Cultural Learning in a Turkish Language Course: An Initial Investigation into How College Students Make Meaning of Cultural Information in the Classroom
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12583269Keywords:
Cultural learning, foreign language, cultural understanding, higher education, internationalizationAbstract
For years research has affirmed the positive role that foreign language courses play in increasing the cultural knowledge and understanding of university students. However, at a time where internationalization is now at the forefront of nearly every major US university, foreign language courses are being cut and defunded at unprecedented levels. Clearly, the cultural benefits that foreign language courses provide are not meeting the standards necessary to be seen as key contributors to the goals of internationalization. Thus, the research presented in this paper is an initial student-centered investigation into the process of cultural learning within foreign language courses. Specifically, this research focuses on how students perceive and understand the cultural information they are exposed to in the classroom. This research illuminates important areas in which foreign language courses can improve in order to better facilitate cultural learning.
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