INTRODUCING CULTURAL ELEMENTS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE
LEARNING
"But
you have no idea how frightfully interesting it is to take a human being and
change her into a quite different human being by creating a new speech for her.
It's filling up the deepest gulf that separates class from class and soul from
soul." George
Bernard Shaw "Pygmalion"
There are many definitions of culture, some are wider than others and
some include more elements than others but they all agree that language and
culture are inseparable, and that language is the vehicle by which culture is transmitted
and reproduced. In this sense, it follows that when someone learns a foreign
language they are, inevitably learning another culture.
This issue has always intrigued me; as a bilingual person (that was
given the immense opportunity of being in contact with American culture from a
very early age) the way things that I take for granted are difficult for others
has always amazed me and ,since I became a teacher, I have constantly been
confronted by problems of this nature.
An old English teacher of mine once told me that language is the lens
through which we view the world, our mother tongue is so familiar to us that we
just aren't aware of the cultural assumptions and biases that are present in
our own language. Thus, the process of learning a FL involves bringing forward
those cultural aspects of language that appear transparent to the native
speaker.
On some level, every FL teacher recognizes that "learning a language in isolation of its cultural roots prevents
one from becoming socialized into its contextual use. Knowledge of linguistic
structure alone does not carry with it any special insight into the political,
social, religious, or economic system" Ned Seeyle (1976). This
is the reason why there is so much emphasis placed on the fact that it is indispensable
for beginners learn how to greet or say goodbye to someone, how to introduce
themselves and others or how to understand and give directions.
Barry Tomalin in his article for the series "Teaching English" posted on the British Council website calls cultural awareness the fifth language skill when he states that: "I assumed that if you learned the language, you learned the culture but actually it isn’t true. You can learn a lot of cultural features but it doesn’t teach you sensitivity and awareness or even how to behave in certain situations. What the fifth language skill teaches you is the mindset and techniques to adapt your use of English to learn about, understand and appreciate the values, ways of doing things and unique qualities of other cultures. It involves understanding how to use language to accept difference, to be flexible and tolerant of ways of doing things which might be different to yours. It is an attitudinal change that is expressed through the use of language”. So far, everyone agrees that culture is important. However, the real problem arises when an FL program is being designed and the issue of what aspects of culture should be included and how to do so has to be decided.
At this point a discussion of what constitutes culture becomes indispensable
and it is unavoidable to remember the difference between Culture (with a big C)
and culture (with a little c). Culture is defined as "high
minded" aspects of human creations such as fine arts, literature and music
as opposed to culture that includes everyday aspects of life such as
food, dress, celebrations and social/political institutions. In my experience,
when ESL teachers talk about incorporating cultural aspects into their lessons
they are speaking of culture. Of
course, this kind of knowledge is necessary and (when appropriately used) making
it a part of FL classes can help get students involved and motivated; nevertheless
by focusing only on these items other very relevant aspects of culture that are
embedded in the language tend to be ignored i.e. the concepts of time and space
or certainly that are implicit in certain grammatical structures.
This is especially significant in the case of English because it has
become a ”Global Language” embraced by people of different communities and, for
this reason, used for an intercultural dialogue. If this kind of exchange is really going to
take place, all participants must understand that they are dealing with a
language that expresses certain assumptions and values and they are using it to
communicate to people with a different set of assumptions and values, teachers
can’t ignore this reality and must adjust accordingly.
Something else that teachers should consider when they are thinking
about culture and language teaching / learning has to do specifically with
reading and writing skills: genre
analysis. An effective reader and, consequently, an
effective writer has to be conscious of genres but it is impossible to approach
this topic without a cultural perspective since: “We use language in the form of complete texts within specific
situational contexts instantiated within encompassing cultural contexts”
Meurier (2002) and, later on, language becomes “structured as a gamut of genres of texts which are characterized by
recognizable purposes and schematic structures, and which are almost as numerous
as the social practices which people get involved in” IBID. This is another reason to reflect on the way culture
is included in the FL classroom.
In conclusion, I believe that exploring why and how culture is
incorporated into the teaching and learning of a FL (particularly ESL) and the
evolution of this idea within the ESL community is relevant for both ESL
students and teachers, the best and most effective ESL speakers are also the
most culturally literate.
References
1. Quoted in Foreign Language Teaching Methods / Culture on the University of Texas website http://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/culture/01/definitions.php
consulted on 22/09/2012 1:30 P.M.
2. The British Council/Articles/Teaching English: Culture - the fifth language skill. http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/culture-fifth-language-skill
consulted on 22/09/2012 2:30 P.M.3. Meurer, José Luis " Genre as Diversity, and Rhetorical Mode as Unity in Language Use" . Ilha do Desterro. Florianapólis. No. 43. July - December 2002 . Pag. 61 - 82.
Resources
University of Texas Website:
http://coerll.utexas.edu/methods/modules/culture/01/definitions.php
British Council Website:
http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/articles/culture-fifth-language-skill
Peck, Deborah . "Teaching Culture: Beyond Language"
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1984/3/84.03.06.x.html
Hong, Sungok. "The Role of Heritage Students in incorporating Culture into Language Teaching"
Hey Beatriz, sorry for the belate comment. I read both writings and I saw you made some changes regarded to the 2nd paragraph as you had tolde me before and yes, it sounds better that way. I like your topic very much because is an issue present in our daily learning as foreign language students. I like the fact that you tell the readers about your own experience with your learning process and give the definition of culture and you quote several authors and wow you have several references.
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