Using Culture as the Fifth Language Skill to Enhance Military Students’ EFL Competence

Is there a connection between language and culture? If so, what is the role of culture in language classrooms at a military academy? Why should we teach a set of cultural skills as part of EFL instruction? Can culture be considered the fifth language skill in addition to speaking, writing, listening, and reading? This paper aims to provide answers to these questions and while it attempts to present a series of practical examples on how to include culture in EFL classes, it is limited to a brief description of each. The fact that it is often difficult to simply translate one language into another is one of the primary reasons behind the concept of teaching culture alongside language. The present paper provides language teachers with reasons and suggestions for emphasizing the significance of teaching culture to military students.