Culture & Language Learning

If you’re learning English, what are the cultural effects of that growth?

Many of The Linguist’s learners are from Asian countries, so I found this blog posting about culture interesting.

It’s mainly relevant to those who have actually left their native countries and moved to an English-speaking country. But doesn’t learning another language have cultural implications even when you don’t move to the country where it’s the first language?

Certainly the cultures differ. For example, among those who are now living in North America, one person felt that the US is not as concerned about relatives:

For example, we celebrate our holidays with all family members and all relatives, but American people celebrate their holidays with their own family. They don’t care so much about other relatives.

Another felt that the US is friendlier:

First of all, in my country, we don’t say “hi” to strangers. In the US, most people exchange greetings with each other. For example, this morning I said “hello” to my apartment worker and also I exchanged greetings with a stranger in my apartment building

Another person, however, who is living in Taiwan, points out that cultural differences can make understanding difficult. For example:

The Chinese New Year and the New Year from the west are quite different.

What other examples are there?