Cultural conceptualisations in learning English as an L2: Examples from Persian-speaking learners

Traditionally, many studies of second language acquisition (SLA) were based on the assumptionthat learning a new language mainly involves learning a set of grammatical rules, lexical items,and certain new sounds and sound combinations. However, for many second languagelearners, learning a second language may involve contact and interactions with new systems ofconceptualising experience. Many learners bring the conceptual system that they havedeveloped while learning their L1 into the learning of an L2, assuming that every single unit ofconceptualisation in their repertoire has an equivalent in the conceptual system associatedwith the L2. This is never the case. In this paper, I will explicate some culturalconceptualisations that speakers of Persian may bring into the task of learning English as an L2and discuss some possible implications of this process for intercultural sense making. Thechapter begins with a background on the notion of cultural conceptualisation and then movesinto the discussion of Persian cultural conceptualisations in L2 learning.

Keywords:

cultural conceptualisations , ELT in Iran , culture in language learning , cultural linguistics