The effective use of culture in foreign language learning environments

The aim of this study is to determine the current implementations being used in foreign language education programmes and to define how to use culture effectively in language learning environments according to the ideas of the foreign language teachers considering the fact that language and culture are inseparable. Descriptive Phenomenology, which aims to define the essence of a phenomenon through the perceptions of the person who experiences it, has been chosen as the design of the study. Within the scope of this study, 17 English Instructors from Düzce University Hakime Erciyas School of Foreign Languages have been selected as working group by using purposive sampling method. In data gathering process, semi-structured interview form, which is widely used in qualitative researches, has been used and carried out through face-to-face interview method. The data gathered from the interviews has been analysed with content analysis method and then coded and categorized under main teams which have been established based on the sub-questions of the study. In this regard, 4 main themes and 23 codes have been defined in detail with literature references by the researcher. According to the findings of the study, it has been understood that there is continuous interaction between language and culture therefore one cannot be acquired totally or may be imperfect and especially a language learned without its culture may cause miscommunication consequently culture should be integrated into each phase of language teaching and learning process. In this regard, selecting culture-based materials, designing the classes with culture-oriented visuals, bulletin boards, culture islands and so on, using authentic materials, supporting the process with technology, doing activities such role play, and directing students to follow the media tools and works of art like movies, TV series, documentaries, news, songs, novels, stories and so on will ensure both learners to take a positive attitude towards target culture and the language being learned to become more natural and consistent.