What Are Social and Cultural Skills?

So, a few weeks ago we published a chart which describes the four main skills that language students need to develop in order to master a language.  Hopefully, this graphic reminds you that grammar is only part of the equation and that it is important not to overlook other elements of communication.

In this post, I want to focus on one of those other elements.  Namely, let’s talk about social and cultural skills.

What are “social and cultural skills”?

To help explain, I would like to offer a few examples.

• Switching to more formal language when speaking with your boss
  
• Using a stronger tone when you are placing a complaint
  
• Addressing a professional by using their title and last name (for example, Dr. Johnson, Ms Gomez)
  
  

If you guessed that social and cultural language skills are related to tone, politeness, and formality, you would be right.  Essentially, social and cultural skills (or sociolinguistic skills) help you act appropriately in different situations, with different people.  They can be tricky because they are so intertwined with culture.  Our culture guides us on how to ask for favors, set limits, and resolve conflict.  Our culture also gives us a framework for how to speak with people of different ages, genders, and positions.

Hopefully, this helps you understand social and cultural skills.  Are there any other examples you can think of?  Share them in the comment section.