Revista simpozionului Eficienta si calitate in educatie 2018 Revista simpozionului | Page 54

INTEGRATING CULTURE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE CLASS
Georgiana Mona Săvescu, Colegiul Național „Octavian Goga” Sibiu
Abstract: Teaching culture or the cultural experience to learners is not an easy thing to do especially
since there are numerous materials and techniques for doing it. Unlike in the case of more specific
subject matters in school, in teaching culture it is more like guiding students through the cultural
experience in order to help them acquire cultural knowledge.
Key words: culture, intercultural competence, teaching, learning, skills
Communication in foreign languages is based on the ability to understand, express
and interpret concepts, thoughts, feelings, facts and opinions in written and oral
form, in an appropriate societal and cultural context. It calls for intercultural
understanding and for an appreciation of cultural diversity. Cultural awareness and
expression is defined as an appreciation of the importance of creative expression of
ideas, emotions and experiences in a range of media, including music, performing
arts, literature and visual arts. It is considered essential to understand the cultural
diversity in Europe and in the world, as well as the need to preserve it.
Learning foreign languages has become the norm in a globalised world. Learning a
language without its culture is not possible. One cannot simply know the language
without being aware of its social content. Hence, the role of foreign language
teachers has become greater since they are not merely expected to teach the
language but the culture of that foreign language, too.
In today’s globalised world, most people have encounters with members of other
cultures, and for many people, this is on a regular basis. These encounters happen
in social, political, and commercial contexts. It is therefore important for people, in all
areas of their lives, to be able to interact successfully with people who are from
cultures that are different from theirs. Since our students are the future adults who
will have to function in the above mentioned contexts, our goals as teachers of a
foreign language is to help them to become successful adults, able to function in
different cultural contexts, as well as within their own cultural context. This is best
done by analysing the products, practices and perspectives of the target culture and
it ensures that the learners develop cultural behaviours – they learn how - acquire
cultural information – they learn about - discover cultural explanations – they learn
why - articulate personal responses – they learn about themselves too. They
gradually build skills that enable them to better understand a culture and even
function within it, if necessary.
When wondering why we should teach culture, there are a couple of possible
answers that come to mind. First, when teaching culture we help students overcome
stereotypes and enable them to understand and question the wider social context
within which the learning of the language takes place. Second, we help enrich
students’ experience and we make them sensitive to cultural diversity.
The main principles and goals of teaching culture reflect one major aspect – the
development of cultural understanding and of intercultural communication skills.
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