The role of culture through the eyes of different approaches to and methods of foreign language teaching

It is commonly accepted that language is a part of culture and that it plays a very important role in it. However, the priority given to the place of culture as a significant component in language teaching has not been equally the same in different approaches and methods of foreign language teaching. This paper explores the role of culture in language teaching and the importance of the integration of culture into the teaching of language in traditional, innovative and modern approaches to language teaching. It starts from the ancient times and the age of popularity of grammar-translation Method when the role of culture was only implicitly recognized and culture was confined to literature and fine art and ends with the present situation where the pressing need for cross-cultural encounters in the era of globalization has led to the notion of intercultural competence.