How Korean teachers and students evaluate the cultural component provided in Spanish as a Foreign Language classrooms

This study analyzes teachers' and students' assessments regarding the treatment of the cultural component in Spanish as a foreign language courses at the university level in the Republic of Korea. Once the analysis of the questionnaires answered by teaching staff and 312 students at a Korean university was completed, the results were considered in terms of similarities and differences between teachers and students. Their answers were grouped according to three themes: the treatment of the cultural component, the cultural activities performed in class and cultural contents. Finally, the teaching staff's reflections on their teaching practice and the students' reflections on their learning experience were examined. The purpose of this study is to highlight the importance of selecting and incorporating the cultural component in the language classroom, with the broader goal of achieving a greater integration of the Spanish language and Hispanic culture within the university curriculum in South Korea.