Teaching Culture Without Preconceptions
Cultural information should be presented in a nonjudgmental fashion,
in a way that does not place value or judgment on distinctions between
the students’ native culture and the culture explored in the
classroom. Kramsch (1993) describes the “third culture”
of the language classroom—a neutral space that learners can
create and use to explore and reflect on their own and the target
culture and language.
Some teachers and researchers have found it effective to present
students with objects or ideas that are specific to the culture
of study but are unfamiliar to the students. The students are given
clues or background information about the objects and ideas so that
they can incorporate the new information into their own worldview.
An example might be a cooking utensil. Students would be told that
the object is somehow used for cooking, then they would either research
or be informed about how the utensil is used. This could lead into
related discussion about foods eaten in the target culture, the
geography, growing seasons, and so forth. The students act as anthropologists,
exploring and understanding the target culture in relation to their
own. In this manner, students achieve a level of empathy, appreciating
that the way people do things in their culture has its own coherence.
It is also important to help students understand that cultures
are not monolithic. A variety of successful behaviors are possible
for any type of interaction in any particular culture. Teachers
must allow students to observe and explore cultural interactions
from their own perspectives to enable them to find their own voices
in the second language speech community.
Instructional Strategies for Teaching Language and Culture
Cultural activities and objectives should be carefully organized
and incorporated into lesson plans to enrich and inform the teaching
content. Some useful ideas for presenting culture in the classroom
are described in this section.
Authentic Materials
Using authentic sources from the native speech community helps
to engage students in authentic cultural experiences. Sources can
include films, news broadcasts, and television shows; Web sites;
and photographs, magazines, newspapers, restaurant menus, travel
brochures, and other printed materials. Teachers can adapt their
use of authentic materials to suit the age and language proficiency
level of the students. For example, even beginning language students
can watch and listen to video clips taken from a television show
in the target language and focus on such cultural conventions as
greetings. The teacher might supply students with a detailed translation
or give them a chart, diagram, or outline to complete while they
listen to a dialogue or watch a video. After the class has viewed
the relevant segments, the teacher can engage the students in discussion
of the cultural norms represented in the segments and what these
norms might say about the values of the culture. Discussion topics
might include nonverbal behaviors (e.g., the physical distance between
speakers, gestures, eye contact, societal roles, and how people
in different social roles relate to each other). Students might
describe the behaviors they observe and discuss which of them are
similar to their native culture and which are not and determine
strategies for effective communication in the target language.
