On Culture

I've been working as an undergraduate student consultant for the American Language Institute on campus for a couple months now. My job involves working with international teaching assistants enrolled in the oral skills class with their teaching, English language skills, and also easing the adjustment to the university/ the U.S. My ITAs this semester are form China, S. Korea, and Turkey.

Part of the job requirement is the culture aspect. But how exactly do you teach/learn culture? What is American culture? I've been using an "I enjoy this...do you?" approach and in turn my ITAs have shared what they like to do and parts of their lives with me. So far we've watched movies and performances, shared meals, gone shopping, visited community centers and listened to music. We've also been engaging in much conversation about topics ranging from affirmative action, the education system, interracial dating, sororities and frats to religion and health. While pronunciation and grammar exercises are straight forward ( I sometimes feel like I'm channeling Henry Higgins), culture is implicit and relative.

Related Article: Unclear on American Campus -NYT
Is there a similar expectation for foreign teachers to adapt to the native language in other countries? Since English is so widely used, do English speakers naturally expect others to cater towards them?