Source Culture and Target Culture in English Language Teaching: A Study of Intercultural Pragmatics and Students’ Learning Outcomes

Abstract

This study explores the role of intercultural pragmatics in the
improvement of students’ reading comprehension of English. This is an
experimental study conducted with 50 eighth-grade Pashtun students
whose approximate ages range between twelve and thirteen. The
experimental group (n=25) was taught an intercultural curriculum which
included topics from the British culture (target culture) and Pashtun
culture (source culture) in addition to the form (structure) of language.
The control group (n=25) received the curriculum in the traditional
manner, in which the focus was on the structure and form of language.
Pre and post-tests were administered to both groups. Comparison of
mean scores revealed greater improvement in English language
proficiency of the experimental group. It is recommended that topics
from both the source and target cultures written in the target language be
included in the English curriculum. Further, training programs for
language teachers should include intercultural pragmatics in their syllabi.
Additional research may be conducted using the same design with
participants from different cultures and age groups.