Thus, there is a growing demand to learn this language for communication.
We have been concentrating on structures and forms and producing materials that
may help our students to have perfect diphthongs or a flawless command of the third
conditional while leaving out anything approaching real, valid, meaningful contents. If our
students have any hope of using their language skills to communicate in the global village,
cultural awareness is crucial. Therefore, language teachers should realize that knowledge
of the world’s language and culture is increasingly important. In order to use the language
effectively, language learners need to have mastery of not only the language itself but also
the culture in which the language is used. Language learners need to be aware, for
example, of the culturally appropriate ways to address people, express gratitude, make
requests, and agree or disagree with someone. They should know that behaviours and
intonation patterns that are appropriate in their own speech community may be perceived
different by members of the target language speech community. They have to understand
that, in order for communication to be successful, language use must be associated with
other culturally appropriate behavior.
In short, culture becomes an indispensable part in any foreign language curriculum.
Tourism students at HCC are fully aware of this. When being asked why culture is very
important, they believe that understanding culture helps them become more confident and
successful in communicating and that cultural information is one kind of their motivation
in learning English. On the contrary, many of them do not realize the importance of culture
in ELL because they say that learning English is a hard work for them to master it as a
language, and English cultural knowledge is one of their problem.
Teaching English culture is considered important by most teachers but it has
remained “insubstantial and sporadic in most language classroom” (Omaggio, 1993:357).
Omaggio gives several reasons for this including lack of time, uncertainty about which

so as to try out methodological activities that could improve the current situation of
English culture learning of Tourism students.
1.4. Research questions of the study
2
My study is intended to answer two following questions:
1. What are Tourism students’ attitudes towards English cultural learning?
2. How does students’ cultural understanding change through the incorporating
English cultural elements into the lessons?
1.5. Methods of the study
In this research, the theoretical background mainly bases on books written by a
variety of scholars on foreign language teaching and cultural teaching issues.
The thesis author employs action research to analyze the data collected. Comments,
remarks, comparisons and conclusions are based on factual research: observation, survey
questionnaires, interviews, discussion, and experience.
In order to achieve the purpose of the study, survey questionnaires are utilized to
survey the situation of learning culture being developed and administered at the beginning
of a semester. Tests in culture for the participants after applying the culture- teaching
activities, interviews and other survey questionnaires on the focused group are conducted
in the end to gain quantitative and qualitative data of how these teaching methods take
effect on students’ English culture learning and achievement. Observations and informal
discussion are effectively combined with them, too.
1.6. Design of the study
The study is divided into four chapters:
Chapter one presents the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the study.
Chapter two reviews the related literature that helps to give the theoretical
foundation for this study. This review consists of the literature on the place of culture
knowledge in foreign language learning, goals for incorporating culture into the foreign
language class, and Comparing and Contrasting as activities of raising students’ culture
awareness.
Chapter three contains the study that includes three sections. The first summarizes

“Culture” may be explained “the ideas, customs, skills, arts, and tools which
characterize a given group of people in a given period of time ” (Brown, 1987 :122).
Besides, “ what is important in culture is what one is expected is think, believe, say, do,
eat, wear, pay, ensure, recent, honor, laugh at, fight for, and worship, in typical life
situation” (Brooks, 1968: 218, cited in Oxford, 1996: ix). The concept of culture, therefore,
involves the way people from a particular cultural background think, make friends,
worship and behave in a society. No single individual can live without sharing a culture
4
with others. Put in other words, culture is derived from a community and a community, in
turn, reflects its culture.
In this paper, I takes Nguyen Quang’s view of culture (2006: 24) as the working
definition:
“ Culture is the whole complex of tangible and intangible expressions that are
created and adapted by a society or a social group as well as the ways it functions
and reacts in given situations”. Based on this definition, in my point of view,
culture helps distinguish one society or social group from another not only o terms
of the availability of those expressions and behaviour, but also in terms of their
proportionality and manifest ability”
In short, these above opinion of culture show that culture is a deeply ingrained part
of people’s life. However, language- the means for communication among members of a
culture- is the most visible and available expression of that culture. And so a person’s
world view, self- identity, and system of thinking, acting, feeling, and communicating can
be disrupted by a change from one culture to another. Therefore, when we learn a language
we can not separate it from culture. Culture should be taught with the language until
advanced level, and teachers should make students aware of the cultural features in relation
to the language which will be presented in the next part.
2.1.2. Culture knowledge and foreign language learning
In the field of foreign language teaching, one aspect that occasionally emerges as a
topic of discussion is the relationship between knowledge of a foreign language and
knowledge of the culture. It is likely that the question of “culture” is often regulated to the

skill, tacked on, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading and writing”. She explains
that language is inextricably connected to culture. We can not be competed in the language
if we do not understand the culture that has shaped, and how that culture relates to our own
first language/ first culture. Thus, foreign language teaching and learning must equip
students with the tools they need to be effective world citizens. Their increased ability to
appreciate the complexities, similarities and differences that exits in our world will lead
them toward careers and service related to activities based on this substantive knowledge
6
and experience. Cultural understanding prepares the ability to acknowledge and respect
cultural differences.
As language teachers, we need to be interested in the study about culture in order to
teach the culture of another country because we have to teach it. Robert Politzer (cited in
Valdes, 1994: 123) remarks that if we teach a language without teaching, at the same time,
the culture in which the students may attach wrong meanings, they will receive culture
instructions. Besides, cultural learning has previously been seen as something for advanced
learners, an extension exercise that can be taken on to an ordinary lesson. This is partly due
to the frequent error of assuming that students with a low level of English also have a low
intellect generally. Kramsch (1992: 125) states “intercultural awareness, as a fundamental
feature of language and an integral part of language learning, is important at all level.”
Briefly, regardless of different points of view, the study of culture takes an
important place in language teaching and learning studies in order to facilitate the process
of learning and avoid culture shocks. The process of foreign language learning involves
not only perceiving the similarities and differences in other cultures but also recognizing
the native culture. Thus, the question “ What are the cultural topics in foreign language
learning ? ” good for teachers’ thought
2.1.3. Cultural elements in foreign language learning
This is the conclusion of Robert Politzer, who says in the Georgetown University
Report of the Fifth Annual Round Table Meeting on Linguistics and Language Teaching:
“As language teachers we must be interested in the study of culture not because we
necessarily want to teach culture of the other country but because we have to teach

should be presented in the contexts accompanying the native ones with the aim of
increasing students’ awareness and developing their curiosity towards the target culture,
helping them to make comparisons among cultures. The comparisons are not meant to
underestimate any of the cultures being analyzed, but to enrich students’ experience and to
make the aware that although some culture elements are being globalized, there is still
diversity among cultures. In order to do this, it is necessary for teachers to be aware of
goals for incorporating culture into the foreign language class.
8
2.2. Goals for incorporating culture into the foreign language class
According to Seelye (1994 : 154), the following goals should be achieved to teach
culture for understanding:
* Goal 1 = Interest- The student demonstrates curiosity about the target culture and
empathy toward its people.
* Goal 2 = Who- The student recognizes that role expectations and other social variables
such as age, sex, social, class, ethnicity, and place of residence affect the way people speak
and behave.
* Goal 3 = What- The student realizes that effective communication requires discovering
the culturally conditioned images that are evoked in the minds of people when they think,
act, and react to the world around them.
* Goal 4 = Where and When- The student finds that situational variables and convention
shape behavior are important ways. (s/ he needs to know how people in the target culture
act in common mundane and crisis situations)
* Goal 5 = Why- The student understands that people generally act the way they do
because they are using options society that allows for satisfying basic physical and
psychological needs, and that cultural patterns are interrelated and tended mutually to
support need satisfaction.
* Goal 6 = Exploration- The student can evaluate a generalization about the target culture
in terms of the amount of evidence substantiating it, and has the skills needed to locate and
organize information about the target culture from the library, the mass media, people, and
personal observation.

many others, the biggest headache for language teachers, especially the teacher of EFL, is
how to integrate culture teaching into our language programs.
Comparing- Contrasting is an approach to teach language and culture together in
the Framework of Cultural Awareness Model (Liddicoat and Crozet, 2001 : 120). The
model assumes that in order to successfully interact with people from other cultures we
have to understand ours and the other’s cultural values, norms, customs, and social
systems. It also argues that the knowledge of ourselves as the cultural being is the
foundation of knowing others in terms of their own culture.
It is especially important that students have the opportunity to think about and talk
about what they notice, either in their first language or in the second language. According
10
to Comparing- Contrasting approach, students’ noticing is followed up wherever there is
an explanation of the function of particular actions in the target culture. Some teachers may
worry that as non- speakers, they do not have enough insight into the other culture to teach
it. However, being a native speaker is not always an advantage, because in an intercultural
approach, the teacher needs to know something about both cultures. Because this approach
is comparative and is based on learning to notice differences, the important element is the
exploration of difference that is something teachers and students can do together.
Oxford (1994 : 26) shares the same view that teacher must be careful to teach the
pleasant aspects. The essence of culture understanding is to know how your own culture is
both similar to and different from the target culture. Therefore, activities and materials
should portray different aspects of the culture. In other words, teachers need to “sell”
different views of the culture to their students. Introducing deliberate contrasts within a
culture can be useful. Some different ‘selling points’ are contrasted below:
+ Attractive vs. Shocking
+ Historical vs. Modern
+ Similarities vs. Differences
+ Old people vs. Young people
+ Dark aspects of culture vs. Bright
+ City life vs. Country life

subject matter of the humor; for example, the desert island situation, relations between men
and women, polities, drunkenness, etc. The students’ task is to work together and draw up
a list of the different types of subject matter used.
3. The students work in groups, categorizing the cartoons and preparing their lists.
4. A spokesperson for each reads the list to the class.
5. Write the different categories of subject matter mentioned by students on the board.
Then write the following questions on the board:
- Are cartoons common in your country?If so, what is the most common subject matter?
- How are British cartoons similar to cartoons in your country? How are they different?
6. Students work in groups, discussion of the following questions:
- What did you learn about British humor from this activity?
- What did you learn about humor in your own culture?
* Variation: Intermediate level and above
12
Instead of focusing on the subject matter of the humor, students can draw up a list
of visible aspects of British life contained in the cartoons, for example:
1. Houses and homes (rooms, furniture, etc.)
2. Work environments (offices, factories, etc.)
3. Leisure (fishing, reading, watching TV, etc.)
4. Eating and drinking (restaurants, pubs, etc.)
5. Travel (traffic, road signs, etc)
6. Shopping (supermarkets, department stores, etc.)
7. Clothes and fashion (uniforms, hairstyles, etc.)
2.3.2.2. Dating customs
* Aim: To compare relationships between men and women in
the UK with those in the students’ culture(s)
* Materials: A task sheet for each student
* Level: Lower- intermediate and above
* Preparation: Photocopy the task sheet overleaf.
* In class:

parties, dances, the cinema).
S  D 
Note:
4. Parents very rarely choose dates for their children.
S  D 
Note:
5. Women may invite men to parties or other social
events.
S  D 
Note:
6. Teenagers usually date people of the own age, but
sometimes girls date boys who are two or three years
older.
S  D 
Note:
7. Teenagers meet members of the opposite sex at
school, parties, or other social events.
S  D 
Note:
8. Men and women sometimes share expenses on a
date.
S  D 
Note:
9. Teenagers and young adults meet and choose their
own dates.
S  D 
Note:
10. Men and women date people of different
economic, ethnic, social, or religiuos backgrounds
S  D 

whether the practice is the same or different in their culture(s).
4. Follow up with a whole- class discussion on the following questions:
- What have you learned about shopping habits in the UK from this activity?
15
- In what ways are shopping habits in the UK different from shopping habits in your
culture?
Task sheet
Shopping habits
The statements below give information about shopping habits in the UK. Are these habits
the same ( S) or different ( D) from ones in your country? Put a tick in the appropriate
boxes. If any of the habits different, write brief notes explaining the differences.
In the UK In your country
1. Adults do most of their own shopping for
clothes.
S  D 
Note:
2. Mothers usually buy all the clothes for the
young children in the family.
S  D 
Note:
3. Teenagers usually choose their own clothes.
S  D 
Note:
4. Married couples usually shop for large items
such as cars, furniture, and TV sets together.
S  D 
Note:
5. Shopping for groceries usually done by
going to the supermarket once a week.
S  D 

* In class:
Day 1
1. Tell the students that they have an opportunity to show and talk to the class about an
object that is meaningful to them. Everyone brings to class something they value
2. It may help to give some examples of the kind of object you mean: an article of clothing,
a picture of a national monument, a book by a favourite author, a musical instrument, etc.
Day 2
1. Tell the class that they will have 2 minutes to show their objects and to talk about
English. Everyone discuss what they have seen and heard at the end of the presentations.
2. The students present their objects within the two minutes limit.
3. When all the students have finished, write the following questions on the board:
- What one thing did you learn about each person’s culture?
- What more would you like to know about the culture of each member of the class?
- What have you learned about your own culture in doing this activity?
4. Allow enough time for students to think about and write their answers to the questions.
5. Finally, conduct a whole- class discussion based on the questions. If your class is very
large, the discussion can be carried out in groups.
2.3.2.6. Front- page features
* Aim: To identify characteristic features of the front pages of British
newspapers; to compare British front pages with the front pages of
newspapers from the students’ own countries.
* Materials: Front pages of British newspapers and newspapers
* Level: Lower- intermediate and above
* Preparation:
1. Collect front pages of local, regional, or national newspapers from the UK and
from the students’ own countries. Put pages up around the walls of classroom.
2. Make enough copies of the task sheet below to give one to each student
* In class:
1. Explain to the class that by looking at the front page of a newspaper, they can learn a
17

4. Follow up with a whole- class discussion based on these questions:
- In what ways is the schedule different from a TV schedule in your country?
- In what ways is it similar?
- What did you learn about TV programmes in the UK from this activity?
5. Give the students copies of TV schedules from British papers. Ask them to look for the
differences and similarities in content and organization of television in the two countries.
Task sheet
TODAY’S TV SCHEDULE
Use the information in the TV schedule to answer the following questions:
1. How many channels (separate broadcasting stations) can viewers choose from?
2. During what hours do these channels broadcast?
3. Do any of the channels seem to specialize in particular types of programmes?
4. Which programmes are documentaties?
5. Which are news programmes?
6. Which are sports programmes?
7. Which are for children?
8. Which are do- it- yourself programmes (cooking, gardening, home repairs, etc.)?
2.3.2.8. Early, on time, or late ?
* Aim: To compare the concepts of time in the UK with
the concept of time in the students’ culture
* Materials: A task sheet for each student
* Level: Lower- intermediate and above
* Preparation: Photocopy the task sheet opposite.
* In class:
19
1. Explain to the class that the concept of time can be very different in different cultures,
and that in this activity they are going to compare the concept of time in the UK with the
concept of time in their own culture.
2. Divide the class into pairs, and distribute the task sheet.
3. The students work in pairs, discussing events listed on task sheet, and ticking their

7. A film
8. A graduation
9. A dinner party
10. A class
2.3.2.9. Holiday photographs
* Aim: To highlight items for cultural comparisons.
* Materials: Family or holiday photographs which show a variety
of people and settings
* Level: Elementary and above
* Preparation:
Go through your holiday photograph album and choose pictures with a cultural
feature which can be compared with a feature in the students’ culture(s). For example,
photographs from a holiday in the West of Ireland.
* In class: 1. Introduce the topic and the photographs. You might say: This year I went
on holiday to Ireland. Here are some of my holiday photographs.
2. As a warm- up before the students see the pictures, ask them to call out some work that
sum up their impressions of Ireland.
3. Ask the students to work in pairs or small groups.
4. Go around the groups and hand out one picture to each group. At the same time, give a
brief commentary on each one.
For example: - This is an Irish telephone box.
- This is the mountain scenery near Kerry.
5. The groups discuss the photographs, and look for cultural differences.
6. Next, the students give you their impressions and feedback on any cultural feature they
notice. For example, they might say: Ireland is green. I thought it was grey.
7. At the end of the activity, students summarize the key differences and similarities.
2.3.2.10. Social behaviour
* Aim: To heighten awareness of the differences in appropriate
21
social behaviour between the students’ culture (s) and that of

titles until they ar invited to use first names.
6. People shakes hands when they meet other
people for the first time, but not every time they
see them after that.
7. Men and women friends may kiss each other
on the check if they see each other after a long
time, or even each time they meet.
8. People often try to start a conversation with
someone they don’t know by making a comment
about the weather.
9. People may try to start a conversation by
complimenting the other person.
10. During the “farewell” stage of a
conversation, people will often move away from
each other little and decrease eye- contact.
Briefly, there are many activities for incorporating English cultural elements into
the English training with the Comparing- Contrasting approach which are applied by a lot
of foreign language teachers in Vietnam and in the world. Actually, some of them are
simple but others are complex and quite difficult to use. In my opinion, some above typical
ones given by Barry Tomalin and Susan Stempleski are not only practical and consistent
with the Tourism students at HCC but also useful to increase the teacher- student
interaction in the classs.
2.4. Conclusion
In this chapter, the relevant literature which has been reviewed in order to form the
theoretical and conceptual framework for the study is presented. From the literature
review, the place of cultural knowledge in foreign language learning has been discussed. It
has been concluded that language is inextricably connected to cultural knowledge that is
the interactive and complementary. Knowledge of the target culture not only helps learners
understand what is stated but also motivates foreign language learners to learn the target
language intrinsically. However, although teachers feel culture has played an important

most students do not have obvious communicative need because they never seem to have
chances to interact with foreigners. All of them seem to be concerned with passing the
exams. The students see employment as the main goal, and most jobs in Vietnam do not
require fluency in English, as Bock (2000: 25) shows: ‘They are motivated to pass exams
to move up some ladder toward a better job, but that does not often seem to include real
fluency’.
The second stage is time for students to study English in their field. ESP taught for
the third- year students in about 120 periods. One of the purposes of teaching ESP at HCC
is to develop the ability to use English effectively for their study and their future careers. In
25