Journal Review: Acculturation Approach in the EFL Classroom: Attitudes and Beliefs

Authors:

Badr Allehyani

Dr. Dave Burnapp

Professor Janet Wilson

This journal aims to understand the importance for Saudi students of learning about English/American culture in developing learners’ communicative competence. It intends to explore the attitudes of students and parents of students to incorporating English/American culture into the EFL classroom. A quantitative approach was used for the data collection, consisting of a structured-questionnaire presented to 200 student and parent participants. 

The results of this study show that most students who were surveyed have a strong motivation to learn the English language in order to gain access to the culture of English-speaking countries such as the UK and the USA. Hence, they want to focus on communicative competence rather than linguistic competence in learning English.

Also, the results show that some parents treat learning the target culture with suspicion, because of the fear of losing Saudi identity by studying authentic materials. But despite this most parent respondents have positive attitudes to learning English/American culture in the EFL classroom. 

This journal has some advantages, concluding with some useful references to ways of learning English/American culture in the EFL classroom. Also, the originality of this jurnal is including parents in the belief that their participations cannot be ignored because of their influence on their children’s views. 

International students arriving in the UK thus may be in dire need of social support due to the changing environment and the unfamiliar atmosphere, which is not at all similar to their original cultural environment, so that they can adapt to this new society. In other words, learning English language outside its social context of use does not develop learners’ communicative competence. So that Saudi learners may encounter difficulties to communicate in ways that are comprehensible.

Alsamani (2014) and Al-Qahtani (2016) claim that the acculturation approach should be implemented in order to raise learners’ cultural awareness. So, Al-Qahtani points out that learners “need cultural guidance to enhance their English acquisition” (2016: 197). Such an approach develops learners’ communicative competence and ability to use English as a communicative medium. In confirmation Hesar et al. (2012: 68) say that “While teachers need to seek ways to acculturate their students, they also need to be understanding and responsive to students’ own cultures”.

As well as the previously-cited advantages of using the acculturation approach inside the EFL classroom, another advantage is that this approach can especially help those students aspiring to carry on their study abroad to deal with negative emotion and stress when this is caused by culture shock such as homesickness and distance from family and friends. is the fact of being unfamiliar with the culture of these Anglophone societies in Saudi Arabia. 

Name: Puspita Firahmahira

Class: 4-E

NPM: 1910631060122