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Ask for help > What do you think?
What do you think?
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dwaikat
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What do you think?
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Dear All,
I hope you are doing well.
I have been thinking on a certain matter for a long time and I would like to share what �s going inside my mind:
when we teach English, for instance, should we teach the language itself without the culture connected to it? Or should culture and language go together and not be separated? And when you teach English as a second language (ESL, EFL), which approach do u follow?
Looking to hearing from you!
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6 Dec 2009
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t.javanshir
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Dear Dwaikat, According to the most recent teaching approaches which hold a holistic view regarding language teaching, that is, language should be instructed as a whole, in apposition to the bit by bit approach of language teaching in which every bit of language namely grammar, listening, speaking, reading, and writing are taught separately, it is believed that the usability of instruction and learning is enhanced through the integration of the separate components of language. To set an example for you, consider a reading task which is initiated by a short discussion of some issues related to the topic of the reading in question through which the background of students is activated and consequently they will find the reading more interesting, functioning as a speaking practice. A couple of questions in this short discussion could be remained unanswered which could later on serve the purpose of asking the students to find some responses in the reading. then you can have a silent reading through which the very purpose of reading is conducted. Then students can provide each other in pairs or groups with some answers to the questions they had already come up with. This could contribute to the purpose of some more speaking. And finally they can hear a paragraph related to the reading upon which they are asked to write a short essay to describe the relationship between what they have read and what they have heard. See, how a simple task of reading could be integrated with other components of language? This is only one simple activity, a variety of other innovative ones, however, could be exploited to meat your goals. Well, in some applied linguistics books, culture is viewed as the fifth indispensable part of language along with listening, speaking, reading, and writing. One of the most update language teaching approaches is communicative language teaching (CLT), which takes most of the above-mentioned principles into consideration. |
6 Dec 2009
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ayda louhichi
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This is the problem of teaching any second language anywhere because it is taught outside its culture though we try our best to introduce the language through different real contexts but always the major part is lacking which is real communication in one hundred per cent real situations. Teaching a second language should go hand in hand with teaching its culture but we, teachers, we only teach the language because to understand its culture you have to be a native speaker
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6 Dec 2009
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alien boy
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To truly understand metaphor that is used in language you need to understand something of the different paradigms/worldviews that conceived the metaphors in the first place.
For example, �a rolling stone gathers no moss� has postive connotations in Standard English but the same saying, if translated literally, has a negative connotation in Japanese.
Standard English - you are not weighed down, distracted or delayed by accumulated negative/inconsequential/non essential things/experiences/relationships.
Japanese - you do not develop strong, meaningful relationships with your home/people around you/nature or the world around you.
The difference in meaning comes from the difference in world view of the different cultures.
SO if you really want to learn a language you really need to know a bit about the culture too!
Regards,
AB |
7 Dec 2009
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monchis
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I think the main purpose of learning languages is communication and culture takes an important role in it. Isn�t that one of the biggest problems in the World?
We need to know about other countries culture to make communication effective. We also need to learn (and then teach)to respect cultural differences.
As a matter of fact, when I include cultural topics in my lesson, my students seem to enjoy the class more than when I just focus on grammar (no matter how funny or original the class might be). I�ve also found that it is easier for they to understand things when they connect a concept to a real situation.
Students don�t like grammar rules or making sentences, they don�t even care about reading or writing in their own language. What they want is to learn how to understand other people and be able not just to talk to them but to understand them.
I don�t see how we can teach a language without talking about the people that speak it.
Actually, this question has been something I�ve asked myself more than once and at the end I decided that I had to teach my students the culture that comes with the language and at the same time, I try to make them recognise the differences and to feel proud of their own culture.
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7 Dec 2009
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Spagman63
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I don�t see how we can teach a language without talking about the people that speak it.
When I was learning Korean, I didn �t look into the culture or Korean lifestyle. I focused on the WORDS. It is not necessary to know the culture to learn that language. Granted, you need to know the situation in which to use certain phrases but those phrases still have to be learned first. Take Hong Kong for example. There are MANY loudmouths here and I often find myself wanting to shout out, "BE QUIET, BIG MOUTH." Taken literally, that would be "Ng mo Cho, Dai Hau." (Don �t make noise, big mouth) HOWEVER, this is nonsense to the Chinese because they don �t use this phrase. Every language has rules and mores. In English, it is generally considered rude to ask personal questions at the first meeting. We like to release personal information over time. It would help if non-native teachers passed this information on to their students but many of them don �t know it themselves. In a hierarchical society like Korea, it is paramount to know the age of the person. I think they call it Yu Gee Oh. In America, it can be considered quite rude to ask this right away. That said, it is not necessary to KNOW this to learn the language.
we only teach the language because to understand its culture you have to be a native speaker
This is not true. You only have to be exposed to the customs. I couldn �t understand why most Chinese always stop in the middle of the sidewalk to talk or Koreans move further away when someone passes between them. After spending time in those places, I understand it now. All it takes is time spent in that culture.
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7 Dec 2009
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JudyHalevi
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I think teaching the culture is very important, but one must remember that English is spoken by people in many different countries, and one could never say that the culture of the American is the same as the culture of the British, or vice versa. To add into the mix, we have Australians, South Africans and Canadians, all of whom speak English to a varying degree.
I do try to import the culture of my native country, (South Africa), and some of British Culture when I teach English.
 from Israel
Judy |
7 Dec 2009
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dwaikat
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Nice replies!
I do like what you all have shared. Different opinions can really help visualize the matter in a better way. I like to listen to a variety of points of view, so I can develop the issue.
Thanks again all.
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7 Dec 2009
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