Socio-cultural dimensions
Cultural background knowledge is also provided at this stage, which can help students
to gain a better comprehension of the text content by minimizing cultural interference,
and “build new culture-specific schemata that will be available to EFL students
outside the classroom” (Carrell & Eisterhold, 1987). It will be especially beneficial if
teachers are able to compare and contrast between the two different cultures. In
addition, teachers should provide an opportunity for students to engage in personal
text-based problem-solving discussions which can act as an important condition to
enhance their cross-cultural awareness. Candlin (1982) stresses that [language]
learning is a matter of managing problems. One way for teachers to encourage
learning is to consistently confront learners with problems rather than attempt to