How Important Is Cultural Immersion When Learning A Language?

A lot of people get interested in a culture and then eventually start learning the language associated with it. Culture can be a gateway into the language and we often forget how important it can be.

If you try and learn a language without immersing in the culture you will not make as much progress as someone who does.

Immersing in the culture is immersing in the language and vice versa, it is extremely important and if you are not doing this already then you are putting yourself at a real disadvantage.

I will go through some of the reasons why immersing in the culture can be extremely beneficial for you.  

Culture And Language Are Interlinked

Language and culture may seem like two totally separate things, but they are in fact very closely linked.

Culture usually gives context to the language and if you decide to ignore it, you will not fully understand everything. This is a common problem with textbooks. They focus too much on the mechanics of how things work, such as grammar, and they forget to really give you a good understanding of the culture.

Taking the time to understand the culture is extremely important and it will help you with your overall language skills.

You Can Connect To Natives Better If You Know The Culture

One of the best reasons for understanding the culture is so that you can actually communicate with native speakers properly.

It is very common to make faux pas when you are talking, because you just don’t realise they do not speak in a certain way.

You will have probably experienced this with your own language, especially if you speak English and someone who is not a native English speaker is talking to you. They can often seem blunt, and almost rude. However, they are not. They just don’t know the culture and only know the language well enough to communicate.

If they had done some cultural immersion they would have realised that English speakers are overly polite, even when they don’t even need to be.

This may only be a small thing, but it can make a difference. This is the same for any sort of cultural reference and slang and colloquialisms. If you haven’t studied these, you won’t understand them and you will often take the meaning at face value, which will of course leave you confused.

(you can read more about – How Do You Start Talking To A Language Exchange Partner On An App?)

You Will Enjoy Your Immersion Material More If You Understand Culture

Understanding the culture will also benefit your immersion material. You will be able to understand the TV, movies, books and music on a deeper level and you will be able to enjoy it a lot more.

You will get the references and the jokes that just wouldn’t translate as well though language alone.

All of these types of immersion material can actually be classed as a form of culture in their own right, so you can star to see how closely linked culture and language really are.

You may think you are just watching a show and using it to learn the language, but you are actually immersing in the culture itself, and using this to learn the language.

This is exactly why immersion in the culture is so important, it is actually how you just “immerse in the language”.

Language is culture and culture is language, you can’t have one without the other. Trying to isolate them would be the equivalent of trying to learn a language by just reading every word in a dictionary, which is never going to work. 

(You can read more about – How Can You Use Movies or TV Shows In Your Second Language To Enhance Your Listening Skills?)

Culture Will Exposure You To Dialects and Accents

When you learn a language you usually get exposed to the “official form” which is fine, you need to know this, and it does keep things consistent. However, you will find that not everyone speaks like this and it isn’t very natural at times.

This is exactly why you end up sounding a little robotic if you learn a language through a textbook.

You need to immerse in the culture so that you can be exposed to different regional dialects and accents, which are going to allow you to learn exactly how natives speak and also help you with your own speech.

You Get Exposure To Body Language Through Culture

When you actually start immersing in the culture you will learn more than the spoken language, you will also start to learn the subconscious language of the body.

There are studies to show that body language can make up a large percentage of communication. Basically what we say is more than just the words we speak and how we use our bodies plays an important part in communication.

The only way to understand the body language rules is by immersing yourself in the culture. The more you can think like a native, the more your body language will start to act like one.   

A classic example of this is how Italians speak, they have very animated hand gestures and this is an extension of their spoken language. The only way you are going to pick up on these gestures is through the culture.

Some languages may be more subtle than this but they will still have them and you will pick this up subconsciously through immersion of the culture.

Culture Can Give You New Hobbies

You will find that a lot of people get interested in the culture first, usually through a hobby. This interest then leads them to learning the language, which shows the power of immersing in the culture.

A lot of these people had no intention of learning a language, but just felt compelled to after getting so involved in the culture. They wanted to understand it on a deeper level and the only way to do this was through the language.

You may also find it happens the other way round. Someone may be studying a language only to stumble into a hobby that is associated with the culture. This only ends up bringing them closer to the culture and of course the language too.

Culture Is Also Food

When we think about culture we often forget about food, but this can be a huge cornerstone of any culture.

This is always why it is always better to go to a country that speaks the language you are learning as you can immerse yourself in the food while you are there. The language and culture will be much more powerful as you are not just hearing it, you will be smelling and tasting everything associated with it too. 

If you are studying at home you should try and cook meals from the culture you are learning as it will help you get into that native mindset. It sounds kind of strange and maybe its pseudoscience, but I think it does help.

Learning The History Can Help You Understand Culture

History is a form of culture and is something you should take the time to look at. I always find I feel more connected to a language when I learn about the history of the country. (You can also learn about the history of the language itself).

You will get a better understanding of the general culture and why natives may be a certain way. This is all going to help you understand the current culture a lot more, which as I’ve already discussed, means you will get a better understanding of the language.     

Conclusion

As you can see, culture is pretty important when you are learning a language and really the more you can immerse in the culture, the more it will benefit your language skills.

Culture and language really are very closely interlinked and it would actually be harder to try and separate them out individually, so allow yourself to be immersed in both of them, together, and you will get the benefits.

(you can read more about – What Are The Benefits Of Language Learning Through Immersion?)