Using Popular Culture in EFL Teaching: Voices of EFL Students of a University in the Mekong Delta

Abstract

The paper aims to gain a better understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of integrating popular culture into EFL teaching at Tra Vinh University. The participants included 63 EFL students who had learned popular materials in classroom settings. The questionnaire was the only instrument focusing on some common benefits and disadvantages of using popular culture in an English classroom setting. The findings revealed that incorporating popular culture into English teaching was very beneficial, especially in terms of increasing students' enthusiasm, enhancing critical thinking, expanding social-cultural competence, boosting self-esteem for learning English, enhancing their vocabulary acquisition, facilitating their English learning, and encouraging autonomous learning in EFL teaching. In light of the study’s findings, some recommendations are suggested to aid English majors and teachers in using the medium in the learning and teaching process.