ON TEACHING CULTURE
Language
Food
Clothing
• CULTURE IS
LIKE AN
ICEBERG…
Most of the what truly
matters is hidden
underneath…
Communications style
Beliefs
Attitudes
Values
Perceptions
• “Observable and non-observable
behaviors, underlying rules, attitudes
and values suggested by these rules
and any interpretations and symbol
systems (language) used by
individuals in understanding their
society or another society.”
RELATIONSHIP OF LANGUAGE
TO CULTURE
• Language is a major
component of culture
• People’s conception of
the world largely
expressed through
culture(including
nonverbal forms—cuisine,
art, religion, dance, music)
• English (a subset of culture,
a vehicle for expressing
culture)
demands that
culture (Big C) must
be taught/highlighted
in ELL classrooms
PHASES OF CULTURAL
AWARENESS
(Hanvey 1987)
Level 1
Level 2
knowledge of facts, stereotypes,
deficiencies (e.g. American women sexually
“free”)
shallow comprehension of target culture
Level 3
in-depth understanding of target culture
(proxemics—space)
Level 4
Empathy with culture (adopting it as “their”
country/culture)
PRINCIPLES IN
TEACHING CULTURE
• Must be integral to language learning
• Must advance students to at least Level 2
(will vary for individuals)
• Must have proportional concern for Big C
and Little C
• Must be used as content, not just
“diversion”
• Must expose learners to nuances of
language
Cultural Instruction Activities
()maggio, Krmasch, Jorstad, Lange)
Native informants
Teacher presentations
Music
Pictures/Real Objects
Simulations/Roleplay
Project-based activities
Style inventories
Discussions
(Reid & Oxford for ESL Learners)
Checklist for Culturally
Appropriate Techniques
(Brown)
• Does technique recognize values that are
part of students’ native cultures?
• Does it refrain from any demeaning
stereotypes of students’ native cultures?
• Does it refrain from devaluing students’
native languages?
• Does it recognize varying degrees of
participation?
Checklist (cont’d)
• Does it use empathy & tact when taking
students beyond the comfort zone?
• Is it sensitive to gender differences in
students’ native cultures?
• Does it connect specific language features
to cultural ways of thinking, feeling, acting?
• Does it draw on background experiences of
students in first and target cultures?