QUESTIONNAIRE

FOR

TEACHERS

CULTURAL

LESSONS

IN

THE

CLASSROOM
Dear English Teacher,
My name is Monica-Luiza Dobre and I am doing research in teaching culture in the English
classroom for my first degree teacher thesis. The aim of my research is to find out what
English teachers think of teaching culture as well as how much, what and how culture is
taught. I am mostly interested in your experience at the secondary level. All the information
you provide is confidential and it will be of great help to my research.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Monica-Luiza Dobre
English Teacher at Garabet Ibrileanu School, Trgu Frumos

1. How would you define culture?

Culture refers to the cumulative deposit of knowledge, experience, beliefs, values,
attitudes, meanings, hierarchies, religion, notions of time, roles, spatial relations, concepts
of the universe, and material objects and possessions acquired by a group of people in the
course of generations through individual and group striving.
2. Do you think it is important to integrate the teaching of culture into foreign language
classes?
a. Yes, very important.
c.Not important.

b. Yes, important.
d. It should be taught separately.

3. Do you include culture-related aspects in your lessons?

a. Often
b. Sometimes
c. Rarely
d. Never
4. When teaching culture to your classes, do you focus mainly on providing them with
mere information?
a. Yes
b. No
5. Does the information provided help students compare their culture with the new
culture to find similarities and differences?
a. Yes
b. No
6. Do you manage to develop in your students attitudes like empathy, tolerance,
openness and understanding towards the new culture?
a. Yes
b. No
7. Do you think the students are more interested and motivated in learning the language
with some background knowledge in culture?
a. Yes, with significant difference

b. yes, but not much difference

c. No difference
d. I do not now
8. Do you usually choose British, American, Australian, or Canadian culture instead of
another culture?
a. yes
b. no
Please, explain briefly your choice.
Britain is full of culture and traditions which have been around for hundreds of years. British
customs and traditions are famous all over the world. When people think of Britain they often
think of people drinking tea, eating fish and chips and wearing bowler hats, but there is more
to Britain than just those things. I think it is important for students to know this cultural
information because English has become one of the most powerful influences in the world.
9. What aspects of culture would you consider the most important to teach? Please rate
from 1 to 5 for each selection: 1 least important; 5 most important. Please tick the
appropriate box.
1

Geography
History
Monarchy
Customs and Festivals
Literature and Art
Music
Government and political institutions
Law and order
Education and schools
Family life
Food
Youth life
National symbols and stereotypes
Rules of behaviour
Patterns of politeness
Non-verbal communication
Other (please specify)

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

10. Which of the following do you consider most useful for teaching culture? Please rate
from 1 to 5 for each selection: 1 least useful; 5 most useful. Please tick the
appropriate box.
1
Lectures

3
x

Watching videos
Discussions on cultural differences and
similarities
Listening to songs and discussing the
lyrics
Listening to radio programmes
Reading and discussing newspaper /
magazine articles
Talking about current events
Reading authentic texts (short stories,
poems)
Role-plays
Drama
Doing projects
Culture capsule (a brief description of an
aspect of culture followed by a
discussion of the contrasts between
cultures in the first and second language)
Other (please specify)

x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x

11. What sources do you use in class to present cultural issues to your students? You can
choose more than one:
a) School textbooks

d) literature

b) newspapers

e) folklore

the Internet

f) videotapes

c) cultural studies textbooks

g) recordings

i) realia (maps, brochures, tickets, etc)

h)

j) other: please

specify..
12. Do you prepare cultural lessons in advance or simply develop ideas as they appear in
texts or dialogues from textbooks?
I think that its important for a teacher to prepare cultural lessons in advance because we have
to be informed about different topics we have to discuss, but, in the same time, we can have
free ideas and discuss them as they appear in the dialogues.
13. In your opinion do the textbooks you use offer enough material for discussing culturerelated issues?
a) Yes, quite a lot.

b) Enough

c) To some extent

d) No

14. Name the main textbooks you are currently using for teaching English for grades 1-8.
Headway, Way Ahead, World Class, Pathway to English, Firm Steps.

15. Do you develop the cultural lessons through portfolios or observation sheets
afterwards?
I develop the cultural lessons through portofolios.
16. How can you describe students involvement in cultural lessons and the feedback in
terms of attitudes, values, and beliefs at the end of the lessons?
Students are enthusiastic regarding the cultural lessons because they are doing something new,
with full involvement and they are learning new information by playing or by doing different
projects

Thank you for your time,

Monica Dobre