ELEMENTS OF CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION IN TEACHING ENGLISH

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ELEMENTS OF CULTURE AND CIVILIZATION IN TEACHING
ENGLISH

• IZABELA DANKIC, PH. D.

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WHAT IS CULTURE?

• A societys culture consists of whatever it is
  one has to know or believe in order to operate in
  a manner acceptable to its members. Culture is
  not a natural phenomenon it does not consist of
  things, peoples behavior or emotions. It is
  rather organization of these things. It is the
  form of things that people have in mind, their
  models of perceiving, relating, and otherwise
  interpreting them

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What is culture?

• Cultural knowledge is socially acquired. We
  learn all necessary behaviors that are part of
  that knowledge. It is a knowhow necessary to
  fulfill social requirements (Wardhaugh, 1998)
• Culture is knowledge which is shared and
  negotiated between people, belonging to all of
  them

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What is culture?

• Culture is associated with civilization, and
  culture and civilization refer to the whole way
  of life of a foreign country included but not
  limited to its production in the arts,
  philosophy, and high culture in general.
  (Byram, 1989)

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What is culture?

• Culture is the systematic, rather arbitrary,
  more or less coherent, group invented, and group
  shared creed from the past that defines the shape
  of reality, and assigns the sense and worth of
  things it is modified by each generation and in
  response to adaptive pressures it provides the
  code that tells people how to behave predictably
  and acceptably, the cipher that allows them to
  derive meaning from language and other symbols,
  the map that supplies the behavioral options for
  satisfying human needs. (Seeley, 1997)

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THE ELEMENTS (ASPECTS) OF BRITISH
CULTURE COUNTRY AND PEOPLE EVERDAY
LIFE HISTORY
THE MEDIA GEOGRAPHY
TRANSPORT IDENTITY
WELFARE ATTITUDES
HOUSING POLITICAL LIFE
FOOD AND DRINK THE MONARCHY
SPORT AND THE GOVERNMENT
COMPETITION PARLIAMENT
THE ARTS ELECTIONS
HOLIDAYS THE LAW
SPECIAL OCCASIONS INTERNATIONAL
RELATIONS RELIGION EDUCATION THE ECONOMY
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CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

• Language expresses cultural reality
• Language is the principal means of
  communication in our everyday life. People
  belonging to the same society share common
  knowledge and common experience. When they
  communicate they refer to that knowledge and they
  can express their personal opinions, beliefs, and
  point of view.

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• Language embodies cultural reality
• Language is not only used to express
  experiences, but also to create experiences
  because of its verbal and non-verbal aspects. The
  medium people choose for communication is
  important in creation of such experiences
  (whether is spoken, written, or visual medium) .

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CULTURE AND LANGUAGE

• Language symbolizes cultural reality.
• Language has itself a cultural value for its
  speakers. It is seen as an aspect of their
  social identity. They identify themselves and
  others through the use of language.

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2. TEACHING CULTURE (TC) V. TEACHING LANGUAGE (TL)

• LANGUAGE IS THE GLUE THAT BINDS A GROUP OF
  PEOPLE TOGETHER, (BROWN, 1987) THE MOST
  OBVIOUS MARKER OF CULTURAL IDENTITY
• THERE IS QUITE A LONG HISTORY OF TEACHING CULTURE
  IN EUROPE (LANDESKUNDE, CIVILISATION) AND IN
  AMERICA
• IN BRITAIN, THE FOCUS IS ON HISTORY,
  INSTITUTIONS, CUSTOMS IN ADDITION TO CUSTOMARY
  LANGUAGE AND LITERARY STUDIES)

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TC v.TL

• After the World War II the idea of teaching
  culture through teaching language was
  strengthened together with the development and
  influence of anthropology. This was particularly
  strong in America where the American Committee on
  language and culture expressed the following

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TC v. TL

• (1) Language is a part of culture and must be
  approached with the same attitudes that govern
  our approach to culture as a whole.
• (2) Language conveys culture so that the language
  teacher is also of necessity a teacher of
  culture.
• (3) Language is itself subject to culturally
  conditioned attitudes and beliefs which can not
  be ignored in the language classroom. (Stern,
  1996, p.251).

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TC v. TL

• Theory v. Practice
• They have found out that young people acquire
  some information but very little knowledge of the
  foreign culture through language classes the
  influence of extra-curricular forces such as the
  media is greater than the intuitive and
  unsystematic efforts of the teachers. (Byram and
  Morgan, 1994, p. 3)

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TC v. TL

• Theory v. Practice
• Culture is seen as mere information conveyed by
  the language, not as a feature of language
  itself.
• A great number of studies recommend that culture
  should be taught together with language, culture
  is still rarely seen in the same light as
  language.

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TC v. TL

• Theory v. Practice
• English teachers were educated to become teachers
  of language and literature.It is too readily
  assumed that exposure to language teaching will
  lead to some kind of cultural knowledge.

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TC v. TL

• FOREIGN CULTURE TEACHING THEORIES
• Establishing a sphere of interculturality - to
  be able to understand a foreign culture we have
  to put it in relation with our own culture.
• Teaching culture as an interpersonal process
  --replace the presentation/prescription of
  cultural facts and behaviors by the teaching of a
  process that applies to understanding differences

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TC v. TL

• Foreign culture teaching theories
• 3. Teaching culture through differences that
  exist between cultures
• 4. Crossing disciplinary boundaries they
  encourage language teachers to broaden their
  readings to include besides literature, studies
  by social scientists, ethnographers, and
  sociolinguistics on both their society and the
  societies that speak the language they are
  teaching.

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TC v. TL

• Foreign culture teaching theories
• 5. Intercultural tolerance must be emphasized in
  helping teachers develop awareness (overcome
  stereotypes , prejudices, one-sided views) and
  relationships, discover personal experiences,
  horizontal relationships in the classroom,
  relationships among families, neighbors, free
  activities and media.

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TC v. TL

• The UNESCO GUIDE suggests the realms of
  learning should encompass (p. 30)
• 1. welcoming awareness of the presence of others
  in ones social environment,
• 2. acknowledgment of the positive aspects of
  diversity and its appreciation,
• 3. respect and integration of differences to
  enrich and strengthen society,

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TC v. TL

• The UNESCO GUIDE suggests the realms of
  learning should encompass (p. 30)
• 4.vision and work towards achieving common goals
  that are mutually advantageous to diverse groups
• 5. recognition of interdependence and human
  universals and work towards positive arrangements
  of diversity in an interdependent world.

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3. ATTITUDES AND THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM PRACTICE
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• A video grab image shows John Bercow speaking to
  Britains Prime Minister David Cameron as he is
  led to the Speakers chair after being reelected
  as speaker of the House of Commons, in central
  London, May 18, 2010.
• Betty Boothroyd

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• FALLACY OF PROJECTED COGNITIVE SIMILARITY we
  all project the logic of our own reasoning to
  explain the actions of others.
• THE OBJECTIVE to get students thinking about
  different forms of human behavior

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What are intrinsic and extrinsic factors
that help shape English language teachers
attitudes? Intrinsic factors which help shape
personal position based on prior
knowledge and past experiences
(education, travels, encounters with
foreigners, professional or private
life) Extrinsic outside factors which influence
teachers position on foreign
language teaching and learning?
(national curriculum)
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• National Curriculum in England and Wales
• (B-H) indirectly or directly indicate that TFL
• should
• offer insight into the culture and civilization
  of the countries where the language is spoken
• encourage positive attitudes to foreign language
  learning and to speakers of foreign languages and
  a sympathetic approach to other cultures and
  civilizations
• develop pupils understanding of themselves and
  their own culture.

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• The Common European Framework of Reference
• for Languages
• The following competences and skills in culture
• teaching and learning are particularly
  emphasized
• sociocultural knowledge knowledge of society
• and culture of the community
• 2. intercultural awareness knowledge, awareness
  
• and understanding of the relation
  (similarities
• and distinctive differences) between the
  world
• of origin and the world of the target
  community.
• It is also enriched by awareness of a wider
  range
• of cultures and it helps to place them both in
  
• context.

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• For example Learning Lakota
• Kill the Indian, and save the man Genocide
  of a culture
• http//www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-30-fall-2
  006/learning-lakota
• Intercultural skills and know-how
• The ability to bring the culture of origin and
  the foreign culture into relation with each other

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• Attitude formation and attitude change are
  complex processes and mere exposure to language
  learning and information about other cultures
  will not necessarily lead to the desired results.
• The Bosnian study conflicting results
• Teachers support systematic British culture
  teaching, but because students have other
  opportunities to learn about the Anglo-American
  culture they emphasize language skills.

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4. The Goals of Cultural Instruction

• Intercultural competence is the objective of
  teaching culture.
• All students will develop the cultural
  understandings, attitudes and performance skills
  needed to function appropriately within a society
  of the target language and to communicate with
  the culture bearer (Seeley, 1984)
• The selection of cultural data should be guided
  by how well they will increase students skills
  in intercultural communication.

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7 major goals of cultural instruction

• 1. Reasons behind culturally conditioned behavior
• Understanding that people act the way they
  do because they are using options the society
  allows for satisfying basic physical and
  psychological needs.
• Different cultural patterns must be
  employed if one wants to satisfy basic needs.
  These include also non-linguistic elements
  (facial expressions, visual interaction, body
  movement and gesture, proximity behaviors, and
  multichannel communication)
• 2. Interaction of language and social variables
• Understanding that social variables as
  age, sex, social class, and place of residence
  affect the way people speak and behave.

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The Goals of Cultural Instruction

• 3. Conventional behavior in common situations
• Understanding of the role convention plays
  in shaping behavior by demonstrating how people
  act in different situations.
• 4. Cultural connotations of words and phrases
• An awareness that culturally conditioned
  images are associated with even the most common
  target words and phrases.
• 5. Evaluating statements about a society
• The ability to evaluate the evidence to be
  able to make objective statements about the
  target culture.

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The Goals of Cultural Instruction

• 6. Researching another culture
• Skills to be able to research, find and
  organize information about the target culture
  from the library, the mass media, people, and
  personal observation.
• 7. Attitudes toward other cultures
• Develop intellectual curiosity about the
  target culture and empathy toward its people.

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How do we develop activities to fit these goals?

• 1. Everything that you choose must have a deeper
• cultural purpose.
• 2. One might say that these goals can be summed
  up under one goal to think like a native?
• 3. What is the position between the students
  native and target language and culture? Croatian
  versus British?
• Are we to celebrate Croatian over English?
• (Beware of ethnocentrism (integration and
  loyalty among members of the same group negative
  attitude towards foreigners, their culture and
  language and glorification of ones culture, but
  derogatory stereotyping of outgroup
  characteristics).

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NC v. FC Music

• I don't ever wanna drink againI just ooh I
  just need a friendI'm not gonna spend ten
  weekshave everyone think I'm on the mendIt's
  not just my prideIt's just 'til these tears have
  driedThey tried to make me go to rehab but I
  said 'no, no, no'Yes I've been black but when I
  come back you'll know know knowI ain't got the
  time and if my daddy thinks I'm fineHe's tried
  to make me go to rehab but I won't go go go

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NC v. FC

• Ne pomišljaj na kraj
• iz srca mi dolazemracne i sumorne sjenene
  budi ludane pomišljaj na krajsamo ti
  možešocima mojim vratiti sjaj

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NC v. FC

• In general Mendelssohn's personal life seems to
  have been fairly conventional compared to his
  contemporaries Wagner, Berlioz, and Schumann
  save as regards his ambiguous relationship with
  the famed Swedish soprano Jenny Lind whom he met
  in October 1844. An affidavit from Lind's
  husband, Otto Goldschmidt indicates that
  Mendelssohn in 1847 requested for Lind (who was
  then not married) to elope with him to America.
  Mendelssohn met and worked with Lind many times,
  and wrote the beginnings of an opera, Lorelei,
  for her, based on the legend of the Lorelei Rhine
  maidens the opera was unfinished at his death.
  He is said to have included a high F-sharp in his
  oratorio Elijah ("Hear Ye Israel") with Lind's
  voice in mind, although she did not in fact sing
  this part until after his death, at a concert in
  December 1848. In 1847 Mendelssohn attended a
  London performance of Meyerbeer's Robert le
  diable an opera which musically he despised in
  order to hear Lind's British debut, in the role
  of Alice. His friend the critic Chorley, who was
  with him, wrote "I see as I write the smile with
  which Mendelssohn, whose enjoyment of Mdlle.
  Lind's talent was unlimited, turned round and
  looked at me,as if a load of anxiety had been
  taken off his mind. His attachment to Mlle.
  Lind's genius as a singer was unbounded, as was
  his desire for her success."

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NC v. FC

• What would happen to an orchestra if the
  conductor wasnt there could the musicians cope
  by themselves? Students will discover in this
  music lesson.These are all ideas that students
  can use to learn about the conductor in the
  orchestra. There is a complete lesson plan on
  this subject in Our Printable Music Lesson Plans
  Series
• Demonstrate the basic beat patterns. Have
  students practice the patterns using pencils or
  drinking straws as temporary batons. Select
  individual students to choose a pattern, conduct
  it, and have the other students identify it.
  Dont forget to show the students the beat
  patterns at different tempi (fast, medium and
  slow).
• Dynamics are indicated by the size of the
  conducting gestures big gestures loud, small
  movements piano. Conduct a beat pattern and
  have students count the beats out loud ask them
  to get louder and softer as you change the size
  of your gestures.
• www.vjekoslavsutej.com

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How do we develop activities to fit these goals?

• reading emphatic literature to create empathy
• watch emphatic films
• 3. mini dramas three or more episodes
  representing cultural visit to a bar
  miscommunications. With each episode more
  information is presented, but the precise cause
  of misunderstanding is not clear until the end.
  (bar, child, windows, squash, mild beer (lager),
  barman shouts,
• 4. culture assimilator episodes - interesting
  reading presenting a problem situation. They are
  provided with four different answers and they
  have to pick the right one. They are also
  provided with the explanations. (Shrove Tuesday
  meat on Monday, eggs on Tuesday pancakes)

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• 5. culture capsule usually a text
  accompanied with an activity that supports or
  represents cultural information presented in the
  text.
• While in culture assimilators students have
  to identify culturally appropriate explanations
  for the described situations in culture capsule
  the explanation is both presented with a textual
  description, but also it is accompanied with a
  multi media support. (meals tea urban
  working class dinner)
• 6. culture clusters three or more capsules -
  a half an hour skit simulation of the situation
  described and talked about in the related
  capsules.
• 7. ask the right questions from trivial to
  questions that students find to be interesting
  for example making a scrapbook containing
  clippings from magazines pertaining to what a
  student finds to be interesting and ask and check
  it with the teacher.
• 8.interviews with native speakers or people
  from the local community who lived in Britain.

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Concluding remarks

• Avoid all generalizations, let culture teaching
  be individual.
• The guiding principle in material and acitivity
  selection should be what the cultural knowledge
  my students need to master in order to
  communicatively succeed in the target country.
• Use every opportunity for improving your
  knowledge of English and of the Anglo-American
  culture as a teacher and help your students
  develop that skill too. (Cloudy With a Chance of
  Meatballs)
• Nurture love and respect for your culture and
  your students cultures to be able to respect the
  culture of the people whose language you teach.
• Your are the ambassadors of the Anglo-American
  culture among your students.