I really like this chapter and article about Culture by Kuma because I truly believe that teaching language and culture go hand in hand. As I have said before, in teaching language, it is appropriate to teach the proper use of the language in a communicative setting, and this has to do with how others in a given language community use the language itself. This has to do with topics such as illocutionary forces, in which there is a socially acceptable way to carry out a compliment for example. Such illocutionary forces, such as compliments, requests, etc, vary from culture to culture, therefore it is necessary that we teach such things to our ESOLers. This is problematic, however, because culture in the United States is not as defined as it is in other cultures for example. Before I studied abroad, I felt that there really was not an American culture, and when I told people I was from the United States, they asked me if ate hamburgers and pizza everyday and watched football. This is obviously not true, and I do not do those things everyday. So to me the question still remained, what is American culture? I still find this very hard to define, however I feel that it can be defined and taught through explaining the history of the United States. For me, I followed the ICTFL standards of what culture is, in that culture can be defined by the practices, products, and perspectives of a language. Practices would include such things, such as practices of celebrating, practices of behaviors, and practices of everyday life. Products would include such things, such as literature, music, movies, television, and artifacts that contribute to the everyday life of the United States. And finally, perspectives would consist of things such as values and beliefs, and views on a variety of issues. How do we teach all of this in our ESL classroom. It is hard, however as I said before, there is a need to raise cultural awareness on these issues, so that the students can think critically about the environment and surroundings that they now belong to. We can teach culture by teaching students about certain speech patterns that exist in the language, and it is important to teach the different linguistic codes that there are in different areas of the country. Many times, race and gender for example, create differences in how the target language is used. It is important to inform our students of these differences to ensure that we are not only preparing them to be successful in the academic community, but also to be successful in a communicative manner outside of the classroom.
The article also talked about how ESL teachers may stereotype their students, depending on what their cultural background is. This is problematic, yes because not always do these stereotypes hold true, however I believe that it is not a bad thing to stereotype your students because I feel that it gives me a way of understanding their behaviors or perspectives in terms of how they learn and think. However, putting a stereotype on each students is wrong, because when the given stereotype is not true, then we the teachers remain at fault. I believe that we stereotype students to feel more comfortable in understanding them, because it is not always ideal that we understand each and every students and all of their quirks and ways of understanding. It is more important that the teacher understand the culture differences that exist in their students, especially in the differences that the students experience in their school in their home country vs the demands of schooling in the United States.
Again, I sincerely believe that one cannot learn a language without learning the cultural context in which they will be using the language. My question is, Can one be successful in using a target language in a different country if they are unaware of the cultural issues, global and socio-political, that surround that language? I believe the answer is NO! Therefore, it is more than necessary to give the students knowledge about the culture, so that they may implement their language use in appropriate ways.
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