In your view, what is culture? Is it important to teach L2 culture? Why? Is it possible to teach L2 culture in the classroom setting? What are the limitations? How should culture be learned or taught? Use examples to support your points of view.
Culture can be broadly defined as the products, practices, and perspectives of a certain country, region, or area. This can include material objects such as food, but it also includes inanimate objects, such as languages and traditions. It is difficult for two countries or regions to have the same culture, but it is certainly possible for aspects of two different cultures to overlap. For instance, Canada and France are very different, but their history, and therefore their language and traditions may be very similar (parts of Canada, at least).
I find it to be extremely important to teach L2 culture in the foreign language classrooms. Looking back on my French studies, the culture lessons were the lessons that I enjoyed the most and made me more curious about the language and the culture. In my experience teaching, the students react in a very similar way to me about studying culture. In our French classes, we do a lot of language study, and a lot of grammar, but the students really excelled in a culture presentation that they had to do. I think that it is important for students to learn about the culture, as well as language, because the two often go hand-in-hand. As we have studied, sociolinguistic competence requires understanding the social context in order to speak appropriately. In French, you must understand that there is a cultural difference between using the formal and the informal -- the "tu" and the "vous" form. You would never use "tu" with a professor, elder, or shopkeeper. This is not a part of the English language, we just use "you", so this presents a challenge for some students in a foreign language class.
I think that it is possible to teach the L2 culture in a foreign language classroom setting, although it does have its drawbacks. With my students, we did a cultural project where the students worked with a partner to research a particular region, château, or holiday in France. They were responsible for creating a PowerPoint and presenting it to the class. Of course, the students do not get to experience the culture first-hand, but they have a much better idea and understanding of it when it is presented. In most examples, the students are limited to what they see or hear. They have to take somebody else's word for what the culture is about rather than experiencing it for themselves.
With that being said, I believe that the best way for the students to see and learn about the culture is through authentic material that comes from a source other than the teacher. Watching films, video clips, or reading about the culture is a good method to use when teaching culture. If you can incorporate food into your lessons when teaching about French cuisine, that would be a great tool to use as well.
Overall, I think that culture needs to be taught in schools and in classes because it is imperative for students to learn about in order to communicate effectively. I think that it is an effective tool to use to keep the students interested in the subject as well.
With the advent of digital technology, teachers have unlimited access to authentic materials. This makes teaching C2 easier and more effective than before. However, teachers should be aware of stereotypes and over generalizations about the target culture, as some of online materials are not appropriate to students. I also think that our ultimate goal should allow students to bring their own perspectives by comparing and contrasting two cultures. Teaching BIG C (e.g., art, music, literature) is much easier than teaching small c (e.g., behavior, attitude and value). In my view, small c requires immersion experience. That's why we want our students to live with host families while studying abroad. Interestingly, students would say to me that they appreciate their own culture more after they've done study abroad.
ReplyDeleteI agree 100% with your statement about how the culture lessons are the most interesting, for me at least. That is the only reason I got pulled into Spanish, which I did not like when I first started learning it. This is not true for all students though. Some of them see the cultural part of the class as a time to zone out unfortunately. They just focus on the grammar for the sake of a good grade. So the challenge is to get these students interested.
ReplyDeleteThe cultural aspects of my language classes were certainly my favorites as well. I very clearly remember having "French food day," in my high-school French class. I will never forget making those crêpes! Jess mentioned that teachers are not allowed to incorporate food/eating into teaching at her high-school, can anyone think of a similar activity that could replace this? Something that is tangible, real, and provides sensory information like cooking?
ReplyDeleteMaybe art? It would have to be fairly structured and there would need to be a lot of guidelines to make sure they were actually learning something and not necessarily just making what they wanted, but that would definitely be sensory. That's so sad Jess' high school can't incorporate food.
DeleteYou make a good connection between sociolinguistic competence and culture lessons (tu vs. vous). I think it is easy to forget that understanding the culture also leads to a improved grasp of the language, particularly in its sociolinguistic aspects.
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