Teaching culture - is it important? why or why not? -your opinion

[Tdol]

This looks promising: http://www.ohiou.edu/esl/elective/culture.html

[boczenka]

tdol, thanks for a very good link It is really useful. Thanks again

[Kas55]

If you are teaching English as a Second Language in an English speaking country, then teaching your learners their new culture is very important. If learners are to fit in and become productive members of their new society, they must understand the cultural mores of the place.

I teach in a very multi- cultural high school in a Toronto suburb, and teaching our students their new culture is paramount to their learning experience. They need to know how things are done - from the most mundane - to understand how to function in a place so very different from the one they have come from.

Now, I do not know which English culture you would teach if you are teaching English in your own country, as culture varies greatly from England to the US to Australia to South Africa, to give a few examples. Is there even a common English culture to really speak of?

[meomuopcon]

In my opinion, teaching culture is also as important as teaching English. The leaner should be supplied the knowledge of culture of the language they study. why?. Because for each sentence the native speakers speak, they are in a certain situation. So the learner will not understand why the foreigners say so and why it is completely different from their culture.
for example:
in English, if you make an unintended touch, you say sorry
but in Viet Name, people usually smile and say nothing

[Tdol]

Originally Posted by Kas55

Is there even a common English culture to really speak of?

There are certainly enough differences to raise the question.

[Kas55]

I agree about the Vietnamese example, but there are so many English cultures around the world. What might be acceptable in say, Britain, might not be in say, New Zealand. If you decide on British culture, then you will have to teach your students that one and hope that it will serve them well wherever they may travel or live. Also, remember that humour is very different in each English -speaking country too.

[meomuopcon]

i agree there are many aspects of British cultures. But not most of them are quite different from other countries' culture.
for example: in English: die= pass away. in My country, people also use the same word.
Moreover, Student can induce some,
We can't teach all culture but we can teach what is highlight and connected to our lessons.

[Kas55]

You are quite right. The basics of English culture are probably all the same, but if you would go to Australia, for example, you would find words and expressions being used quite differently from those in Canada.

Just to give you an idea - do you know what a 'doona' is? Well, in Australia, it's a duvet and a 'dunnie' is a toilet. The bottom line is, that your students must be made aware of the fact that colloquial expressions and slang in each English speaking country can be very different, and that even the accents can pose a problem in understanding.

I am a native English speaker and I have lived in a few English- speaking countries in my life, and I can tell you that sometimes I barely understood a word of telephone conversation in Australia!!

[meomuopcon]

I understand what you are thinking of. but you see, you can't teach completely the British culture , in general, or any kind of culture. the students can get experience outside the class. As i said, we should teach what is connected to our lessons
in fact, the culture is once experienced by students, they behave or speak in right situations.
except for special classes open for culture purpose, for example, people want to immigrant to a country

[Kas55]

I understand where you are coming from, but I still do not think you can ever separate teaching language from culture. They should always be taught interactively if your students are to be truly proficient and comfortable in the target language. Naturally, they will only pick up the culture of a country when they are living there, but you still need to teach customs etc in the ESL classroom. Knowing just the grammar and how to speak the language will not suffice once they find themselves in an English - speaking country for any length of time. Sure, they may know how to ask directions, even how to order in a restaurant or understand a doctor, but will they know which piece of cutlery to use, how to greet a woman, how to conduct themselves in social business gatherings etc etc?

When I learned French, I also learned French culture, and I can't even begin to tell you what a help that was.