The Teaching of English Culture in Algerian Secondary Schools: The Case of Second Year Classes

The present study aims to get insight into the current ways culture is introduced in teaching English as foreign language (TEFL) to Algerian secondary school learners. This issue is investigated with reference to the relevant theoretical background, the teachers. opinions and the second year secondary school textbook "Getting Through". The results obtained from the teachers. questionnaire demonstrate that the teaching of culture is rather limited. The majority of teachers stated that the only source used is 'Getting Through' textbook; however, they assumed that most of the topics included are general and offer little opportunities to discuss culture related topics. Consequently, students have few and in some cases have no opportunities to learn about culture related activities especially discussions on cultural differences and similarities concerning social habits, values, use of idioms and slang, non-verbal communication, and the importance of appropriate choices for conversations in English. Based on the theoretical ground and empirical research findings, a set of suggestions are provided to offer useful ways for teachers to focus more on cultural content in English lessons, as well as to supply textbooks with cultural elements.