Cross-Cultural Studies and Pragmatic Awareness

Abstract

In the world of language learning it is obvious that culture plays a very important role. Learning a language is inseparable from learning its culture. Not only that, language teachers must also be aware of some linguistic competence such as pragmatic awareness. Being an English teacher, for example, it is not enough to teach only the grammar part but also when and how to use it in the right situation and context. A lot of misconception and misunderstanding happen as a result of pragmalinguistic failure to understand the use of language in the appropriate context. This paper is trying to discuss how cross cultural studies and pragmatic awareness contribute to the success of language learning particularly English. There are some examples from different languages given as a comparison along with its discussion. The results show that both cross cultural studies and pragmatic awareness have significant roles in creating a successful and meaningful language learning.