Our culture affects how we
think, interact, communicate and
transmit knowledge.
Teachers need to define what culture is
before they can engage their students in an
interactive culture discussion.
Only then, they can guide students to think
about what people do, think and make in their
own culture.
And through these discussions,
students make connections across
cultures while studying English, in a
sphere of interculturality.
Elements of Culture
Customs, values, products, beliefs, and
communication styles of a culture or society
Standards for Foreign Language speaking provide
the tangible (Products) and intangible
(Perspectives - Practices) aspects of a society.
Perspectives - Thoughts, feelings and values
Practices - Ways of communication and interaction
Products - creations as music, technology, food,
lliterature, etc
Cultural iceberg analogy illustrates differences
between the visible aspects of a new culture and
the embedded aspects of the same.
Students can point out the surface and subsurface
culture elements of the culture and make differences in
a fun way using this analogy.
Intercultural Phenomena
Include culture shock, cultural adaptation and cultural
adjustment.
Teachers should prepare students for possible situation
when traveling or moving to an English speaking country.
Acculturation : Excitement (overlooking negative aspects) - Culture shock
(start comparing due to difficulties, frustration or hostility)- Recovery (start
building relationships, and feeling comfortable) - Adaption (adapt and accept).
Particular cultures
I:n High context cultures - Emphasize interpersonal
relationships and give more importance to groups
harmony
In Low context cultures - due to
Individualism, people value people being
direct and concise.
Acquiring strategies for
culture learning
Teachers must provide opportunities to
explore and recognize cultural differences.
Raise awareness in students of the
target language and their own
language.
Curiosity and openness to other
cultures, understanding social
practices,
Role Plays
These get students involved interactively in a lesson to allow them
to emphasize with members from other cultures
Cultural Observations
Teachers or students can gather books, newspapers,
music or other elements to evaluate their cultural
practices.
Culture Journals
They allow students reflect on what they
experience and discuss in class
Through them, students can privately communicate with
their teachers or share some experiences with their
classmates if they wish.
These allow students to record their thoughts emotions
and reactions to the classroom activities, with the aim
of becoming interculturally competent.