Role Of Culture In Efl Teaching In Libya- A Comparative Study On Perceptions Of Teachers And Students

In psycho-analytical parlance, perception is defined as the general way people view a certain aspect, either positively or negatively that influences his behaviour to ward it. In the recent times, English has emerged as the most popular foreign EFL prevalent in every modern education system in the Arab peninsular region, with Libya as a shining example in terms of its extent of popularity and acceptance. The EFL experiment in Libya is so remarkable given its geo-political, ethno-cultural challenges, offers us a wonderful context to examine the bearing that the perceptions of the EFL teachers and students may have had on the teaching outcomes and experiences of the target culture. In this article, the researcher seeks to analyze the Libyan EFL teachers' and students' perceptions about the teaching culture and study their possible effects on the outcome in terms of learner proficiency in the target EFL. Furthermore, the study sought to examine the possible extent to which teachers' perceptions on teaching culture differed from that of the students, especially with respect to classroom behaviour and peer engagement. The participants of the study included 20 EFL teachers and 60 students from the English EFL Department, Faculty of Arts and Education, University of Sabratha, Libya. The respondents, both from the EFL Teaching and learner communities were quizzed about their perceptions about teaching target culture in EFL classes through the questionnaire method as well as interview. The data analysis results showed both EFL teachers and students sharing a largely positive opinion about the prevailing teaching culture at the selected institution, though the statistical results indicated some variations in the perceptions between EFL teachers and students related to perceptions towards teaching culture in EFL classrooms. Moreover, students are shown to prefer dialogue-based learning of culture rather than using other channels such as reading about culture.