Exploring cultural content in EAP with learners and teachers: A higher education case study from Iraqi Kurdistan

This case study explores general interpretations and perceptions of culture and its role in EAP (English for Academic Purposes), given the inextricable links between language and culture. It also examines how the relationship between language and culture functions in EAP practice in Iraqi Kurdistan's unique geo-political higher education context. The research is based on an interpretive paradigm and uses semi-structured questionnaires, interviews and cultural probes with EAP teachers and learners. It aims to contribute to existing literature and policy on language learning and intercultural learning. This study demonstrates that the synergy between language and cultural learning as a partnership of equals is only partially reflected in the EAP classroom and argues the need for a reassessment of the role of intercultural and intracultural competence in this context, including a re-evaluation of teachers’ training, general practice and assessment if the asymmetrical relationship between language and cultural learning is to be fully redressed. The arguments and suggestions outlined in the case study could potentially prepare EAP learners better for a genuinely global intercultural environment.