INTERCULTURAL LEARNING THROUGH BLOG EXCHANGES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES

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INTERCULTURAL LEARNING THROUGH BLOG EXCHANGESIN
FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES

• Nguyen Thi Hong Nhat

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Contents
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The Role of Culture in Language Teaching and
Learning

• The need for cultural literacy in ELT arises
  mainly from the fact that, most language
  learners, not exposed to culture elements of the
  society in question, seem to encounter
  significant hardship in communicating meaning to
  native speaker.
• (Bada, 2000)

The need for cultural literacy in ELT arises
mainly from the fact that, most language
learners, not exposed to culture elements of the
society in question, seem to encounter
significant hardship in communicating meaning to
native speaker. (Bada, 2000)
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The Role of Culture in Language Teaching and
Learning
Dictates who talks to whom, what/ how the
communication proceeds
Culture - Communication Inseparable
Determine how people encode messages
(Samovar, Porter, Jain, 1981) 
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The Role of Culture in Language Teaching and
Learning
Item No. Item Responses Chi-Square
1 Did this course contribute to any of your language skills? Yes 100 0.000
1 Did this course contribute to any of your language skills? No 0 0.000

• Effects of the culture class

Item No. Item Responses Frequency Chi-Square
2 To which skill did the course contribute most? Reading 10 26.3 0.015
2 To which skill did the course contribute most? Writing 2 5.3 0.015
2 To which skill did the course contribute most? Listening 10 26.3 0.015
2 To which skill did the course contribute most? Speaking 16 42.6 0.015
( Bilal Genc Erdogan Bada, 2005)
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Contents
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Teachers Difficulties in Teaching Culture
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• Definition Blog is an online journal that an
  individual can continuously update with his or
  her own words, ideas, and thoughts. (Campbell,
  2003. p.1)
• Blogs have potentials to be a valuable tool
  because of
• easy-to-use accessibility (Campbell, 2003)
• space for learners voice, awareness of audience
  (Leverett, 2006 Ward, 2004)
• high learners autonomy (Hanson-Smith Egbert,
  1999)
• effective teacherstudent communication and peer
  interaction (Arslan Sahin-Kizil, 2010 Dippold,
  2009)

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3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
3.1
Design of the study
3.2
3.2
Data collection and data analysis
Data collection and data analysis
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Research questions
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Research design
Participants 40 intermediate-level EFL students
in a cultural class and 10 Fulbright American
teaching fellows.
American people
American history
Public holiday
Custom and tradition
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Instruments and data analysis
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Results Vietnamese students intercultural
competence improvement through blog exchanges
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Characteristics of blogging
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Elements enable students to establish successful
intercultural relationships with their partners
via blogging
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Teaching Culture Strategies and Techniques
CULTURE ISLAND MAKE STUDENTS BE WET IN THE
WATER OF CULTURE
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Teachers Difficulties in Teaching Culture
Suggested Solutions
Lack Of Adequate Training
Fear Of Not Knowing Enough
Measurement
Curriculum
Teachers role is not to impart facts but to help
students attain the skills that are necessary to
make sense out of the facts
Teach culture, grammar, vocabulary in an
integrative fashion, not serial one.
Create a framework with a list of activities such
as writing reflection, writing diary, presentation
Ever - learning
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Bibliography

• Huges, G. M. (1984). An Argument for Cultural
  Analysis in the Second Language
• Finnocchario M. (1964), English as a second
  language From theory to practice. New York
  Simon and Schuster
• Lafayette, R.C. (1978), Teaching Culture
  Strategies and Techniques, Virginia Arlington.
• Bada, E. (2000) Culture in ELT, Chukurova
  University Journal of Social Sciences
  (6),100-110.
• Henrichsen, L. E. 1998. Understanding Culture and
  Helping Students Understand Culture. (Web
  document)

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Thank You !