The importance of learning social and cultural aspects in second language acquisition It still remains arguable whether the society and culture shape the language or the other way around. It's very likely though that they are equally dependent on each other. With that said, second language acquisition will forever be incomplete without such a background knowledge. Having an insight into the two aspects also helps you assimilate better into the associated country. For example, in Japan even if your Japanese is native-like, you will be considered deviant and kind of a bother if you are talking more loudly than anybody else there and too vocal about your feelings. It's because you're ruining the "和", which is seen in the expression "和を乱す" and indicates harmony and peace. That's what you would be doing if you learn the language without learning about the culture and society. The same goes for Japanese people who are learning English; they speak too quietly, mumble, and as a result don't very sound confident; they don’t vocalize their feelings, converse with the minimum words possible and expect you to know what they mean. They have to realize that it's not their grammar or pronunciation but them being too quiet an inexpressive that makes their speech difficult for native speakers to understand. Unfortunately though, those cultural and social elements aren't usually covered in most language classes, despite their great influence on how the language works in real life. at the end of the day, it's up to the learner though whether they just wanna learn the language or they wanna assimilate better into the country.