Beyond Linguistic Fluency: Exploring L2 Learners’ Conceptualizations of Culture and Cultural Competence

The term “fluent fool” refers to individuals who have advanced linguistic proficiency in a foreign language but are unable to understand social, cultural, and philosophical contexts that give meaning to that language (Bennett, 2004). Grounding on this view, present study aimed to answer to the following three research questions: a) How do L2 learners define culture? b) What knowledge do learners have regarding British culture? c) Do learners perceive cultural knowledge as a necessary component of foreign language learning? Adopting a qualitative research design, the study involved face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 20 C-level students studying at a state university in Türkiye. The findings revealed that participants were able to make a general definition of culture encompassing both visible and invisible dimensions, yet they struggled to identify and give examples specific to English culture. Moreover, while students expressed varying perspectives on the role of English culture in L2 learning, the majority emphasized the importance of becoming “global citizens” by engaging with not only English culture but also diverse world cultures.