Educational material created by Mitzy Glenn A & Ma. Fernanda González R. for ULATINA Centro Interamericano de Postgrados. MEI-1202 Principles of Language Acquisition 2013

Sociocultural Factors

Culture Ideas, customs, skills, arts and

tools. Group of people- given period of

time. Integrated patterns. Biological and psychological

needs. Cognitive and affective behavior:

personal and social existence. Perception: subjective

From Stereotypes to Generalizations

How do stereotypes form?Our cultural milieu shapes our world view.

Open- minded vs. Closed –minded.

The key= to understand cultural differences.

Attitudes Develop in early childhood. Result of parents’ and peers’ attitudes. Relationship between attitudes and language

success. AwarenessExposure ValuingUnderstanding

Second Culture Acquisition• Acculturation: second identity • Culture shock: irritability

& psychological panic.

Stages of culture acquisition 1.Stage 1: excitement. 2.Stage 2: culture shock.3.Stage 3: tentative recovery.4.Stage 4: full recovery.

Social Distance

Dissimilarity between two cultures.

Parameters of Social Distance:

1.Dominance: politically, culturally, economically, technically, etc.

2.Integration: assimilation, acculturation, preservation.

3.Cohesiveness

Parameters of Social Distance

4. Congruence: value and belief systems, attitudes.

5. Permanence: intended length of residence in the target language.

Culture in the Classroom

Teacher: needs to be sensitive by using

techniques that promote cultural

understanding

Best model of the combination 2nd language 2nd culture

learning Students who learn a 2nd language in a

country where the language is spoken natively.

Conceptual Categories

1. Individualism

2. Power Distance

3. Uncertainty Avoidance

4. Masculinity

Language Policy and Politics

Language Society

Politics

Collectivist vs. Individualist Societies

Collectivist Societies Individualist Societies

The young should learn, adults cannot accept student role.

Permanent learning.

Students expect to learn how to do.

Students expect to learn how to learn.

Students will only speak in individual groups.

Individuals will only speak in large groups.

Education is a way of gaining prestige in one’s social environment.

Education is a way to improving one’s economic worth and self respect.

Teachers are expected to give preferential treatment to some students.

Teachers are expected to be strictly impartial.

World Englishes

• Nativization.

• ESL and EFL.-Immigrant communities in a large city.

-English based on media TV internet, motion picture industry, etc.

World EnglishesAccording to Nayar (1997:22) “ seems to have created a world

view that being a native speaker of English will somehow bestow on people not only unquestionable competence in the use of teaching of the language but also expertise in telling others how English ought to be taught”

Language, Thought and Culture

• Cognitive development and linguistic development go hand in hand.

• Words shape our lives.• Verbal labels can shape the way we

store events for later recall.

Language, Thought and Culture

• Conversational discourse styles, lexical items, the passive voice, the tense system, etc may affect thoughts.

• As teachers we should respect for the languages and cultures of our students.

As teachers...• Look for intrinsic motivation. • Promote self confidence as an important

way to success.• Successful learners make strategic

investment in their learning.• Language and culture are tangled• Take a few calculated risks in the

classroom.

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“The interaction between your approach and your classroom practice is the key to dynamic teaching” 

“Thank you”