Traditional ways of teaching culture

Traditional Ways of Teaching Culture

Chapter 6Ann C. Wintergerst

1A. P. Molkizadeh & M. Soleimani Aghchay

ATU PhDCourse: Culture & Identity

in Language TeachingProfessor: Dr. Khatib

Prepared by: Amir Parviz Molkizadeh & M.Soleimani

Aghchay

A. P. Molkizadeh & M. Soleimani Aghchay 2

Views about Teaching Culture

In ESL context, teaching culture is inevitable (for survival purposes).In EFL context, teaching culture is preferable.


Goals for Teaching CultureSeelye 1974 proposes 7 goals:Ss should demonstrate that1. They understand that people act the way they do

because they are using options the society allows for satisfying basic physical and psychological needs

2. They understand that social variables as age, sex, social class, and place of residence affect the way people speak and behave

3. How people conventionally act in the most common mundane and crisis situations in the TC


4. They are aware that culturally conditioned images are associated with the most common target words and phrases

5. They are able to evaluate the relative strength of a generality concerning the TC in terms of the amount of evidence substantiating the statement

6. They have developed the skills needed to locate and organize material about the TC from the internet, library, mass media, and personal observation

7. They possess intellectual curiosity about the TC and empathy towards its people


Goals for Teaching Culture (cont.)

Tips for Traditional Ways of Teaching Culture

1. Use literature to explore culture2. Use the arts to explore culture3. Surround Ss with stimuli from TC4. Assign Ss to present research on the TC5. Include problem solving skills to help discover

culture6. Engage Ss in role plays, drama, simulations7. Get Ss involved through experiential learning and

contact assignment8. Introduce holidays, festivals, and religious traditions


Use Literature to Explore Culture

Peterson(2004): Big C culture consists of grand themes readily visible, but little c culture consists of minor themes, often invisible.Little c e.g. behavior, attitudes, valuesBig C e.g. literature of TCCan be used to teach culture


What the Research SaysValdes(1986): when using poetry, short stories and novels in teaching literature, “make clear the values that underlie the behavior of characters and points of view of the authors” (p. 139) to help Ss grasps key elements of the target culture.Christison(1982, pp. 5-11) provides criteria for the selection of poetry: High student interest Short and simple Full-filled and rhythmic


Collie and Slater (1987) recommend the following aims for the use of literature: Maintain interest and involvement by using a

variety of student centered activities Supplement the printed page by appealing to a

variety of learning styles Tap the resources of knowledge and experience

within the group by encouraging shared activities Help Ss explore their own responses to lit. Use target lang. Integrate lang. and lit.


What the Research Says(cont.)

Use the Arts to Explore CultureMeans of connecting Ss with the target

language:Visual artsFilmsMusic





Murphy (1992) provides ideas for using songs:What is the pedagogical value of the song? Be sure that the song is enjoyable for the SsAre the lyrics easily accessible and understandable to the Ss?Do the lyrics have some degree of repetition?Be sure you have an accurate copy of the lyricsDo the lyrics contain lang. or ideas that might be objectionable to some Ss, parents, or school administration?


What the Research Says

Recommended movies by genre and cultural topics:



Genres Movies Family relationships Dead poet society

Race relations The color purple

Feminist films and the role of women Tootsie

Religion Ganhi

Cultural conflict E.T.

Biography JFK

Short story adaptations A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner

Surround Ss with stimuli from TC

Mainly in EFL contextAwareness of Ss’ differences can help focus teachers’ efforts when they surround Ss with stimuli from the target culture


Remember Ss have different learning styles (Ehrman and Oxford 1190, p.311)Remember that Ss have eight intelligences: Gardner (1983, p.62): Multiple intelligence, “human intellectual competence that entails a set of skills of problem solving- enabling the individual to resolve genuine problems/ differences that s/he encounters.”



Maley, Duff, Grellet(1981) suggest working with visual arts, paintings, photographs, drawings, and cartoons to provide stimulus for discussionsGoldstein (2008) suggests designing activities based on descriptions, interpretations, and creating images from visual arts to provide cultural insights.Other stimuli include: newspapers, magazines, radio and TV broadcasts, films, songs, and food




Assign Ss to present research on the TC

Excellent way to give them the responsibility of first learning about the culture and then presenting their knowledge to their peers


Jenks (1974b): teacher provides Qs, Ss would need to search to find the answer.Chastain (1988, p. 309): culture aside, an unplanned brief cultural comment, e.g. Ss have the word coffee, teacher talks about how, when, and to what extent it is used in different cultures.Taylor (1972): slice of life technique, teacher chooses a small segment of life from TC and presents it at the beginning of class, e.g. calendar



Taylor and Sorenson (1961) introduced Culture capsule, Ss present information about

the target culture in a short report of about 2 to 4 paragraphs. Presentations are combined with audio visual reinforcements and followed by comprehension questions.

Culture clusters, several culture capsules



Include problem solving skills to help discover culture

By taking advantage of Ss’ natural curiosity and desire to solve problems, teachers can motivate them to learn more about culture.


Seelye (1993, p. 162) presented culture assimilator:

Describes a critical incident of cross cultural interaction that is usually a common occurrence in which a foreign visitor and a host national interact, a situation one or both find puzzling or conflictual or that they are likely to misinterpret, and a situation that can be interpreted in a fairly unequivocal manner, given sufficient knowledge about the other’s culture.

After Ss read about the incident, they are asked an interpretive question, may be in MC form



In writing culture assimilators, the writer should consider:The incident must be reasonably natural rather than too artificially contrivedThe incorrect answers or distractors must be sufficiently plausibleThe explanations offered for the distractors should also lead to learningThe correct answer needs to be such that a typical



Engage Ss in role plays, drama, simulations

Good for kinesthetic learnersProvides variety in activity typesInvolves learners multidimentionallyHelps Ss grasp concepts and ideas about the new culture


Wintergerst et al. (2003, p. 92) found that Russian EFL students and Asian ESL students preferred a kinesthetic learning style or what researchers called "project orientation,"defined as "a student's preference of learning best when he or she is involved in hands-on activities of when working with materials in a learning situation." e.g. minidramas/miniskits,



Kalivoda, morain, and Elkins (1971): make use of TPR in teaching TC e.g. the audio-motor unit, Ss act out commands given by the teacher e.g. Ss imagine they are in a restaurant, T tell them to pick up their napkins, unfold them, put them on their laps, pick up the fork in their left hand, etc.Damen (1987): social-psychological contrasts btw the two cultures, Ss read sth and

then discuss, role play, dramatize, etc. Critical incident, some problems occur in interactional pattern of

people from different cultures, Ss consider the situation and reaction of the people and comment on the cultural values

Self awareness techniques, Ss think about their own beliefs, values, attitudes, and actions to understand the role of culture in society and individual lives.



Ryffel (1997) noted that when selecting, adapting, and using culture learning activities, teachers should vary tasks in an effort to acknowledge the different learning style preferences of students.Brown (2001, p. 183) notes that role play involves: Giving a role to members of a group Assigning an objective or purpose that participants

must accomplish e.g. a series of Qs for discussion



Allen (1985): the micrologue, T chooses a cultural passage to read aloud in class in 1 min. Ss listen, answer Qs, give oral summary, or write a dictation.Morain (1979): cultoon, T presents a cartoon/ cartoon strip in which some cultural misunderstanding occurs, Ss discuss the clues to come up with correct interpretations



Get Ss involved through experiential learning and contact assignment

Can mainly be used in ESL context


Experiential learning or contact assignments involve the creation of a task that students then carry out in the community around their classroom: interviews of native speakers opinion surveys trips to various types of stores rides on public transportation

Jerald and Clark(1983) prefer "Eating Out“: A visit to a restaurant can introduce students to typical foods of the host culture, as well as to the appropriate behaviors in a restaurant setting.



Introduce holidays, festivals, and religious traditions

The source or reason for a holiday and the way that a culture chooses to celebrate it provide valuable insights into the way that a group of people think about themselves


A shift in focus from the traditional ways of teaching culture to new ways of looking at intercultural communication deemphasized the teaching of the three Fs: food, fiestas, and famous people.Klebanow and Fischer(1985) offer a number of suggestions and resources for teaching about holidays in a U.S. context: Examining current traditions and customs Looking into the background, origins, and traditions

of the holidayA. P. Molkizadeh & M. Soleimani Aghchay 34


Kohls (1996, p. 63) suggests: Identifying the nation’s heroes and

heroines as a key part of “knowing thy host country”.

It is helpful to learn about Predominant religionSacred writings Important religious observations e.g. marriage

celebrations



Resources Chastain, K. (1988). Developing Second Language Skills Theory and Practice. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.Rivers, Wilga M. (1981). Teaching Foreign Language Skills. The University of Chicago PressWintergerst, Ann C. (2011). Tips for Teaching Culture. Person Education Inc.


Thank You for Your Attention
