Sociocultural Factors

Many cultural characteristics of a language also affect L2 or foreign language learning. From a pragmatic perspective, language is a form of social action because linguistics communication occurs in the context of structured interpersonal exchange, and meaning is thus socially regulated (Dimitracopoulou, 1990). In other words, “shared values and beliefs create the traditions and social structures that bind a community together and are expressed in their language (Carrasquillo, 1994, p. 55). Thus, to speak a language, one must know how the language is used in a social context. It is well known that each language has its own behavior on his or her conversational partner (Berns, 1990). Because of the influence or interference of their own cultural norms, it is hard for nonnative speakers to choose the forms appropriate to certain situations. For instance, in Chinese culture, paying a compliment to someone obligates that person to give a negative answer (such as “No. It is not so good.”) in order to show “modesty,” whereas in North American culture such a response might be both inappropriate and embarrassing. In addition, oral communication, as mentioned involves a very powerful nonverbal communication system, which sometimes contradicts the messages provided through the verbal listening channel. Because of a lack of familiarity with the nonverbal communication system of the target language, EFL learners usually do not know how to pick up nonverbal cues. As a result, ignorance of the nonverbal message often leads to misunderstanding. The following example is a case in point. One day, when a Chinese student heard “Let’s get together for lunch sometime.” He immediately responded by proposing to fix a specific date without noticing the native speaker’s indifferent facial expression. Undoubtedly, he was puzzled when his interlocutor left without giving him an expected answer. It is evident that the student hand not understood the nonverbal message, which illustrates that the sociocultural factor is another aspect that greatly affects oral communication.