1.What do you think of the idea of using student native culture as content in the EFL classroom as a means of fostering cross-cultural awareness? What might be the possible benefits and shortcomings (if any) of using student native culture?
2.Choose a or b :
a) By referring to the article by Post and Rathet (1996: 12-17) in English Language Teaching Forum, suggest a new language learning activity for Turkish learners of EFL where you use the Turkish culture. The activity that you will design could appeal to any levels of proficiency (i.e., beginners, elementary, intermediate or advanced) and it can involve any language skills. You need to specify the aim(s), your learner profile preparation, procedures of the activity.
b) By referring to the article by Tavares and Cavalcanti (1996: 18-23) and examining the suggested activities in the article, suggest one activity of your own design to develop cultural awareness in EFL classroom (if you like, you could choose a feature film in English and you might prefer to take up a certain cultural practice in the film and compare and contrast it with the Turkish culture.
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1) It is imposible to seperate a language from its culture because learning a language is not only learning its grammar, linguistic components etc. Culture and language should be taken and be taught as a whole so that students have a chance of seeing the target language in its original atmosphere. However; as for the student native culture it is a bit controversial. I support to using native culture as a means of cross-culture but it should be used to some extent.It can help students to make comparison between their own culture and the culture of the target language. By making such comparisons, they can learn in a challenging atmosphere, they can see the differences between the cultures and this will ease learning because these differences may attract students attention and they may want to engage in the target language more. I find using native culture rational because of these reasons. However; which make it to some extent is that if the using of native things are too much, students will never participate in the target language, they will only make comparisons but will not use those differences and this will prevent their fluency.
ReplyDelete2)Firstly I try to explain the importance of culture of a target language in the learning process. As I mention above I tell my students that language should be taken as a whole with its culture. However; these are abstract things. We can arrange some games which emphasize the cultural components. In that sense I can offer Tavares and Cavalcanti's map activities with matching. However; I find the idea of using some authentic materials such as films, vidoes or conversations which reflect the culture of the target language. I think these kinds of materials make more effect because they reflect the culture of that language as in its real atmosphere. These will be easily-remembered by the students and this will help them to engage in the target language more actively.
1) I think that language and culture are related things and they should not be separated from each other. Language cannot survive without its culture, and vice versa. As a result language should be taught with its culture to second language learners. As for speaking lectures, teacher can make use of native culture, but apart from speaking lectures, native culture should not be used. I do not mean that teacher should impose student’s foreign culture, but they should learn foreign culture beside foreign language. In addition to it, native culture can be used for cross-cultural awareness. Teaching foreign language with its culture makes learning more effective and meaningful for both teacher and the students because students make comparison between their native and foreign languages, and between their cultures. And also, they become aware of the differences between them.
ReplyDelete2) I would choose tv film to develop my students' cross-cultural awareness. The film that I use includes the cultural items, and they have an opportunity to compare and contrast their native and foreign culture. I think that kind of activities enhance their knowledge.Secondly, we should introduce to students the countries that speak English. In order to achieve it I think Tavares and Cavalcanti proposes map activities, and with these activities we make our students aware of the culrure. Also, these acitivies make learning fun for students.
(1)I personally believe that learning the culture of a country is one og the major keys to specialize in a language. Knowing a language does not only requires to know its grammar but additionaly one should know what to say in which situation which can be provided by learning the culture of the target language. However, there can be several obstacles when one tries to transmit the culture of a language. In such a situation an instructor can improve a technique like that, he can show the the importance of the of the students' native culture on language and then relate this feature with the target language. However, being stuck with the native culture can be alittle bit negative for students for they may not be willing to learn or show respect to some other cultures.
ReplyDelete(2) In my opinion The best way to learn something permanent is to experience it. In that sense developing a better sense of a target language can be making students interact with the native people of the target language. And the best way to do this is, I think, CALL(Computer Assisted Language Learning). There are various multimedia tools to interact with people from all over the world one of which is my favourite a program called Second Life. I would make my students sign up to second life so that they could interact with other people in 3D. Considering all these I can say that I would take the advices by Tavares and Cavalcanti.
1) There is a deeply rooted relationship between language and culture. Language is used to maintain and convey culture and cultural ties in the same way culture and cultural relationships give birth to language that’s why we cannot think them as separate terms. Thus, it is indispensable to use student native culture as content in the EFL classroom. Especially in intercultural classes it is quite beneficial to use native culture’ content because it helps students to develop their self expression and this is crucial if the students need to explore their altering identities in a new cultural and linguistic atmosphere. In addition, if the content of the lesson includes something from their own culture and environment, the students get more motivated towards the course and also if the content is familiar to them, their comprehension is affected in a positive way. However, native culture of the student should not be over used because it can interfere learning by staying away from the target language’s culture. Thus, there must be a balance between the usage of native and target culture.
ReplyDelete2b) At the very beginning, in order to make students more enthusiastic and eager to learn the new language, I would explain them how important to learn the culture of the language in the learning process. I think that I would be more concrete for them to present some visual materials. They become aware of many cultural elements through visual tools and discover the similarities and differences between their own culture and the target language’s culture by making compare and contrast and this make it easier to learn the new language in the content of culture. For example, I would make them watch the movie “Bend it like Beckham” which compare and contrast the family structure, relationships of family members and traditions of the Indian and American people. I want them to be familiar with these two cultures through the movie and to increase their cultural awareness. After the movie, I would prefer them to speak on their culture by comparing and contrasting with the cultures of American and Indians. It would increase their motivation and self expression to talk about their own cultures and increase the level of awareness towards the other cultures and in this way target languages.
1)Personally, I think that language and culture are close knit phenomenons which directly affect and bring forth each other. One exists in the existence of the other. Therefore, while teaching a new language, it is essential to teach its culture as content in the EFL classroom. This at the same time reinforces cross-cultural awareness of the students through giving the opportunity of witnessing to different cultures. The most suitable and effective examples of this can be seen in multi-cultural classrooms. For instance, students can comprehend easily when the content is familiar to them. They also become enthusiastic about participating in lesson because the subject matter is related to their own culture, so their motivation rate develops in parallel with it. Furthermore, the positive influence of culture increases their self-expression ability. Despite these benefits, the integration of culture can also interfere language learning as a drawback. I think, student native culture should be used to some extent. Otherwise, students can select the simple way and they can prefer keeping away from the target language’s own atmosphere by avoiding its culture. There should be a stable balance so as to facilitate learning with the help of the integration of native culture instead of impeding.
ReplyDelete2)b) In order to reach success in this issue, first of all, the students should be informed of the significance and necessity of learning the culture of the target language. I try to attract their attention to motivate them in this culture learning process. For example, I utilize authentic materials which naturally belong to the culture of the target languages. I can use songs, movies, newspapers, magazines, books or other cultural elements from real life. I suggest a movie session comparing and contrasting the British and American accents and their culture. My movies would be “Pride and Prejudice” which is one of the best example of British accent and royal culture, and “American History X” representing American accent and culture clearly. After watching some parts of these films, I want my students to find similarities and differences between the two accents and cultures. I can also want them to compare their culture, life styles and virtues with Turkish culture and values. When they make connections between their own culture, they feel quite motivated to involve in the lesson. This process will improve their cross-cultural awareness as well.
1)In my opinion, language is nothing itself when it is thought without culture because they are a whole. As I say everytime, I think grasping the spirit of the language is first step to learn that language and for that we should know everything about the language, not only its grammar or other rules. However, I don’t want to mean that students should totally adapt to the culture of the target language; this is not what I support. I think students should first know their culture in such a way that they can compare their own culture with the culture of target language. For instance, when they notice a same feature in both cultures, they can be more motivated for the target one. I think this culture connection provides students with witnessing different cultures and learning different aspects of them. Sometimes while they might get some things from the foreign one, sometimes they might add some things to it; this is very beneficial for both cultures and students. Namely, students should not use only one of the cultures as a main one; there should be a balance between them for a more effective learning process. They should not allow the cultures to be more dominant than the other; both should be at the same level.
ReplyDelete2-b) I think what I should do first is to make my students aware of the fact that the language exists with its culture. However, to explain that is not enough on its own, besides that, I should do some other things to teach them the language. For instance, I can show them some scenes from the culture of target language; these can be the scenes from TV series, films, discussion and news programs because I think that just knowing the grammar or rules are not sufficient to learn a language and thanks to these programs, they can see how they use the language and also they might have chance to hear daily conversations-speech and observe their gestures and mimics which are also important for communication. By the way, we have chance not only to observe them and catch some things, but also to apply these in the class. For example, we can do some role-plays or act-outs after watching them or we can talk about pronunciation, accent and stress they use, so their speaking skills develop as well. Furthermore, I can encourage them to find a pen friend and talk to them by making use of some opportunities of technology. And also, I think if we make connections between two languages and two cultures and also encourage students to use their existing and new knowledge together, students will be more motivated and willing to the course.
1.)As many of my friends say above language and culture should be taken into consideration together. Language is not the only one which is conveyed from teacher to student in class by just making repeat after me , drawing something on the board and listening some songs. If someone wants to learn a language with all of its aspects, s/he should certainly take a look at to its culture. Neither culture nor language can stand without presence of each other. When a teacher teaches how to require something, s/he should teach how to require something in different cultures. Culture affects language all the time. You can not say everything in same pattern in everyplace. Sometimes you should be formal and sometimes you should be informal and culture is the one which decides on it. Also culture is always colorful and using it in class may help in attracting students' attention. Culture makes the lesson meaningful for both teacher and students.Using culture while teaching language may make students aware of other cultures, but if there are students who are not willing to get anything from any other culture, they should not be forced. It can prevent them from learning language.
ReplyDelete2.)Before starting teaching culture to students, students should be persuaded that culture is very siginificant in learning a language process. I will choose the second option. Tavors and Cavalcanti suggest teaching culture with visual elements. These elements may be a game, a film or many other culutural elements. A film which directly shows the features of a culture should be very helpful for students to understand it. A character who reflects very well the culture to which s/he belongs to may attrack students' interest. My own design activity may be a role-play. Each student take a role and act it out according to given text. This text must contain some cultural elements. By this way, student acts according to that culture and it is one of the best ways of learning something.
1- Language is one of the important parts of the culture. Though language, one can reflect everything including his culture. Thus, in an EFL class culture and language should definitely be together, we cannot separate them, since they are seen as a whole. Without cultural knowledge it cannot be expected from students to learn the target language holistically. The culture shows itself in the language for instance the idioms, phrases of one language can be unique and different from other languages and the reason behind this is different cultural background. If the students do not know the culture of the people where the language belongs, it is impossible for them to figure out the meaning of the language. The second language education can be done without cultural knowledge; however this education cannot pass beyond the memorization of the rules, grammar, vocabulary. Since the learner does not aware of the culture, s/he cannot use the language productively, especially in daily conversations, informal usage the people can have difficulties. In conclusion, the culture of the target language should be integrated to the lesson while this language is thought. When it comes to the native culture of the students, I am doubtful about the necessity of it. The student’s culture should be the part of the lesson to some extent: only to compare their native culture with the second culture. It can be interesting for them to find the similarities and differences between two cultures. the use of native culture may be for the attraction of the students to the lesson. However, the use of native culture can be complicated for the second language learning process. The students can reflect their native language while using a second language by creating wrong, meaningless sentences or idioms. Thus, it is more important for them to learn the language with its culture not the student’s native culture. It can help the students in some points but also intervene in using the second language.
ReplyDelete2- In the second language teaching process before starting my activities, I tell my objectives to the class so that the students have a knowledge about why they are doing this activity. Since the aim is to develop cultural awareness firstly I would explain about the importance of culture in second language learning. Because they should believe this idea first. After my explanation I would show them a movie reflecting the culture of the society best. I would want them to carefully watch the movie and find the similarities and the differences with our own culture. Also for the vocabulary knowledge I would want them to catch phrases and idioms which they find interesting so that they can learn both vocabulary and culture together. Culture can be effectively taught to the students through showing lives of people. Thus, films and series are the best choices in teaching culture and language together. Students can also read magazines, newspapers, articles related to the target culture to develop their awareness.
1)Honestly, I believe that someone has to learn about culture while he is learning a language. It is not enough for someone to know all the grammar rules and all the words in a language. Because in daily language, almost all the conversations are based on the situation. There are lots of idiomatic items. So, you have to have knowledge about the culture so that you can understand what is going around. That is culture is the key to understand a language. But in some situations, students may not want to learn the culture. In such situations, you have show the importance of the culture. At least you should want them to respect other cultures. Also, there is always something interesting in all cultures. So, unwillingness will not be a big problem, the students will grow curiosity to learn a culture.
ReplyDelete2)As I said above, you should put emphasis on how much it is important to learn a culture to understand a language. That would be good for the beginning. When the students become aware of how much the culture is important for a language, they will more eager to learn the culture. After that, teaching a language will be very easy I think. Technology is very advanced in our era. So, we can use technology in transmitting the culture to the students. For example, we can make them watch a movie or a video which includes cultural elements of a country. So , the students easily get used to the culture and they learn a languge without much difficulty. And after the movie or video, they want to speak and express themselves in the target language. That would be a great advantage for both students and the teacher. Of course the teacher should choose the movie or the video very carefully. The content should be appropriate for the students’ level. If the movie or the video is appropriate, the students will develop a better understanding and awareness about the culture and the language.
1. Language and culture are two inseparable things which always go with together. Just learning the grammatical rules or necessary components isn’t enough to learn a language because when we use a language, we need to know some aspects of culture to communicate in that language. A language doesn’t simply consist of rules. In discourse and everyday use, there are many different things which make communication meaningful and which are learned through culture. To foster cross-cultural awareness, firstly, students should be aware of their own culture. If they know their culture, then they can distinguish between two cultures more effectively and easily. Therefore, native culture should also be used in moderation to help students grasp the culture of the target language. However, it shouldn’t be at extreme levels because it may prevent students from not focusing enough on the target language. The teacher can present native culture as content by creating an atmosphere in which students can see the differences between two cultures by comparing them.
ReplyDelete2. b. It is necessary to make students aware of the fact that language and culture exists together. The first thing I should do must be this. To develop cultural awareness in EFL classroom, authentic materials should be used. Movies, discussion programs and interviews, TV series in the target language are helpful because students have a chance to see how language is used appropriately. They also have a chance to see not only the use of the language but other cultural aspects. For instance, they can see how the speakers of the target language use body language. It is important because there are differences between cultures when we think about the body language. I can make my students do role-plays according to some of these authentic materials. I also think that having whole class or group discussion about the similarities and differences between cultures is a useful activity. Tavares and Cavalcanti use discussion activities, too, about comparing the cultures.
1) It think that language and culture are two parts that cannot be separated from each other because in language, there are so many components that is derived from cultural elements such as idioms and some regional ascents. Therefore, it is necessary to teach cultural elements of the language in order to explain the elements of culture in the components of language that EFL teachers are trying to teach. For example, while teaching English idioms, the teacher should teach the cultural effects on the idioms and should make the students realize cross- cultural elements on this issue such as teaching the relevant of the English idioms in Turkish as comparison to Turkish idioms. As another example, EFL teacher who are trying to teach different ascents of English, why they are different from each other and how these discrepancies can occur can give examples from Turkish ascents such as the Blacksea region ascent, the Aegean ascent and the East Anatolia ascent. Therefore, the students can identify what the ascent is and how it can differ by making comparison between two cultural elements from both languages and draw schemata about the ascents in their minds.
ReplyDelete2) b) As an EFL teacher, I would want to make my students aware of the importance of culture in language learning process because they would need to know cultural elements of the language to take crucial steps through this process. In my opinion, I would use some videos, songs, movies, TV series, some magazines and structures from history or arts to get the students attention through the cultural elements of the language in the lesson and these materials give them opportunity to see the similarities and differences coming from both the target language and their native languages’ culture. For example, I would make them watch the TV series, ‘’ how I met your mother’’ and make them know the pub culture and friendship and after they watch a part of the series, I would want them to find out the differences between Turkish and English culture and relationship. Therefore, they can realize how culture affects the language and changes the structures and forms in language.
As many people accept, language can not be apart from culture. Language and culture form and develop one another mutually and simultaneously. As a result; we, as future foreign language teachers, teach culture as well when we teach language. This may happen naturally like I said they are connected to each other. Let us think about teaching idioms which are among the most important elements of a language and culture. All idioms are said because of experience. These experiences are what happens to the people. The happenings are affected by culture. So, when we explain the meaning of an idiom, we should also tell the students why they say like that, that is we should tell them the 'experience' part. For instance: to cross somebody's heart means to swear in English. With the aim of making these idiom more permanent in student's memory, we should explain where does it come from. As we all know, England and almost all other countries whose language is English are belong to the Christianity religion. According to that religion, Jesus Christ is curicfied and killed. So when they do the act of crossing their heart with their finger, they symbolize the innocence of Jesus Christ. Let us think about this example. If we do not tell the students the source of this idiom, they can probably not concretize it in their mind. But when their culture is also mentioned they learn it much more permanent. Therefore, I think we should never seperate this two important elements from each other.
ReplyDelete1)I think language without culture loses its value because they are two inseparable parts and related to each other. So while teaching language, culture should be taught as well. Because, there some aspects of culture that you explain a language completely by using them. Students should learn everything about the language, not only its grammar or other rules. What I mean and what I support is firstly students should know their culture and so that compare it with the culture of target language. By this way you will be aware of the differences and will take the advantage of the other cultures. By teaching foreign language students make comparison between their native and foreign languages, between their cultures as well. Also it makes learning effective and meaningful. I think all the cultures should be used and should be given the same value Students should not allow the cultures to be more dominant than the other; both should be at the same level. That is, a balance between the usage of native and target culture are very important
ReplyDelete2)In my opinion before explaining the culture of language or target language we should talk about its importance. I would use authentic materials related to the culture of target language. Many materials can be used such as songs, movies, newspapers, magazines and etc. It will help them to learn it willingly. I also suggest watching students some films. There are really convenient films related to culture of target language. Playing some games and doing several activities will help students to concrete more enthusiasticly to the lesson. In that sense I can recommend Tavares and Cavalcanti's map activities with matching
a)Throughout the whole English education life, we have always been not to think in Turkish, but English. We have made many mistakes and chicken-translation because we assumed that it was said in the same way with our native tongue. We also always say that language and its culture are inseperable. But just to know is not enough for a teacher. As a teacher we should be aware and also make our students aware of the tie between culture and language learning. We should check how much they know about the target language culture and whether their present knwowledge about it is sufficient or not and also we shoul make them more interested in the target language's culture. So we come across with a term '' cultural competence''. It comprises four components: (a) Awareness of one's own cultural worldview, (b) Attitude towards cultural differences, (c) Knowledge of different cultural practices and worldviews, and (d) cross-cultural skills. Developing cultural competence results in an ability to understand, communicate with, and effectively interact with people across cultures. It is also very important in terms of ''communicative competence'' which is ,I think, the most important thing in language learning. So cultural c. is really impoetant for students to acquire and for this both teacher and the learners have some responsibilities, things to do. The article says that the aim of teaching culture is ‘to increase students’
ReplyDeleteawareness and to develop their interest towards the target culture and their own, helping
them to make comparisons among cultures. Yes, as a teacher it's our main responsibility.
How can we increase the awereness of our students towards the differencess between target and native language? There are many activites like watching a film and say them while watching to focus on the different reaction of the native speakers than us or in role play activity, we can make them form grops of four and in each group two person will be English people and the other will be Turks. Each groups will choose a topic. Let's say our is first meeting and among the groups, first the native ones present the class how it is done in Turkey according to our rules and the foreigner will act then the teacher will ask the whole class to say the differences. Maybe the first meeting example may not show that much difference but we can come up with various ideas. Moreover for another activity we can want our students to write down the idioms, phrases they know in English,later we can disscuss them and their Turkish equivalents. Later as a homework we can want them to find the equivalents of some Turksih idioms in English. It will help them to express themselves easier. These are just some of the ways to apply the classroom. We can find different activities to show the gestures and non-verbal communication that differ from culture to culture. To sum up, as a teacher we should do our best to increase our students awereness of target l. culture and make them eager to learn and invole in the activities.
1)it is a known fact that language and culture can not be separated from each other.therefore, when you teach a language as a foreign language, you should give information about the culture which the language belong to in order to make students see the differences and similarities between their own culture and the language's culture. To manage this, you can use students native culture as content in the class to let students compare both cultures at the same time. Students would be able to compare both cultures and they would know the differences between them and if they go abroad they would be aware of the differences and similarities of both cultures. I believe language is not composed of just grammar or vocabulary but its own cultural elements such as ; slang, body language, colloqual usage etc. therefore I am sure that I will teach my student english with its culture.
ReplyDelete2) b) To develop culture awareness in students , First of all the significance of interaction of language and culture and some cultural elements and features in language should be told to the students. after telling them these things, I would use some realia to show some samples from that culture. Movies would do best for this job because in the films the life style of that people who live in that culture can be seen clearly. Also, tv broadcasts, newspapers, magazines etc. can help because media can give information about that culture. After showing these realia, I would want my students to compare their native culture and other one, to understand similarities and differences, to make connections between both etc. finally this can develop students' cross-cultural awareness.
1) language and culture are so linked to each other that this link cannot be broken down. Lots of words and phrases take place in the language according to the culture of the language. Therefore, the language must be taught with the culture. If it isn't done so, learning a language becomes just drilling some patterns, memorizing some words and grammar rules. Also, some usages of some words and phrases are directly related to the culture.
ReplyDeleteThere is another issue for this topic is gestures. Gestures in cultures can differ from each other. Te meaning of a gesture can be the opposite meaning in another culture. Therefore, these kinds of communication items must be taught, too.
2)To inform students about the relationship between culture and language is really useful for students to understand the importance of culture. They pay attention to the culture of the target language and they effort to learn some points which will be useful for their language learning. Of course the teacher must help the students. I would use some authentic materials for providing students get the culture of the target language. Newspapers and some magazines are really suitable for this aim. Also some movies and series can be used to reflect the culture. With the help of these, learning a language woun’t be just memorizing the rules and words but learning how to communicate properly in that language.
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ReplyDelete1)Language learning means becoming able to understand that language and express yourself clearly in the target language . But learning the language structure only may not be enough to understand the target language and express yourself in that language. Teaching a foreign language with the help of culture has become very popular nowadays, because learning about the culture completes with the learning of grammar. An English teacher must try to keep students interested in the lesson and I think that culture is one of the best ways to keep sts' attention in the lesson and motivate them. Teaching culture in English lessons makes learning the target language more natural. The use of cultural elements in English lessons encourages the students to learn English effectively.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, cultural differences and conflictions may cause some problems while learning a foreign language like lack of understanding or finding strange. So sts' native culture should be also included in the lessons in addition to the target culture.
2)In order to convey the target culture in the classroom, various activities can be employed. It can be using some authentic materials, reading articles about the lifestyles and traditions of people. Newspapers and some magazines can be made use of for this purpose. Also some movies and TV series can be very effective to introduce the culture. Applying such activities make the learning more natural and enjoyable as well.
1) Just like most of the people, I am in the opinion that language is a whole with its culture. These two are so related to each other that as they cannot be seperated, also learning of one helps the learning of the other. Therefore, to learn a language one should also learn its culture, or at least should be exposed to it from time to time. To achieve this, I support the idea of teaching culture as well as language. The culture mentioned here is of course the culture to ba taught in a language class, therefore, it is the culture of the target language. The use of the native culture of the student may work in their interaction with the native speakers of the target language and their exposure to the culture of it. However, in classrooms where all the students are from the same culture, it is better to include in this classroom the target language’s culture rather then their native culture. Otherwise they remain stick to their own culture and consequently the target language may not appeal them as much as needed to learn the language properly.
ReplyDelete2) To achieve cultural awareness in my EFL class, I would definitely try to push my students into the target culture since I believe the more they experience the culture of a language, the more they feel willing to learn it. I would, for example, bring to the class the native speakers of that language so that they would have a chance to interact with both the language and its culture. I would also want them make some search on an aspect of their own culture, then in the classroom I would inform them about the same aspect in the target language’s culture by bringing in the class authentic materials of any kind, making them watch movies, series etc. I would also do not skip telling them the importance of knowing the culture of a language, but more important than it, I would definitely try to make them enjoy the culture so that they can enjoy learning its language.
1.Someone’s speaking, writing or comprehending whatever hear in a language doesn’t mean that this person perfectly know that language. There is something missing-culture-.Think that you go America but you don’t know anything about American culture. Your perfect grammar or vocabulary knowledge will not provide you any advantage when someone makes a joke or talking about anything related to their own culture. Therefore knowing its grammar or vocabularies perfectly isn’t enough to communicate in one language. Furthermore, knowing a language’s culture will motivate you to learn this language. For example in high school I loved listening English songs every day, this enthusiasts me to learn English to understand these songs much more easily. Also while reading a text related to culture in English, if subject is familiar to readers it will be easy to understand it. For example in our German class we experience this problem several times, we read a text related to education system in Germany, as a whole class we understood nothing because it was completely different from us. Our teacher who is German explained us firstly the system then we comprehend the passage. As you see even if you know every vocabulary or grammar, knowing culture is important to understand a text and also this makes more enjoyable to learn a language.
ReplyDelete2.To increase cultural awareness firstly I inform my students the importance of culture in second language learning. As most of my friends mentioned above, I use important films, songs in that culture during the lecture. I have recently heard that most English teachers watch their students “Merlin”. It is a series enjoyable and includes historical things. It is a good choice I will also use this series. Moreover, I find them pen friend to write and learn their culture from native speakers thanks to this way both their grammar and vocabulary knowledge will increase. Also I think to collect authentic materials. For example, I eat a sandwich and behind it there are English information related to where I bought it or brochures, pictures, magazine, newspapers but not new ones old ones they will attract their attention. I have already started to collect. When I become teacher I will distribute these to my students and want them to look over.
1. I think the culture can’t be separated from a language. The culture and the language are a whole. Therefore, a foreign language teacher should teach the culture to the students. So I think the culture of the target language should be included into the curriculum of the EFL courses. If students learn both the target language and the target culture, they can learn the language better and easier. The only possible shortcoming of using student native culture may be the students’ being overexposed to the culture. Maybe they can be confused when the teacher uses the culture over and over.
ReplyDelete2. b. I think role play is a suitable way to convey the culture. I would find a video about the cultural difference between the students’ culture and the target culture. Then I would make the students watch it. After watching it, students would make a role play about the video. When they see and do the cultural things on their own, they can understand and remember the things better.
1) Language and the culture is impossible to be seperated from each other as my friends have said before. Do you think a language that does not have anything to do with the culture? When we were learning English I remember that we had books that are all about American Culture. I do not remember a passage that is not about cultural traditions.
ReplyDeleteWhen I learn a language, I desperately want to learn the culture because there are many things in a language that are not match with the native language. Therefore, you have to understand the culture so that you can make the meaning more clear.
Also as we think it from the perspective of the students, it will be also more enjoyable for them to learn new and interesting things. It will sitimulate their desire to learn.
I think, using the native culture in EFL classes wouldn’t be so interesting. I do not suppose it.I think the language and the culture should be a whole not seperate parts.
2) I would choose a film and this film should be a mutual production of both Turkish and English so that they will see both culture. If they see both culture and languahe in one platform it will be easier to compare them effectively. In order to introduce the cultures where English is spoken, I would use the map proposed by Tavares and Cavalcanti.
Learning a language doesn't mean having the knowledge of grammar, sounds or words only. It is a more complicated and wide-ranging process. One of the biggest factor contributing to learning a language apart from these elements are knowledge of it's culture because culture and language are inseparable. They should be taught as a whole in order that students have chance to feel the native-like atmosphere which will contribute their language skills to a great extent. I believe in the profit of using culture as a component of language as a whole.
ReplyDeleteAnother issue is using native culture as in the process of teaching which I find very controversial. There are several aspects of this situation, I believe. The first one is that it can be used to some extent in order to create a situation for students to make a comparison between two cultures which is very essential in my opinion. One of the best profit of this is that students will be able to see the differences more easily and will experience the challenging situations beforehand. The other aspect is that it can create a habit in the minds of students that they may be tendency to make a comparison in other situations as well which will create a dangerous condition in learning process. It may lead a situation where teachers will find it difficult to avoid native and target language comparison linguistically. If the amount is exceeded, then there are many problems. The biggest one is not being able to 'dream' in the target language.
2- As I mentioned above, culture and language should be applied together and they are inseparable. With this belief in mind, I would arrange the flow of lessons with full of activities containing cultural elements of the target language. These may be movies, songs, games with geographical information or conversational videos, audios. In addition, to provide the students with chance to make a comparison between the two cultures, I would try to find suitable materials and topics =)) Apart from their being informative about cultural issues, I would also pick up authentic materials which create an entertaining atmosphere at the same time =))
b)As many of my friends said language and culture cannot be considered as different and irrelevant things. As the prospective teachers of future we should consider this, as well. otherwise learners' motivation can be lessen. therefore, I would choose a tv series that contain both Turkish and English language. but the speakers of both two languages should be antive speakers. because to make a real contrast between languages they should exposed to true language.with this tv series they are to watch and identify the cultural elements in it. the elements should be from both language.also, if it is possible I would try to make a connection with the characters of this tv series and bring classroom an authentic material.
ReplyDelete1)for me learning in a familiar environment is very comfortable. when I am in a different environment that contains nothing related to my culture or daily life I feel stressful. therefore to prevent this happening to learners we should combine the cultural or traditional elements with the topic in the lesson. If we teach English students we should know English culture, if we teach Japanese students we should know its culture. that will help students to be motivated easily.As many teachers ignore this, some students may have diffuculty in adapting to school and class. However it is important not overdose imposing culture otherwise it will cause some problems.
ReplyDelete1-)Culture and language should not be separated in second language teaching. Language is itself a part of culture. Culture has a great importance in language and language teaching. Learning a language does not mean knowing grammar rules and vocabulary. Students should learn the language and its culture because language can become more understandable and easy for students to learn. Knowing the culture of the language makes the language more meaningful for learners. I read an article about this subject and it is pointed out that Latin, Arabic and Greek have more detailed number systems and they can mark the duel. However, in Turkish and English we cannot express them. When we look at their culture and history we can see that many mathematicians and physicist, they were more interested in geometry and astronomy. This information about their culture makes his subject more meaningful for learners.
ReplyDelete2-) I think films are very important in language and culture teaching. Because they are the reel part of the life and we learn the language and culture. It is very effective to use films or videos in language teaching especially in speaking and listening lessons. Tavares and Cavalcanti's map activities can be effective way of teaching language and culture together. However, using some visual or authentic materials is the most effective way of teaching.
1) I think that language reflects culture. While learning a language, we can also begin to learn its culture out of control. It is inevitable. We can’t seperate culture from the language. However, learning a foreign language with our own culture is nonsense. Because it can lead to confusion. However, in some degree, using our own culture can make sense. For example, it can give students a chance to compare their own culture with the foreign culture. But this won’t help them learn the target language more easily. Thus, the native culture can interfere with learning the target language, because students can never fully involve in the target language while using their native feautures. Therefore, using native culture has more negative effects on students than its possitive effects.
ReplyDelete2) I would make the students watch a film which contains the foreign culture. With the help of the film, they will learn more about the foreign culture, and they will have a chance to see differences between their own culture and foreign culture. I would use the activities –mapping activities- proposed by Tavares and Cavalcanti. That way, they will be aware of their culture and the foreign culture. Learning idioms of the target language will also arise awareness of culture among students. To achieve this, I would prepare some vocabulary activies. The activities proposed by Tavares and Cavalcanti are creative and enjoyable for students. Therefore, they will help me enchance students’ learning process.
It is a common belief that language and culture are not seperatable.Learning a foreign language has several components like grammatical competence, communicative competence,language proficiency as well as the change in attitudes towards one's own and to another language.The knowledge of the foreign culture is as important as the foreign language.If someone only learns the language and has no idea where to use which expression, since he/she is not familiar with the foreign culture,he/she will get confused.Knowing only the grammatical system of a language is not enoufh.One should also learn the specific meaning due to the culture.
ReplyDeleteIf we teach language without teaching at the same time the culture where it is used, we are teaching meaningless words or words which can be wrong used by the students.
Using the native culture may only be useful in order to compare the different cultures and find out the differences.
2b) My first pupose would be to inform the students about the importance of learning a foreign language combined with it's culture.
ReplyDeleteI would make use of visual elements, since this would be more effective for comparing the two cultures.For example I would show them the film of the american musical 'West side story'. the musical explores the rivalry between two teenage street gangs of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds in America. So they would have two things in one: an insight in the target culture and an insightin a different culture in the target country.This rich information in the film can provide them an opinion about the different cultures.They can firstly talk about the culture- mosaic in the target country and then compare and contrast it with the situation in their own country.
This would also make them aware of cross culture.
Additionally, I would make a discussion activity in groups,and let them think about similarities and differences between the two cultures.