Hi, boczenka. :hi:
Do you think it's necessary to teach culture elements, to talk about culture, to teach common language or just the academic, 'RP' English?
Even if one says they don't teach culture or don't know how to teach culture or don't know what
culture means exactly, they're teaching culture. Language houses its culture, which is different from Culture; e.g., holidays, and it may not be all that visible to the language provider, but it is visible to the learner. Consider yourself as the learner, here: You're learning a language, say, Japanese, and you're taught that subject pronouns aren't necessary; in fact, half your semester is spent trying to figure out
who said what to whom because there are no subject markers in the text. What does that say about how the language reflects its culture in its grammar and usage? Cultural note, directing attention to oneself is considered forward and impolite. Is that tied to the grammar? Is that why subject pronouns are unncessary? Maybe, maybe not. The point being, whoever says they don't teach culture
does, albeit indirectly.
Do you consider talking about English culture to learners significant?
Again, it depends on how you define
culture. If, as other posters have mentioned, it's related to usage, then yes, it's significant. If it's related to e.g., holidays, well, it depends on the learner. Young learners would be thrilled to tears to learn about Culture, whereas older learners may see learning it as a waste of their academic time and money; moreover, they may feel they can "do that" on their "own time". Other learners, no matter their age, will differ according to their needs. "Needs" is a huge factor in any teachers' decision making process on what to teach;i.e., what is the purpose of this course? Some learners, especially in Japan, want to learn Culture more so than Grammar because they crave the new experience: to "understand" non-Japanese ways of doing things, whereas other learners, Japanese or not, need to pass those dreaded examinations, so they prefer to learn Grammar, which isn't to say they
choose to learn Grammar. Trust me, they'd be more than happy to ditch the dictionaries and learn how language is actually used by its speakers. But, what academic institute is going to trade traditional methods for what tends to be considered
edutainment? Sure, conversation courses are taught at universities all over the world, and focus is placed on Culture, but in today's academic stream it's terms like, Pop Culture and Global Issues that are making their way into the mainstream. So, learners do in fact want the bigger picture, but in the form of small-cap
culture, a form that not only provides the learner with a linguistic environment to be able to pick up on the patterns housed in the language, but also the opportunity to discuss it and find out how it works. Is that possible in, say, elementary school? Yes, but delivery is everything. A functional language approach, which is the mainstay of ESL programs, does it nicely.
Do you teach culture? If yes, how? What do you use to teach it, what techniques? Do you prepare a special lesson or put some culture elements to each lesson?
My lessons are housed with culture every day - it's part of the language; how does one teach 'conversation' without drawing on the nuances in the language? e.g., register, tone, usage, and the BIGGY, meaning. 4 times a year, I teach Culture classes;e.g., holidays, and about Canada - it's part of my job.
Topics range from, North American elementary schools (show and tell, guess the answer) to family structure (terms, relationships, roles; pictures, compare 'n constrast activities, and discussion), lifestyle (houses, jobs, hobbies, pets, friends; find the person who "fits" this picture - it teaches children that non-Japanese aren't really all that different from Japanese), and of course, food, because who doesn't like to talk about food? :lol:
Good luck on your paper. Thank you for this opportunity to share my thoughts. If you're ever in the neighbourhood . . .