An Analysis Of The Correlation Between Attitudes Towards The Target Culture, And Language Ability

Language and culture are intrinsically linked. Language is a significant part of culture, and culture is transmitted through language. In the teaching of a language, traditionally, culture has been at the periphery at best. Instead, the focus has been on teaching language through memorizing grammar rules, and vocabulary lists, with the goal often being to pass exams. While this method makes language something easy to measure, it fails to address the cultural link, which can lead to lack of interest in the subject.In the United States, a somewhat recent trend in language education has been to incorporate cultural lessons as part of the language instruction, often with engagement in the communities of the target language. China still tends to focus the more measurable aspects of language, especially at the secondary school level. Additionally, while increasingly, native speakers are hired to teach the subject, there is comparatively little interaction with the target culture.This thesis will analyze the correlation between attitudes toward the target culture, and the ability to use the language. In this case, English language learners will be the participants for the research, with measurements made of their spoken English, and attitudes towards native English speakers being measured through surveys.The results of the data analysis indicate that indeed, attitudes towards the target culture correlate to an increased ability to use the language. Attitudes towards English as a subject were important, and students who expressed a greater desire to learn English did have a better command of the English language. However, even more important than the attitude toward English as a subject was the attitude toward the culture of English speaking countries, and people from those cultrues.