Part2

    What are the key ingredients to successful cross-cultural communication?

  Do you think Teaching culture will have benefits for your student’s language development?

 

Acquiring a new language means a lot more than the manipulation of grammar, syntax and lexicon. Recent studies focus on the seamless relationship between L2 teaching and target culture teaching. People involved in language teaching have again begun to understand the intertwined relation between culture and language. It has been emphasized that without the study of culture, teaching L2 is inaccurate and incomplete. For L2 students, language study seems senseless if they know nothing about the people who speak the target language or the country in which the target language is spoken. According to Bada (2000: 101), “the need for cultural literacy in ELT arises mainly from the fact that most language learners, not exposed to cultural elements of the society in question, seem to encounter significant hardship in communicating meaning to native speakers.” Thus, teaching culture is not an arbitrary but a necessary activity. It is a vital component of language learning and teaching. It has great deal to offer the development of communication as well as other skills in instruction of any language.

Teaching culture is significantly beneficial in terms of language skills, raising cultural awareness, changing attitudes towards native and target societies, and contribution to the teaching profession. There are some of the benefits of teaching culture as follows: 1. Studying culture gives students a reason to study the target language as well as rendering the study of L2 meaningful. 2. From the perspective of learners, one of the major problems in language teaching is to conceive of the native speakers of target language as real person. Although grammar books gives so called genuine examples from real life, without background knowledge those real situations may be considered fictive by the learners. In addition providing access into cultural aspect of language, learning culture would help learners relate the abstract sounds and forms of a language to real people and places. 3. In achieving high motivation, culture classes does have a great role because learners like culturally based activities such as singing, dancing, role playing, doing research on countries and peoples, etc. The study of culture increases learners’ not only curiosity about and interest in target countries but also their motivation. For example, when some professors introduced the cultures of the L2s they taught, the learners’ interests in those classes increased a lot and the classes based on culture became to be preferred more highly than traditional classes. 4. Besides these benefits, studying culture gives learners a liking for the native speakers of the target language. Studying culture also plays a useful role in general education. In conclusion, Culture must be an essential component of second language learning and teaching. Therefore, we have to teach L2 through culture to enhance students’ linguistic comprehension.

 

Reflection week6

Reflection 6 week

Sources of Pride

l  Korea has a long and proud history of five thousand years.

l  Korean is diligent and passionate as well as courteous.

l  Korean have unlimited potential capabilities in every aspects.

l  Korean Alphabet which is easiest to read in the world

l  Up-to-the-nanosecond mobile and Technology

l  High-end fashion

l  Famous K-pop

l  Free Wi-Fi service we can access everywhere

 

Not Sources of Pride

l  Excessive competition

l  Evils of an academic clique

l  Complicated social hierarchy

l  Girugi appa which means a man who stays in Korea to work while the mother takes the children overseas to study as an only-in-Korea phenomenon

 

reflection week5

I think learning a second language affected the way conceptualize the world.

 

The relationship between language and culture

 Language is a system of symbols and rules that is used for meaningful communication. In many ways the structure of language reflects the structure of how our minds process the world. Culture can be defined as a learned system of values, beliefs and norms among a group of people (Greey, 1994). Broad definitions of culture include ethnic background, nationality, gender, disability, race, sexual orientation, and religion. As you know, language is formed to present our ideas or concepts; these can change depending on which cultural elements are dominant at any given moment. Language and culture are intertwined, and one will affect the other. Language and culture have a kind of deep and symbolic relationship. Language stands for the whole culture because language represents culture in the minds of its speakers. Conversely, culture also symbolizes language and is summed in the economic, religions, and philosophical systems of a country.

 

Second language learning is cultural learning

According to the National Standards for Foreign Language Education project (1996), students cannot truly master new language until they have mastered the cultural context in which the new language occurs. This means that understanding a new culture is an important element in achieving the success in second language acquisition. Therefore, we will get a new culture to learn a new language and we will get changed as we learn the language and be conceptualized by it.

 

 

Reflection week4

 I've never learn about discussion properly. Actullay, Korean are not accustomed to discussion because they have little experience about the discussion. Frankly, I was nervous and disappointed at my English during ccc class since I don't have any confidence in speaking English. Moreover, I don't know about other cultures very well. The topics were also difficult for me. However, I 've learned from other teachers. I found my weakness through discussion and I got to  know what I have to do to overcome it. I will read materials posted on culturebridges and practice discussion skills. I have to put my idea into action.

the key ingredients to successful cross-cultural communication and multicultural collaboration

 Although attaining lingustic proficiency is very important for L2 or EFL learners, this is not sufficient. To become proficient and effective communicators, learners need to attain second language sociocultural competence. Hymes emphasizes that the learning of culture is an integral part of language learning and education because it crucially influences the values of the community, everyday interaction, the norms of speaking and behaving, and the sociocultural expectations of an individual's roles. He further notes that those who do not follow the norms of appropriateness accepted in a community are often placed in a position that exacerbates social disparties and inequality. Thus, we have to  focus on learning culturally appropriate ways of communicating in speech or writing  as well as liguistic,  pragmatic competence.

  To be a good communicatior in cross-cultural settings, firstly we have to notice that sociocultural norms exist in all languages and try to be astute and consistent people watchers. This is, we must have awarence and the tools that will allow them to achieve our academic, pofessional, social, and personal goals and become successful in their daily functioning in  L2 or EFL environments. Secondly, we have to be more receptive to other cultures and be willing to engage in the communication with native speakers. Thirdly, we have to enjoy communicating with native speakers.

Discussion Questions

1. Think of some specific examples of aspects of your dominant cultures (and subcultures that are above the waterline and below it (according to the Iceberg metaphor).

Some specific examples of my dominant cultures are teacher, fortysomething, swimming club and so on. They are very important to me in my life. Actually they're consisted of my life. This is, they are just my life. I spend most time in school on the weekdays. I am into teaching. My friends are mostly teachers in forties. We affect each other and sometimes, we offer encouragement to one another when being in trouble. One of My subcultures is backpacking trips. Traveling has always been in my blood. So I've been on a few backpacking trips. It was difficult at times living out of a backpack and being tight with my money. But I got so much out of it. Despite the initial culture shock, I came back to Korea with a better understanding of other cultures and more confidence.

 

2. In your experiences with (or as) a stranger, how did you make predictions necessary to interact in those situations?

 

I had a lot of experience as a stranger when taking trips. I usually greeted the local people with smiling first and then I show my interest to them to have friendly relations with local people. Plus, I tried to communicate with them using body language and facial expressions and so on. It worked all the time.

 

3. Discuss experiences when you made predictions about a stranger (or predictions were made about you) that proved to be accurate or not.

 

When I traveled to Hunza valley, the northern province of Pakistan, I was in trouble. Because the snowslide happened suddenly, the traffic was stopped. I had to get on a boat. But the boat had already gone. To make matters worse, there was no hotel. So I needed a place to stay. I greeted young people who look like university students. I tried to communicate with them to get some information. They were rich and are of high standing. Moreover, they had much pride about their religion and wanted to show off. I tried to respect them and listened to them sincerely. We made good friends and we traveled together.  

 

4. Is it possible to truly understand a culture outside of your own? Why or why not?

 

I think it is difficult to truly understand other cultures. We can understand the cultures superficially by coming across new culture but however hard I have tried, we can’t understand them thoroughly because there is something that we can’t see and listen to in the cultures.