Prompt: In order to learn a language well, we should also learn about the country as well as the cultures and lifestyles of the people who speak it. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

There is controversy over whether people should understand the cultural backgrounds and locals’ life manners while learning a new language. In my opinion, I fully agree with this statement due to the following reasons. Ċ First and foremost, to be an advanced user of a new language, it is extremely vital to understand the culture behind the words, because without the knowledge of social values, there is a high likelihood that learners would struggle with social misunderstandings while communicating. For instance, Chinese individuals normally say “have you eaten” as a greeting when meet acquaintances. But in foreigners’ ears, this greeting might become an invitation for a meal, and it might lead to misconceptions in the end. Obviously, this kind of cultural misunderstandings should not happen if the learners would like to be an advanced user in a new dialect. Hence, learning cultural values appeals to be of the essence. Ċ Moreover, it is also indispensable to know more about the local’s lifestyle for assisting with language education, as this will help dramatically with reaching the target of learning a new dialect. In another word, the ultimate aim of learning English, Korean or even Japanese is to communicate with others, especially native speakers. However, it is hard to imagine that you could communicate with local citizens without incurring troubles if you totally do not obtain any knowledge of their lifestyles. For instance, Japanese people advocate for making loud noises while eating noodles to show their respects towards chiefs, while this action is deemed as bad table manners in other countries. Thus, manners like this are supposed to be known by all Japanese learners, as it is impossible to communicate with Japanese citizens properly without knowing these things. Ċ In conclusion, according to the discussion above, it is undeniable that people should learn about cultural backgrounds and lifestyles if they want to be a dialect expert.