An Investigation into culrural elements via linguistic means in New Headway textbooks.pdf

1. VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES
***************
NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY HẰNG
AN INVESTIGATION INTO CULTURAL ELEMENTS
VIA LINGUISTIC MEANS IN NEW HEADWAY
TEXTBOOKS
(Nghiên cứu các yếu tố văn hóa thông qua phương tiện
ngôn ngữ trong bộ giáo trình New Headway)
M.A. Minor Programme Thesis
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60.22.15
HÀ NỘI – 2010

2. VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST - GRADUATE STUDIES
***************
NGUYỄN THỊ THÚY HẰNG
AN INVESTIGATION INTO CULTURAL ELEMENTS
VIA LINGUISTIC MEANS IN NEW HEADWAY
TEXTBOOKS
(Nghiên cứu các yếu tố văn hóa thông qua phương tiện
ngôn ngữ trong bộ giáo trình New Headway)
M.A. MINOR PROGRAMME THESIS
FIELD: ENGLISH LINGUISTICS
CODE: 60.22.15
SUPERVISOR: PHAN THỊ VÂN QUYÊN, M.A
HÀ NỘI – NĂM 2010

3. iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Declaration................................................................................................................. i
Acknowledgements .................................................................................................... ii
Abstract...................................................................................................................... iii
Table of contents........................................................................................................ iv
List of tables.............................................................................................................. vi
PART A: INTRODUCTION................................................................................... 1
1. Rationale ............................................................................................................... 1
2. Aims of the study .................................................................................................. 2
3. Research question................................................................................................... 2
4. Scope of the study .................................................................................................. 2
5. Methods of the study .............................................................................................. 2
6. Design of the study................................................................................................. 3
PART B: DEVELOPMENT .................................................................................... 4
Chapter 1: Theoretical Background........................................................................ 4
1.1. Culture ................................................................................................................ 4
1.2. Elements of Culture ............................................................................................ 5
1.2.1. British Culture .................................................................................................. 9
1.2.2. American Culture ............................................................................................. 10
1.3. Language............................................................................................................. 11
1.4. Interrelationship between Language and Culture………………………………….12
1.5. Cultural dimension of English language learning and teaching…………………...14
Chapter 2: Methodology ......................................................................................... 17
2.1. Materials under investigation…………………………………………………… 17
2.2. The context of the study………………………………………………………….. 18
2.3. Research question………………………………………………………………….19
2.4. Research methods..……….………………………………………………………..20
2.5. Data collection procedures………………………………………………………... 20

4. v
Chapter 3: Findings and Discussions...................................................................... 21
3.1. Identifications of British cultural elements in New Headway textbooks.................21
3.1.1. Norms……………………………………………………………………………21
3.1.2. Values .............................................................................................................. 22
3.1.3. Attitudes........................................................................................................... 23
3.1.4. Communication styles....................................................................................... 26
3.1.5. Discussion……………………………………………………………………… 28
3.2. Identifications of American cultural elements in New Headway textbooks………31
3.2.1. Norms............................................................................................................... 32
3.2.2. Values ……………………………………………………………………………32
3.2.3. Attitudes ........................................................................................................... 33
3.2.4. Communication styles…………………………………………………………...34
3.2.5. Discussion ........................................................................................................ 34
PART C: CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………….36
1. Conclusions............................................................................................................ 36
2. Implications for incorporating culture teaching into English language teaching……39
3. Limitations of the study and suggestions for further study ..................................... 40
REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………..42

5. vi
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: The frequency of occurrence of British cultural elements in New Headway
textbooks.
Table 2: The frequency of occurrence of American cultural elements in New Headway
textbooks.
Table 3: The comparison of frequency of occurrence between British and American
cultural elements in New Headway Textbooks.

6. 1
PART A: INTRODUCTION
This part consists of rationale, aims of the study, research question, scope of the
study, methods of the study and design of the study.
1. Rationale
As we know, language and culture are interdependent and interactional . Culture affects the
way language is used and language may reflect many factors of culture in turn. In addition,
what is right one culture may not be accepted in another culture. As people from one country
to another , cultural differences become apparent to them. Bentahila, A. and Davies, E
(1998:99-111) when discussing culture and language use have come to the conclusion that if
learners do not acquire some familiarity with the cultural norms of native speakers of their
target language, they will meet difficulties in communicating these ones. Thus, cultural
knowledge is obviously a vital key for Vietnamese students for success in learning English
because second language learning is second culture learning. Without the study of culture,
foreign language instruction is inaccurate and incomplete. Clearly, if you do not understand
about culture of a community, you cannot understand and express fully meanings in the
context of that communication; therefore you will not be able to gain a successful
communication.
English – the popular language in international communication, has played a crucial role in
many fields. It has been taught in Vietnam for decades. Nowadays, English has become a
compulsory subject in schools, colleges and universities in Vietnam. Therefore, different kinds
of English teaching and learning materials are available now in Vietnam. However, the main
emphasis on structural rules and forms often serves as the principal method of teaching
English. Most Vietnamese teachers tend to focus on teaching grammar, vocabulary, language
skills without paying much attention to cultural background knowledge. The students may get
difficulties in achieving contextual, situational and cultural appropriateness in communication.
For foreign language students, language study seems meaningless if they know nothing about
the people who speak that language or the country in which that language is spoken. Foreign
language learning is also foreign culture learning. So, language learners need to be aware, for
example, of the culturally appropriate ways to address people, make requests or invitations,
suggestions or express gratitude to someone, etc. To communicate successfully, language

7. 2
learners need to understand that language use must be associated with other culturally
appropriate behavior.
Understanding a language involves not only knowledge of grammar, phonology and lexis but
also of certain features and characteristics of the culture.
For the aforementioned reasons, the author has decided to choose “Cultural Elements via
Linguistic Means in New Headway Textbooks” as the topic for this thesis.
2. Aims of the study
This research was carried out to serve the following purposes:
- To identify British and American cultural elements revealed in the New Headway
Textbooks. ( at Elementary, pre-intermediate, and Intermediate levels ).
- To raise the teachers‟ and students‟ awareness of the importance of cultural knowledge in
cross-cultural communication as well as in mastering English language.
- To give suggestions for incorporating culture teaching into language teaching so that
English learning and teaching become more interesting and effective.
3. Research question
This research is carried out to find the answer to the research question:
What are the cultural elements that can be found in New Headway Textbooks?
4. Scope of the study
- Pointing out British and American cultural elements revealed in the New Headway
Textbooks such as norms, values, attitudes and communication styles.
- New Headway Textbooks at Elementary, Pre-intermediate, and Intermediate levels are under
investigation.
5. Methods of the study
- This study used quantitative method in order to quantify British and American cultural
elements such as norms, values, attitudes and communication styles in New headway
Textbooks.
- Data was collected by means of descriptive analysis and statistic.

8. 3
6. Designs of the study
This research consists of 3 parts: INTRODUCTION, DEVELOPMENT, AND
CONCLUSION.
Part A: INTRODUCTION.
This part discusses rationale, aims of the study, research questions, scope of the study,
methods of the study, and designs of the study.
Part B: DEVELOPMENT
This is the focus of the study which is divided into 3 chapters.
Chapter 1: Theoretical Background.
This part discusses the culture, elements of culture, British and American culture, language,
interrelationship between language and culture, and cultural dimension of English language
learning and teaching.
Chapter 2: Methodology
It consists of materials under investigation, the context of the study, research question,
research methods, and data collection procedures.
Chapter 3: Findings and discussions
This part focuses on analyzing cultural elements such as norms, values, attitudes and
communication styles revealed in the New Headway Textbooks. Then, give discussions.
Part C: CONCLUSION
To sum up the major findings, give implications for incorporating culture teaching into English
language teaching and then, give suggestions for further research .

9. 4
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
This chapter consists of theoretical background such as culture, elements of culture,
British culture, American culture, language, interrelationship between language and culture,
cultural dimension of English language learning and teaching.
1.1. Culture.
When referring to culture, we often relate to art, music, history, geography , literature,
architect, religions, customs and traditions and social relationship…. . Up to now, the term
“Culture” has been understood and defined in many ways. Each author gives different ideas.
There are many particular definitions and conceptualizations of culture.
“ Culture , in its broadest sense , is what make you a stranger when you are away from home.
It includes all beliefs and expectations about how people should speak and act which have
become a kind of second nature to you as a result of social learning . When you are with
members of a group who share your culture , we or you do not have to think about it, for you
are all viewing the world in pretty much the same way and you all know , in general terms,
what to expect of one another” ( Phillip K. Bock, 1970: ix)
Levine and Adelman ( 1993) asserted that “Culture is a shared background ( for example,
national, ethnic, religious) resulting from common language and communication style ,
customs, beliefs, art, music and all the other products of human thought made by a particular
group of people at a particular time. It also refers to the informal and often hidden patterns of
human interactions, expressions and view points that people in one culture shared”. Levine and
Adelman compared culture with an “iceberg”. The visible part of an iceberg or culture consists
of appearance, food, language, tradition and customs… and the invisible part includes values,
beliefs, attitudes and communicative styles, perceptions, etc. the visible part of culture is a
small part of a much bigger whole. Therefore, people cannot see the significant influence of
culture on an individual behavior and interaction with others.
Culture makes people bind together. Culture is all the accepted and patterned ways of behavior
of a given people. It consists of a group‟s way of thinking ,feeling, and acting and patterns for
doing certain things in certain ways…..
All in all, “ Culture is everything that people have, think and do as a member of a society”

10. 5
( Ferrando, 1996:18, cited in Nguyen Quang, 2006:16). The concept of culture, therefore,
involves the way people from a particular cultural background think, feel, act ,make friends,
worship and behave in a community. Culture distinguishes one human group from others . It
also distinguishes human being from animals. Culture is shared, learned symbolic system of
values, beliefs and attitudes that shapes and affects people‟s behaviors, norms, values,
attitudes, customs, lifestyle, perceptions, taboos and communicative styles, art, history ,
geography, economics and political systems… .
1.2. Elements of culture.
There are many ways of understanding and defining about the culture. So each author gives
different definitions of cultural elements. Some authors define and classify elements clearly,
but others have not classified them clearly, only give some suggestions about them or only list
some of typical elements of culture. In this part, I only list some classifications of cultural
elements from some famous authors such as Stephen Moore, Stephen Dahl, Saville-Troike,
Tomalin and Stempleski, Gail Robinson, Nelson Brooks and UNESCO organization.
According to Stephen Moore (1985:4 as cited by Do Mai Thanh & Dao Thu Trang , 2006: 5-6)
culture consists of the following elements: Beliefs, values, norms, roles, role conflict, and
status.
 Beliefs: are general, vague opinions held about the world and about the nature of
society. They vary by society and sometimes by subcultures, eg. God created the
earth in seven days, or that Jesus was the son of God.
 Values: are vague beliefs about what is right and correct in the world. They imply
that there are certain appropriate forms of action which ought to be taken, eg. Life
is precious therefore, it is wrong to kill anybody.
 Norms: are socially expected patterns of behavior. (Actions that are regarded as
normal) . eg. Not talking out loud during a play, wearing black clothes to a funeral.
 Roles: social roles are patterns of behavior expected of certain people according to
the occupation or position they hold in society. Eg. The role of clergyman is to be
sympathetic, well-mannered, well-spoken, religious, and charitable. A swering,
heavy-drinking, perty-going clergyman would be regarded with astonishment by
most people.

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 Role conflict : There are innumerable social roles- father, mother, child,
shopkeeper, etc. All of us occupy a number of roles, which are generally
complementary, but sometimes they may conflict, for instance, ….
 Status: refers to the position of a person or a social role in society according to the
amount prestige received from others . In different societies or cultures, status
varies. In Britain those with the highest status are the best educated and the rich ,
although this will obviously vary within subcultures. In traditional Japan, it was the
samurai warriors who received the greatest prestige, after the Emperor.
In Stephen Dahl‟s description ( cited by Do Mai Thanh & Dao Thu Trang , 2006:6),
culture is
“ order into” three layers, like an onion, where one peel has to be taken off in order to see
the following inner.
The outer layer, artifacts and products, this is the most explicit part including language and
food, architecture and style etc.
The second layer is norms and values.
The inner most layer, basic assumptions, represents the core assumptions of what life is ,
assumptions about how to handle everyday problems that have become self-evident, that is
communication.
Whereas, Saville-Troike (1982:30) suggest that norms, content of a language, beliefs,
values and needs are components of culture.
But Gail Robinson (1985, as cited by Tomalin and Stempleski, 1993:7) classifies culture
into three components: Products, ideas and behaviors.
 Products includes literature, folklore, art, music, and artifacts.
 Ideas includes beliefs, values, and institutions.
 Behaviors consists of customs, habits, dress, foods, and leisure.
According to UNESCO ( World Conference on Culture policies. Mexico City: 1982),
components of culture consist of art, letters, modes of life, the fundamental rights of the
human beings, values systems, traditions and beliefs.
Nelson Brooks identifies five meanings of culture: growth; refinement; fine arts; patterns
of living; and a total way of life. He believes that patterns of living should receive the
major emphasis in the classroom. It is patterns of living that are the least understood, yet

12. 7
the most important in the early phases of language instruction. He labels this meaning of
culture as culture 4. “Culture 4 (patterns of living) refers to the individual‟s role in the
unending kaleidoscope of life situations of every kind and the rules and models for attitude
and conduct in them. Culture 4 can be divided into formal culture and deep culture. Formal
culture, sometimes referred to as “culture with a capital C”, includes the humanistic
manifestations and contributions of a foreign culture: art; music; literature; architecture;
technology; politics. Deep culture, or “culture with a small c,” focuses on the behavioral
patterns or lifestyles of the people: When and what they eat; how they make a living; the
attitudes they express towards friends and members of their families; which expressions
they use to show approval or disapproval.
Obviously, there are many different ideas from the classifications of cultural
elements. To serve the purpose of this thesis, I will try to identify elements of culture such
as norms, values, attitudes and communication styles in the New Headway Textbooks.
* Norms are the rules of culture that tell the members of a culture how they are expected to
behave in a given situation. Other words, norms are cultural standards for behavior. “The
way we do things around here”. Every society or every civilization has a set of norms. This
can include the folkways, mores, taboos and rituals in a culture.
Eg: Not talking out loud during a play, wearing black clothes to a funeral.
“Norms are prescriptive principles to which members of a culture subscribe. The attributes
of a norm include: (1) a collective evaluation of behavior in terms of what ought to be; (2)
a collective interpretation as to what behavior will be; (3) particular reactions to behavior
including attempts to apply sanctions or otherwise include a particular kind of behavior”.
( Gibb,1965:590, cited by William B. Gudykunst and Stella Ting-Toomey with Elizabeth
Chua, 1988:61)
* Values are cultural standards or judgments of what is right, good, or desirable. Values
are ideas that we hold to be important. Values govern the way we behave, communicate
and interact with others. A value system differentiates right feelings, thoughts and behavior
from wrong feelings, thoughts and behavior.
Geert Hofstede (1980: 6) offers a short list of some topics that deal with values:
Evil versus good Abnormal versus normal
Dangerous versus safe irrational versus rational
Ugly versus beautiful dirty versus clean

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Decent versus indecent paradoxical versus logical
Unnatural versus natural moral versus immoral
Values are feelings with arrows to them. Each has a plus or minus pole. And he also
reminds us that “ values are programmed early in our lives”, therefore, values are not often
irrational.
Eg: Personal freedom, egalitarianism.
Examples of right: loyalty to nation; sense of duty
Examples of wrong: cowardliness; abuse of authority
* Attitudes are the external displays of underlying beliefs that people use to signal to other
people of their membership. This includes internal members. Attitudes also can be used to
give warning . For example, in Vietnamese family, children are not regarded as having
„rights‟. Daughters are expected to assist with household chores from an early age, to defer
to men, to protect their virginity, and to regard marriage as automatic. Boys are often
indulged, and encouraged to pursue „manly‟ activities. Children share rooms with their
brothers and sisters, and in poor families, with their parents as well. Nakedness and family
discussion of sexual matters are taboo.
* Communication styles
Communication style means the way a particular individual communicates with other
persons. Different people follow different styles of communication, depending on their
personality and attitude. Then, there are some people who follow all the communication
styles, depending upon what is required at a given point of time, in a particular situation.
While some people are direct, honest and upfront; some are indirect, manipulative and
aggressive in a rather passive way. Most people use a mix of styles consciously or
naturally. The style of communication can affect the results achieved in business and
personal situations. For example, in Britain, “please”, “thank you”, and sometimes “thank
you very much” are involved in just about every human transaction. They are necessary
and expected in communication with the British. People in Britain are very time-oriented,
respecting deadlines and punctuality. People who talk loud are considered ill-bred, ill-
mannered and ill-educated. British people have a quite indirect communication style. Most
British are masters of understatement and do not use effusive language. Brits tend to be
indirect, subtle and suggestive communicators. “Perhaps we could ask John whether he

14. 9
could finish that report by Monday” actually means “Tell John he must finish the report by
Monday”.
1.2.1. British culture.
Britain is comprised of different countries (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and
Wales) and numerous different regions that all have their very own and very different
traditions, dialects and even languages. The British culture is defined a very old culture.
Societies change over time while their reputation lag behind. Many things which are often
regarded as typically British derive from books, songs, or plays which were written a long
time ago and which are no longer representative of modern life. However, in their private
everyday lives, the British as individuals are probably less inclined to follow tradition than
are the people of most other countries. There are very few ancient customs that are
followed by the majority of families on special occasions. In addition, for example, British
are the most enthusiastic video-watching people in the world, opposite to traditional
pastime. Even when a British habit conforms to the stereotype, the wrong conclusions can
sometimes be drawn from it; for example, it would seem wrong to conclude that their
habits of queuing shows that the British are patient people. Apparently, the British hate
having to wait and have less patience than people in many other countries.
Like all European nations, Britain does not have the luxury of space. Houses, apartments,
cars and appliances are all smaller than you are accustomed. British is well known for
drinking heavily at young ages, having sex from about the age of 12-16 and kicking the
crap out of each other pretty much daily. Football is the greatest loved sport in Britain with
Cricket, Rugby and maybe Tennis. Most people in Britain grow up with an ambition to
claim benefits, become a hair dresser or a car mechanic. Religion is not very big in Britain
and maybe about 10% of the population are actually religious or actually believe in some
sorts of god. The pub is a very important part of British culture and nothing will immerse
you more than a pint of beer. Students, work colleagues, friends and family all meet in the
pub and it is used as a focal point of social contact.
In general, the British people are well known with sense of fair play, integrity, and
understatement. The British, especially the English, are renowned for their politeness and
courtesy. So British communication style is “indirectness”. When doing business in the UK
you generally find that direct questions often receive evasive responses and conversations

15. 10
may be ambiguous and full of subtleties. When chatting with the strangers, they often talk
much about the weather to avoid private things. They always apologize for bumping into
someone even if it is not their fault. They quite respect people's personal space and always
wait in line. They are quite reserved, quiet. So it is difficult to make friends with them but
when you are closer, they are very friendly. We can learn the humour, stiff upper lip and
patience of the British people. The importance of humour in all situations, including
business contexts, cannot be overestimated. They accept the jokes. One of the most
confusing aspects of British culture is humor. Bantering, ribbing, or "taking the mick" are
all ways to describe making fun of someone but this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Teasing
someone is a common way to show affection. In Britain, women are entitled to equal
respect and status to men in all areas of life and tend to have more independence and
responsibility than in some other cultures. Women are usually independent and accustomed
to entering public places unaccompanied. The British people consider the ideal person to
be an individualistic, self-reliant, independent person and they especially respect individual
freedom, in thought, action and feeling, etc. They have been trained since very early in
their lives to consider themselves as separate individuals who are responsible for their own
situations in life and their own destinies, for their own decisions. Hence, they work very
hard. The people of Britain are also very conscious of time and they are very particular
about reaching an appointment on time. Being late for an appointment is considered
impolite in Britain. For examples, you should arrive a few minutes early for public
meetings, plays, concerts, movies, sporting events, classes, church services, and weddings
but if you are invited to someone's house for dinner at half past seven, they will expect you
to be there on the dot. An invitation might state "7.30 for 8", in which case you should
arrive no later than 7.50. However, if an invitation says "sharp", you must arrive in plenty
of time. The British people are the ones who love the nature and animals. They like fresh
and healthy life in the countryside.
1.2.2. American culture.
The development of the culture of the United States of America has been marked
by a tension between two strong sources of inspiration: European ideals, especially British
and domestic originality.

16. 11
American culture encompasses traditions, ideals, customs, beliefs, values, arts, folklore and
innovations developed both domestically and imported via colonization and immigration
from the British Isles. It includes both conservative and liberal elements, military and
scientific competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist
and moral elements. It also includes elements which evolved from native American, and
other ethnic subcultures; most prominently the culture of African American slave
descendants and different cultures from Latin America. In general, Americans are
renowned for individual freedom. Freedom is the most prominent value of American.
Americans commonly regard their society as the freest and best in the world. Americans
who respect the rights of other citizens are free to work, play, worship, travel, and live as
they please. We can encounter that in America children are also allowed to make many of
their own choices – what to wear, what to watch on television, how to spend their free
time, even what school to attend because American parents feel their children have many
rights, including freedom of speech. American life is marked by change and those who
thrive are self-sufficient, quick jumpers, who can exist, if need be, far from family. They
are very self-reliant, self-sufficient and dependent people. They are also very friendly and
informal. People tend to not wait to be introduced, will begin to speak with strangers as
they stand in a queue, sit next to each other at an event, etc. With Americans, equality is a
good chance for a personal success. They work hard and always compete to survive.
Americans believe that people should hold jobs and not live off welfare payments from the
government. Volunteerism in American community and political life reflects Americans‟
optimistic pride in their ability to work out practical solutions themselves. In spite of
equality, the women still do most of the housework and childcare in the family due to old
habits. They also love the nature and animals. Cats and dogs are considered the rest of the
family.
In America, time is a very important commodity. People 'save' time and 'spend' time as if it
were money in the bank. Americans ascribe personality characteristics and values based on
how people use time. For example, people who are on-time are considered to be good
people, reliable people who others can count on. Also, materialism has always been an
integral part of life for most Americans. They consider it almost a right to be materially
well off and physically comfortable.
1.3. Language.

17. 12
Living in a society, people cannot survive without communication with others. In
order to communicate, human beings need a means. Language is the most effective means
of communicating between people to people over the world. As we know, each community
or nation has its own language and each individual has competence to use at least one
language which is called mother tongue. Language plays an important part in our life.
Language is not only for communication but also for transferring culture from generation
to generation. It is difficult to imagine what our life would be like without language.
Language is a sign that make human beings different from all other species in the animal
Kingdom. Radford ( 2000) said that language is regarded as a cognitive system which is
part of any normal human beings‟ mental and psychological structure. Every language has
its own unique features and ways of allowing those who speak it to identify specific
objects and experiences. These linguistic features, which distinguish each language from
all others, affect how the speaker of language perceive and experience the world.
Language is also considered as a social phenomenon. It reveals social consciousness. The
fact that language serves society as a means of communication and the existence and
development of language, in turn, are attached to the existence and development of a
society.
According to Claire Kramsch (1998:3), “Language is the principal means whereby we
conduct our social lives. When it is used in contexts of communication, it is bound up with
culture in multiple and complex ways.”
When communicating, human beings both express their experience and create their own
experience through language. They give meaning to it through the media they choose to
communicate with one another in order to make people understandable to the community
or social group they belong to. It is obvious that language is the primary and essential
means people use to communicate and express their thoughts, feeling, ideas, desires, etc.
Moreover, language is not only our main link with the outside world, it is also a marker
that distinguishes us from the animal creatures we share the world with. ( Larry A.
Samovar, Richard E. Porter, Edwin R. McDaniel, 2007:164)
Thanks to language, people can understand each other more easily. It helps people build a
better society to satisfy their lives and desires.
1.4. Interrelationship between Language and Culture.

18. 13
As we know, each country or nation, small or large, has its own language and
culture. Language and culture are not separate. They are always interrelated.
To gain a better communication, people not only use the spoken language fluently, but also
need a stock of cultural background knowledge such as music, art, literature, history,
geography, customs, traditions, habits, foods, clothes, drinks, norms, communicative
styles, values, beliefs, perceptions, attitudes…… It is clear that one cannot master a
language without its cultural background and in all communicative activities, culture
makes itself strongly felt.
It is commonly accepted that the relationship between language and culture is well
established and must be placed within the social context. They are dialectically interrelated
and language is one of the most typical presentations for perception and thinking.
Language both reflects and affects one‟s world view. When referring to the relationship
between language and culture, Joyce M. Valdes (1986:4) suggests the circular pattern of
language, culture and thought in which each influences and is influenced by the others.
“They are not all the same thing, but none can survive without the others”. Obviously, it is
impossible for human beings to study anything without being acknowledged of the
language and its culture at the same time. Culture is a deeply ingrained part of people‟s
lives. However, language - the means for communication among members of a culture - is
the most visible and available expression of that culture.
It is believed that language is a reflection of culture and in turn, words, of course, always
reflect cultural elements. Language and culture can be seen as the faces of a sheet of paper
( Nguyen Van Do, 2006). Language expresses, embodies, symbolizes cultural reality and
in turn, cultural knowledge makes language alive. Language cannot exist outside the social
context , language is a social institution, both shaping and shaped by a large society. This
relationship is expressed in the following this diagram:
Language
Culture Society

19. 14
Language is used to maintain and convey culture and cultural ties. Different ideas stem
from differing language use within one‟s culture and the whole intertwining of these
relationships start at one‟s birth. From birth, the child‟s life, opinions, and language are
shaped by what it comes in contact with. Brooks (1968) argues that physically and
mentally everyone is the same, while the interactions between persons or groups vary
widely from place to place. Patterns which emerge from these group behaviours and
interactions will be approved of, or disapproved of. Behaviours which are acceptable will
vary from location to location (Brooks, 1968) thus forming the basis of different cultures.
It is from these differences that one‟s view of the world is formed.
Therefore, everyone‟s views are dependent on the culture which has influenced them, as
well as being described using the language which has been shaped by that culture. The
understanding of a culture and its people can be enhanced by the knowledge of their
language.
In short, culture influences the way in which language is used; each individual, social
group or community communicates basing on its own typical cultural viewpoint. And in its
turn, language which contains many factors of culture plays a crucial role in expressing
cultural values and perceptions as well as maintaining and developing culture from
generation to generation. Culture shapes our view of the world and language is the most
representative element in any culture.
1.5. Cultural dimension of English language learning and teaching.
Teaching a language cannot be separated from teaching its culture because the purpose
of teaching a language is to help people communicate with each other and culture plays an
important part in communication. Claire Kramsch ( 1993:93) asserted: “If language is seen
as social practice, culture becomes the core of language teaching. Cultural awareness must
then be viewed as enabling language proficiency. Culture in language teaching is not
expendable fifth skill, tacked on, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading and
writing”.
Regarding teaching culture in language training, it is very important to mention the
conclusion of Robert Polizer, “ As language teachers , we must be interested in the study of
culture ( in the social scientist‟s sense of the word) not because we necessarily want to
teach the culture of the other country but because we have to teach it” ( 1959: 100-101) .
As Englebert (2004) also describes: “…to teach a foreign language is also to teach a

20. 15
foreign culture, and it is important to be sensitive to the fact that our students, our colleges,
our administrators, and, if we live abroad, our neighbours, do not share all of our cultural
paradigms.” In addition, Prodromou (1988) argues that the way we teach reflects our
attitudes to society in general and the individual‟s place in society. The nature of teaching
culture is to increase the students‟ awareness and to develop their curiosity towards the
target culture and their own, helping them to gain the understanding among the cultures. If
one teaches language without teaching about the culture in which it operates, the students
are learning empty or meaningless symbols or when using the learnt language, may use the
language inappropriately in a cultural context, thus fail to achieve the purpose of learning a
language.
Language teachers must remember that people from different cultures learn things in
different ways. For example, in China memorization is the most pronounced way to study a
language which is very different from western ideologies where the onus is placed on free
speech as a tool for utilizing and remembering vocabulary and grammar sequences (Hui
2005).
In learning a second language, culture becomes highly important because it is “ an
ingrained set of behavior modes of perception” ( Brown 2000:118 ). It is impossible to
learn a language by simple acquiring the forms without their contents. And the content of a
language is always culture-bound. Tomalin & Stempleski (1993:9) said “When students
have understood the language being used in a situation and then go on to gain an
understanding of the cultural factors at work, this is for them one of the most absorbing
and exiting parts of any language lesson”. Equipped with the cultural knowledge and
different worldviews, learners can easily fully understand and can use language as a tool to
communicate and to avoid stereotypes. Because culture affects our ways of thinking,
feeling and acting. Language learners need to be aware , for example, of the culturally
appropriate ways to address people, express the gratitude, make requests, give and receive
compliments…They should understand that language must be associated with other
culturally appropriate behavior. Therefore, if we want to learn another language, we need
to learn to appreciate the culture of which the language is part. Many of the meanings
constructed in the language are culture – specific. Culture provides guidelines for our
linguistic behavior.

21. 16
However, many Vietnamese teachers and students have not truly paid attention
much to cultural elements revealed in the textbooks, they only focus on vocabulary,
grammar and four language skills. Linguistic competence alone is not enough for learners
of a language to be competent in that language (Krasner,1999). Being lack of cultural
knowledge seems to cause misunderstandings in real life communication. The students
may face culture shock when they learn and try to understand English language. If the
students are equipped fully about cultural background knowledge, they will understand
that all people exhibit culturally-conditioned behaviours; social variables such as age, sex,
social class and place of residence influence the ways in which people speak and behave;
more aware of convential behaviour in common situations in the target culture; increasing
their awareness of the cultural connotations of words and phrases in the target language;
necessary skills to locate and organize information about the target culture; curiosity about
the target culture. Basing on those, the students will be more interested in lessons.
Thus, culture must be fully incorporated as a crucial factor of language learning. Teachers
should recognize the basic cultural items in every aspects of the language that they teach.
The more the teachers enrich cultural knowledge , the more they are confident about what
they teach. This will affect the success of communication as well as teaching English
language. Teachers must be learners themselves, if they want to teach culture to their
students.
Teachers as well as learners should raise their awareness of the importance of the target
language culture and their own. Cultural awareness should become a vital part of foreign
language education. When the awareness of culture is raised , teachers will pay more
attention to and convey cultural knowledge in lessons more attractively and effectively.
Developing cultural awareness in the EFL classroom is really important that we help our
students distinguish between the cultural norms, beliefs, or habits of the majority of a
speech community and the individual or group deviations from some of these norms.
Students should be enabled to discuss their native culture with their foreign-speaking
friends at the same time. The aim of raising cultural awareness is to promote learning as
well as to increase the motivation of learners. The role of cultural background knowledge
that derives from textbooks, pictures, and realia is seen as essential. Cultural knowledge
makes it easier to understand texts (Brown,1990, cited in Zhang & Yan,2008 ).
It is obvious that culture becomes an indispensable part in any foreign language teaching.

22. 17
CHAPTER II: METHODOLOGY
This chapter mentions materials under investigation, the context of the study, research
question, research methods and data collection procedures.
2.1. Materials under investigation
New headway textbooks ( written by Liz and John Soars) consist of six levels
which are at beginner, elementary, pre-intermediate, intermediate, upper-intermediate and
advanced. However, in my research only New headway at elementary, pre-intermediate,
intermediate levels are under investigation. New headway-elementary is divided into 14
units, New headway- pre-intermediate is also divided into 14 units but New headway-
intermediate is only divided into 12 units. Each unit of textbooks is divided into sections
such as reading, listening, writing, speaking, vocabulary and grammar. The textbooks have
been designed according to the miscellany approach. It is a type of course books the
content of which is eclectic. This means that there is no link between the units. The
textbooks are based on written texts and focus on various topics that the writers thought to
be interesting for the learners.
The authenticity of texts and the accompanying visuals arouse the learners‟ interest and
stimulate their work. The texts are taken from a wide range of different sources, such as
newspapers, radio programmes, interviews, magazines. All materials have an authentic
source but many have been adapted in order to suit the levels of the learners. The type and
amount of information selected is well related to the purposes of language teaching. The
texts are accompanied by tasks which require the learner to work for a purpose. The course
books also provide a wide variety of practice activities. These activities range from
controlled practice such as sentence transformation and completion to free practice such
as information gap and role play.
New Headway textbooks may satisfy the demands of the communicative approach to
language teaching. They emphasize the learning of the language for clearly defined
purposes and four major skills of listening, reading, writing and speaking in a very
systematic way. They also provide many opportunities for developing minor-skills such
as gist listening, skimming, scanning, predicting, summarizing and analyzing. The

23. 18
textbooks have clear approaches to grammar. Grammatical structures are initially
introduced in context, with exercises that encourage the students to work out the rules.
The learners can also refer to the grammar section at the back of the book, which is a useful
tool that may be taken advantage of before, during or after the lesson. Each unit has a
language review section, which gives a short summary of the target structure and its uses.
Moreover, the authors of these course books also try to mention and emphasize to
cultural topics in every text, activity and conversation in each unit. For these reasons, the
course books become a pleasure to use.
Furthermore, the course books have useful Teacher‟s Books. They include clear explanations
of the methodology and guidance for using the activities. Therefore the textbooks
provide comprehensive help with useful suggestions for setting up pair work, group
work and lesson planning. The Teacher‟s Books also provides photocopiable progress
tests and additional activities as well as detailed answer keys and notes, so that teachers
have a wealth of support. In addition, we can see some notes and explanations for
cultural features of countries, especially English speaking cultures. Indeed, if we have a
closer look at New Headway textbooks, we discover cultural elements in almost every text
or activity. It would be extremely difficult to cover all the cases in which the course books
offer learners information about the target culture. The presentation of culture takes various
forms: examining everyday life and cultural behaviour, looking into communication
styles, norms, values and attitudes, etc. The activities focus on particular subject areas like
shopping, food, meals, traffic, restaurants, jobs and many more. A great advantage of the
course books is that it gives not only information and knowledge about the target culture but
also other foreign cultures. Learners are given an opportunity to deal with various cultural
issues. The aim is to develop an understanding of English countries in general. However,
British and American cultures are the most prominently described in these textbooks.
2.2. The context of the study
New headway textbooks are used as course books for students of Nghe an tourism
and trading vocational college. English department of this college is divided into two parts,
one for students having to learn English as a compulsory subject, other for English foreign
center with free students (mostly second-year students). With New Headway – elementary,
the first year-students have to study in 120 periods for general English. After that, they
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24. 19
have to study English for Special Purposes (ESP) in second and third years for their future
career. New Headway of pre-intermediate and intermediate levels are used for free
students of English foreign center in this college to enrich English knowledge and
communicative competence for their individual purpose. Pre-intermediate as well as
Intermediate textbooks are taught in 120 periods. Students need to enhance not only
English knowledge but also communicative competence. So, New headway textbooks are
chosen to develop the students‟ ability to communicate effectively.
In order to communicate well, learners need to have a large cultural knowledge. As we all
know, language is the expression of social and cultural values. Language is considered to
be a social and cultural phenomenon. Norms of conversations of this culture are different
from those of other culture. Consequently, communication problems may arise among
speakers who do not know or share the norms of other culture. ( Cakir, 2006)
Therefore, when studying a language ,we also have to study its own culture. Most students
seem to enjoy participating in activities that help them to use language, but which cultural
elements should be introduced to students is a problem and whether teachers and students
at Nghe an tourism and trading vocational college have ever been aware of cultural
knowledge revealed in New headway Textbooks? In fact, they have but not much.
Teaching cultural elements in textbooks is not a habit of these teachers. Grammar,
vocabulary and four skills are still considered the main teaching contents. As a result,
many cultural elements such as people, history, country, society, food, drink, attitudes,
lifestyle and communication styles, etc which are essential parts of the course books are
seldom presented to students. Maybe it is because time is limited or the teachers‟ cultural
knowledge is not good enough. This may be one of the causes of students‟ low motivation
to learn English. Then, the teaching and learning English at Nghe an tourism and trading
vocational college is not very effective, which is evidenced by the students‟ passiveness in
learning English and their bad English test-results.
2.3. Research question.
The study focuses on identifying the cultural elements such as norms, values,
attitudes and communication styles of British and American in the New Headway
textbooks. So the study is set up to answer this question: What are the cultural elements
that can be found in New Headway Textbooks?
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25. 20
2.4. Research methods.
The data collection instruments applied in this study is aimed at using quantitative
method in order to analyze and quantify British and American cultural elements such as
norms, values, attitudes and communication styles in New headway textbooks. The data
collected from references, investigation, findings and discussions was analyzed.
The first one was reference to background theories of culture and language such as
culture, language, cultural elements, norms, values, attitudes, communication styles and the
knowledge of British and American cultures. The next instrument was investigation in the
New Headway textbooks - Elementary, pre-intermediate and intermediate levels. The last
one was findings and discussions about frequency of occurrence of cultural elements in the
New Headway textbooks.
2.5. Data collection procedures
In this study, the investigation into cultural elements in the textbooks is conducted
according to the following procedures:
Firstly, read and review background theories of culture from referent books, magazines,
papers, even on internet.
Secondly, find out cultural elements in general and British, American cultures in particular
from the referent books, magazines, papers, internet, and consultation from the supervisor.
Then, list norms, values, attitudes and communication styles of British and American
culture.
Next, investigate the New Headway textbooks to point out cultural elements such as
norms, values, attitudes and communication styles of British and American revealed.
Lastly, make statistics and present the results in tables to analyze, compare and summarize
about the frequency of occurrence of British and American norms, values, attitudes and
communication styles in the textbooks. Then, give implications for teaching culture into
language training.
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