Vietnamese Teachers of English Perceptions and Practices of Culture in Language Teaching

As languages and cultures are inseparable from each other, cultural content has been considered an integral part of language teaching. On the premise of this interdependent relationship, the current study was conducted in order to explore teacher perceptions and practices of culture in English language teaching at a Vietnamese university. Data for the study were collected from classroom observations and interviews with fourteen teachers of English language in a Vietnamese university. The findings indicate that although the participants were aware of the inextricable relationship between language and culture, their perceptions of culture teaching centred around topical dependence, priority of language over culture in language teaching, inadequate exposure to culture in language courses, and other constraints on culture teaching. Their teaching practices were dictated by traditional approaches to culture teaching, which focused on cultural knowledge about English speaking countries. Based on the participants’ perceptions and practices, the study discusses implications for transforming culture teaching in English language education in Vietnam and in particular, for developing intercultural competence in relation to employability.