Teaching and learning culture in Libya's English as a foreign language classroom

This thesis is dedicated to the introduction of cultural elements into English language learning with particular reference to English language lessons in the secondary schools of Libya. The aim is to examine the current practice of culture-focused lessons in Libya and the suggestions for its improvement. Based on the works of Byram (2008) and Kramsch (2014), as well as other crucial literature devoted to the topic, the project incorporates three key sections of research. First, an analysis of the content of Libyan textbooks is carried out to determine the presence of cultural aspects there. Then, a survey of 100 Libyan teachers is developed, providing expert opinions on the topic. Finally, an experiment is reported which involves 56 Tripoli students from a secondary school in Libya. 27 of them were provided culture-focused lessons to determine the related effects. The rest of the students formed the control group. The results indicate that Libyan textbooks include cultural content, but both teachers and students are generally dissatisfied with it. Furthermore, both students and teachers acknowledged the need for the integration of culture in EFL lessons, and the experiment showed that the experimental culture-focused lessons improved the students’ proficiency and interest in learning English. However, the teachers reported important barriers to the introduction of culture into EFL education, including the lack of training for the educators, which affected their ability to work with culture-related themes. This work includes the chapters which present the literature review, methodology, and findings of the project, as well as the results’ discussion and relevant implications with recommendations for practice and future research.