Brewster, Ellis & Girard (2002) The primary English Teachers Guide (Ch 10) Development of cultural awareness

May 20 2011 1. How have you presented English culture in your practice lessons so far? - e.g. using different media, the Internet, finding resources, specific topics... 2. What are the current trends in learning about culture through FLs? What is your opinion on that? An increasing number of countries include cultural awareness and intercultural learning as part of their educational and language teaching policies to promote international understanding and world peace. This is often outlined under the heading of citizenship. 3. How can teaching about culture help to improve cross-cultural understanding? Learners find out about: similarities between groups of different language communities social conventions unfamiliar things within a target language community stereotypes, as perceived by one linguistic group about another language as culture their own culture

4. What are the possible problems when deciding on teaching materials? Some language materials are made for international market and do not take into account specifics of the culture that ends up using this materials. Some ideas might seem strange or can be misunderstood. Some coursebooks are not controversial enough and can seem uninteresting to certain groups of learners. Materials should also provide the right balance of cultural appropriateness and language teaching. Some coursebooks focus on only one culture (e.g. British to the exclusion of American or Australian). 5. Give some examples on how to encourage children to take interest in foreign cultures. We could use traditional children's lore (songs, rhymes, games...), realia (typical food, toys, clothes...), visual aids or a specific English corner that they themselves decorate. Some of the everyday objects can be presented as imported from another culture. Contact with real people is always interesting and as a more challenging task we can assign projects where pupils can present their own ideas and understanding of new discoveries. 6. Why shouldnt we teach facts about British culture? What is the alternative? Teachers should aim to encourage pupils to make discoveries on their own. Classroom experience should only be incentive, not something that YLs need to know verbatim. It can help if we put ourselves into children perspective and use authentic materials. 7. What is the importance of observing and comparing? Pupils learn best if they can identify with their peers in a similar situation. They like to compare themselves and their lives with life in English speaking countries. We should emphasize positive observations of the foreign culture and avoid bizarre or unpleasant details. Teachers should also encourage cross-examination of different cultures by older learners.