This article is about research methods employed in the context of international education and second language acquisition. Researchers have attempted to interpret communication problems occurring between native and non-native speakers of English within a broad cultural and educational context. Such cultural studies addressing pragmatic and sociocultural dimensions often include methodology debates. We clarify the characteristics and the appropriate use of quantitative-based research methods and qualitative methods of naturalistic inquiry on speech acts, to encourage further research projects on culture based on either method.