Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
net/publication/237500367
CITATIONS READS
72 5,772
2 authors, including:
Elizabeth Peterson
University of Helsinki
23 PUBLICATIONS 119 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
The remains of the Danes: The final stages of language shift in Sanpete County, Utah View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Elizabeth Peterson on 11 September 2016.
CENTER FOR APPLIED LINGUISTICS • ERIC CLEARINGHOUSE ON LANGUAGES AND LINGUISTICS • 4646 40TH ST NW • WASHINGTON DC 20016-1859 • 202-362-0700
Proverbs Film
Discussion of common proverbs in the target language could Film and television segments offer students an opportunity
focus on how the proverbs are different from or similar to prov- to witness behaviors that are not obvious in texts. Film is often
erbs in the students’ native language and how differences might one of the more current and comprehensive ways to encapsu-
underscore historical and cultural background (Ciccarelli, 1996). late the look, feel, and rhythm of a culture. Film also connects
Using proverbs as a way to explore culture also provides a way to students with language and cultural issues simultaneously
analyze the stereotypes about and misperceptions of the culture, (Stephens, 2001), such as depicting conversational timing or
as well as a way for students to explore the values that are often turn-taking in conversation. At least one study showed that
represented in the proverbs of their native culture. students achieved significant gains in overall cultural knowledge
Role Play after watching videos from the target culture in the classroom
(Herron, Cole, Corrie, & Dubreil, 1999).
In role plays, students can act out a miscommunication that
is based on cultural differences. For example, after learning about Conclusion
ways of addressing different groups of people in the target cul- The idea of teaching culture is nothing new to second lan-
ture, such as people of the same age and older people, students guage teachers. In many cases, teaching culture has meant focus-
could role play a situation in which an inappropriate greeting ing a few lessons on holidays, customary clothing, folk songs,
is used. Other students observe the role play and try to identify and food. While these topics may be useful, without a broader
the reason for the miscommunication. They then role play the context or frame they offer little in the way of enriching linguis-
same situation using a culturally appropriate form of address. tic or social insight—especially if a goal of language instruction
Culture Capsules is to enable students to function effectively in another language
and society. Understanding the cultural context of day-to-day
Students can be presented with objects (e.g., figurines, tools,
conversational conventions such as greetings, farewells, forms
jewelry, art) or images that originate from the target culture.
of address, thanking, making requests, and giving or receiving
The students are then responsible for finding information
compliments means more than just being able to produce gram-
about the item in question, either by conducting research or
matical sentences. It means knowing what is appropriate to say
by being given clues to investigate. They can either write a brief
to whom, and in what situations, and it means understanding
summary or make an oral presentation to the class about the
the beliefs and values represented by the various forms and us-
cultural relevance of the item. Such activities can also serve as
ages of the language.
a foundation from which teachers can go on to discuss larger
cultural, historical, and linguistic factors that tie in with the Culture must be fully incorporated as a vital component of
objects. Such contextualization is, in fact, important to the language learning. Second language teachers should identify key
success of using culture capsules. cultural items in every aspect of the language that they teach.
Student can be successful in speaking a second language only if
Students as Cultural Resources cultural issues are an inherent part of the curriculum.
U.S. schools are more culturally and ethnically diverse than
References
they have ever been. Exchange students, immigrant students, or
students who speak the target language at home can be invited Ciccarelli, A. (1996). Teaching culture through language: Sugges-
to the classroom as expert sources. These students can share tions for the Italian language class. Italica, 73(4), 563-576.
authentic insights into the home and cultural life of native Goode, T., Sockalingam, S., Brown, M., & Jones, W. A planner’s
speakers of the language. guide . . . Infusing principles, content and themes related to cultural
and linguistic competence into meetings and conferences. Wash-
Ethnographic Studies ington, DC: Georgetown University Center for Child and Hu-
An effective way for students to learn about the target lan- man Development, National Center for Cultural Competence.
guage and culture is to send them into their own community Retrieved October 28, 2003, from www.georgetown.edu/
to find information. Students can carry out ethnographic inter- research/gucdc/nccc/ncccplannersguide.html
views with native speakers in the community, which they can Herron, C., Cole, S. P., Corrie, C., & Dubreil, S. (1999). The ef-
record in notebooks or on audiotapes or videotapes. Discussion fectiveness of video-based curriculum in teaching culture. The
activities could include oral family histories, interviews with Modern Language Journal, 83(4), 518-533.
community professionals, and studies of social groups (Pino, Kramsch, C. (1993). Context and culture in language teaching.
1997). It is important to note that activities involving the tar- Oxford: Oxford University Press.
get-language community require a great deal of time on the Krasner, I. (1999). The role of culture in language teaching.
part of the teacher to help set them up and to offer ongoing Dialog on Language Instruction, 13(1-2), 79-88.
supervision. National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project.
Literature (1996). Standards for foreign language learning in the 21st
Literary texts are often replete with cultural information and century. Yonkers, NY: Author.
evoke memorable reactions for readers. Texts that are carefully Pino, C. R., (1997). Teaching Spanish to native speakers: A new
selected for a given group of students and with specific goals in perspective in the 1990s. ERIC/CLL News Bulletin, 21(1), 4-5.
mind can be very helpful in allowing students to acquire insight Scott, V. M., & Huntington, J. A. (2000). Reading culture: Using
into a culture. One study compared the level and quality of rec- literature to develop C2 competence. Foreign Language Annals,
ollection when two different groups of students learned about 35(6), 622-631.
Côte D’Ivoire (Scott & Huntington, 2000). One group studied Stephens, J. L. (2001). Teaching culture and improving language
a fact sheet and a second studied a poem about colonialism in skills through a cinematic lens: A course on Spanish film in
Côte D’Ivoire. The researchers found that group that studied the undergraduate Spanish curriculum. ADFL Bulletin, 33(1),
the fact sheet retained very little information about the Côte 22-25.
D’Ivoire culture, whereas the group that read the poem showed
a capacity to empathize with the personal history of the Côte
D’Ivoire people.
This digest was prepared with funding from the U.S. Dept. of Education, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, National Library of Education, under contract no. ED-99-CO-0008. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions or policies of ED, OERI, or NLE.