| This study is based on a research project conducted with the participation of 60 East Asian people who have experienced learning and using English as a second/foreign language. The major research themes were to investigate (1) how cultural knowledge is treated in second/foreign language education in East Asia, (2) the extent to which cultural knowledge influences learning and use of a second/foreign language, and (3) the development of a potentially effective approach to integrating cultural education into second/foreign language education. The research examines these issues from the perspective of an eastern teacher of English as a foreign language. By bringing East Asian learners' voices to the academic research, the author offers a new look into ESL/EFL education in East Asia. The project is aimed at contributing to a new model of second/foreign language education, providing insights into the essence of the current problems, and finding applicable solutions. The research is qualitative in nature and uses questionnaires, interviews and the examination of documentary materials to gather relevant data.;The major findings are (1) cultural knowledge is generally lacking in ESL/EFL programs in East Asia; (2) receptive language skills are emphasized more than productive skills resulting in grammatical knowledge being the focus of teaching/learning and as a result, learners often encounter cultural difficulties in understanding when in contact with native English speakers; (3) in a multicultural society where a target language is the main one, L2 learners subconsciously want to reserve their own ethnic and cultural identities.;Based on these findings a new model of second/foreign language education was proposed. While maintaining the traditional linguistic components--grammar, lexicon and phonology, the new model incorporates the teaching of cultural knowledge into second/foreign language programs. The cultural knowledge consists of cultural assumptions and customs, structures and styles of information and ways of speaking, all of which teach second/foreign learners how to understand and use the target language from the perspectives of its native speakers. Some concrete teaching methods are introduced to attain this goal. |
