Write one idea of how you would incorporate your culture into language lessons if you were teaching your language.
Please comment on this post. Feel free to interact with other students' comments.
15 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Culture is an important part of the students (learners) education. Culture in combination with language can implement in students the appropriate patterns that each student should be aware of. The reason of this arrangement is that culture has very tied linguistic concepts. Through the language I think students would find much easier to learn components of culture and the integrated patterns of human’s behavior. One good example of how would I include my culture in my native language would be: We often start our high school language classes with the Albanian old literature and with one of the most important writers Marin Barleti who wrote biography of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg, Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis (The story of life and deeds of Skanderbeg, the prince of Epirotes). In this case, first I would use authentic materials, I will ask the students to read the authentic book of this writer in order they to confront the old Albanian language (which I think is important part of the culture), the improvements of the Albanian issues and society. Then, in the lesson I will bring them different pictures of people who will be wearing the traditional cloths using different tools for work and songs which were singed at that time. We will discuss all the things in details that they have encounter during the reading, customs and values of our decedent. In this way the learners will face with their past which I think will develop them as future citizens of this country. Culture is part of every subject but language speaks better of culture as any other subject.
I guess, the question is about how we would incorporate culture into language lessons if we were teaching our language to students of a culture other than our own, and not students of our own culture.
First thing I would say is that it will be easier, since it is my own language and I would not fear that I do not know enough about it. Of course, I should take into account students’ needs and their backgrounds, and the topics should be chosen carefully, according to student’s level of proficiency. If I was teaching beginners, it would have been good to start with topics such as timetables and subjects at Albanian schools, the sports that children at schools want to play, their hobbies and interests, food and drink, clothes. Also we can do this through writing letters, listening to some Albanian music, watching movies, (cartoons), other audio-taped materials, etc, etc. Therefore, students can compare these to how things go in their native language and they will be able to find out the differences. These are some of the topics that are easier to understand and discussing about these things we can use a simpler vocabulary, so students to be able to acquire it faster. And, since students are learning the Albanian language, they are also learning some things about Albanian culture because language and culture cannot be separated.
Then, to students of a higher level we should teach all of the above mentioned things, but also some other important points of my culture: Albanian symbols, important ceremonies, values, traditions, customs, something about Albanian literature and its writers, etc.
The most important thing is that the materials used in the classroom would be authentic. I would have used newspapers, maps, audio and video taped materials, posters, etc; therefore, this will connect classroom learning to the real world and students will show a higher interest and will be more motivated to participate in the classroom.
There are a lot of other things to say about how we would incorporate culture if we were teaching our own language, and here I just briefly gave some ideas of how we can do this.
Since I have to teach my culture on a lesson, then I would definitely teach my students more in terms of that which are the tradition clothes of Albanians. The lesson would look this way: I would start it with the interaction in which one I would ask students to talk what they know in terms of the issue. Then, since we won’t have those clothes in the moment (having in consideration that they don’t know that I have them in my back bag), I would ask them to draw them in order to see while they know the tradition or not. After this warm up activity, I would explain them their culture with details and show them so they will feel it and touch it. The clothes would be : the “keçe” is the had ( I don’t think there is a word in English), the “tirçe”- the clothes itself and she shoes which are designed especially for these kind of dressing. I would also ask them something more about the “çifteli” (sort of guitar with two wires) and the “tryes”- round table where the entire family eats ( important fact here is to say that it shows how much the house keepers respected their family by eating in a round table which tells that they all were the same) . Last, I would use an activity that is called “fly swat”. Its perfect game, which involves lots of activity where student will be divided in two groups and one by one, will have to guess on the synonym that the teacher is saying on the issue that they were studying that class.
I guess I misunderstand the question and I apologize. Anyway I don’t think that I am not faraway form the correct answer. If I was teaching my own language I think the best way to include culture in these classes is using authentic materials. In this way the students will be engaged more than anything else. I am making this kind of conclusion based on my own experience. The adaptation of the authentic material would be based on the age and the proficiency level of the student. I would start the lesson with authentic Albanian movie “Skenderbeu”, in this movie are included different fields of the Albanian traditional culture: costumes, values, traditions and historical events. After we have finished watching the movie I will give them an outline which would contain the most important points of the movie also discussion questions about the movie where the students have to give their answer at home. Meantime we will start a discussion were each student would be free to give their opinion and I would finished the lesson with a crossword in order to emphasis the key words of movie which were concern to the Albanian culture.
Concerning how we would incorporate culture in our teaching, I can say that it is not an easy thing to do. But if I were in a position to perform this task, I think that first of all I would make a plan what to teach according to the age of the students. I say this because one cannot teach or give information to six or seven years old students about complicated history events and dates that have a great importance for us Albanians. The teacher should make it as much as interesting to them so they won't "wander off" with their minds or simply make the subject boring to them. Of course you can also mention things that it might be interesting to them, or simply clear up some stereotypes that they might have about my culture. Second thing that I would consider doing, apart from using authentic materials, is taking them to actually see or witness either a folk festival, or visit a museum, maybe a tailor that sells national clothes etc. This would increase their motivation and of course might have a huge impact on them and they wont easily forget what they have learned.
Firstly, what every teacher should take account of are students’ backgrounds of that particular language in this case Albanian, as well as student’s needs. If I were to teach Albanian language to the non native beginners I would be aware of the topics that I will choose, and regarding the student’s capacity of the language I will chose them carefully. Firstly, I will start with subjects which students are surrounded by, such as objects in the classrooms, the sports that they are keen of, interests, animals they prefer to have at home, talking about their pets, food and drink, clothes, as well as family members. I could incorporate these while asking them to write as homework or at class, also I could put on a tape and so they can listen to in Albanian language. I also could bring some fashion magazines so that they have a clear image of how clothes are named in Albanian language. Students will be interested for the reason that they will be able to find the differences of Albanian language from their native language. The vocabulary used in the classroom should be simple and the words should be chosen from everyday life. Then as students have grown their knowledge about Albanian language then they should learn the same topics, but with more details, such as Albanian traditions, Albanian literature, the most impotent writers, traditions, customs ect. All the mentioned things should be provided with en example such as authentic materials in order for students to be much easier.
Video taped materials, posters, newspapers, magazines all of this can play an important role because what they see in the reality they can relate to what is tough in the classroom. The idea here is to make the classroom’s atmosphere better, students will be encouraged to learn anything even the smallest things and they will also feel free and not threatened.
There are a lot of things to say about how we would incorporate culture if we were teaching our language, and here are some ideas of how I can do this. If I have to teach Macedonian as a students’ second language, I suppose that the first thing that I would be aware will be the students’ background. Depending on their previous language knowledge I will try to make their learning easier and I will try to choose topics and materials for their levels. As beginners, they should know the things that they are viewing in their everyday life, but if they do not know those things I would try to teach them. It is very important their new vocabulary to be easier at the beginning, and also their classes should be very interesting for them, so they can remember what is taught. To make an interesting class we should involve authentic materials video materials, newspapers, magazines, pictures and everything that means interesting and educational for them. The authentic materials have a big role in the class so the students are more interested in the subject and for the language. Every teacher has his own ideas about it class and students, but I am sure that everyone will agree that including authentic materials is one of the most important things for the students in now a days learning.
Culture is a very broad term and one can never cover everything when trying to teach it. Nevertheless, when I would be asked to teach my own culture to people belonging to other cultures, the excuse of not knowing enough about the culture would not be the issue. Culture is closely linked to language so I would focus on teaching elements of culture which are closest to language. Moreover, second language learners would need to learn more about aspects of culture that would influence their language learning. Considering that learners need to be aware of certain behaviors, values and ways of living in order to acquire certain patterns and overcome language barriers. I would integrate culture into language learning according to the learners’ level. I would organize my lessons in a way that they are based on authentic materials which include topics of people’s everyday life such as: school, sports, weather, food, hobbies and interests etc. I am already teaching English culture to Albanians, who are learning English as a second language. Each module of the book I am teaching with has its own culture corner unit where learners get acquainted to the cultures of English speaking countries. One example of what I have recently taught about culture was when learners were supposed to be taught new vocabulary about fruits. Attached to this, there was an excerpt about a fruit festival in USA, so learners got to read and listen to a native speaker talking about different things that people do in these festivals. They also got to see the pictures of how they actually organize these festivals and how they look like. One thing I noticed after the lesson ended was that students were very interested in this because they had not heard of it before. So, it was something new for them. This means that in order to teach my culture to people belonging to other cultures I would need to get acquainted to their culture so that I integrate parts of culture that would be interesting for them. Considering that globalization has taken its turn, I think knowing what’s new to learners will get their attention and focus. Another thing I would like to do when teaching culture is the approach introduced to us in the last reading where students get to interview a native speaker. I think this is a great approach and I would also let students decide what kind of person they want to interview, meaning the profession of the speaker. The fact that students will be the ones asking questions means that they will learn things they want to know about that culture.
No cultures are identical even though they may have some similarities between them. Their uniqueness makes people and nationalities differ from each other and also interesting in their own different ways. That’s why when incorporating culture in my language lessons I have to take in consideration the fact that the learners may find some aspect of my culture odd and bizarre. That’s why culture needs to be taught openly and clearly for students to understand it and have positive attitude toward the culture of the language that the yare learning. One idea of how would I incorporate culture in my language lesson is the following: For example when learning the vocabulary for food and meals we can incorporate some aspects of the Albanian culture like the traditional family meals like baklava , Sheqerpare , are cooked more on special occasions such as Big and Small Bajram and national holidays. And some Albanian families eat a traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs, with sausages, tomatoes, marmalade and of course a cup of tea. But more and more people in Macedonia have very busy lives .They live fast, and that is why they have to eat fast. They love fast food such as hamburgers , French fries , pizzas, and coca cola. Today many teenagers do not have meals with their families. They eat alone at school with their friends. They eat when they watch TV especially at supper time.
Teaching culture, especially my own culture, I believe that it would be very easy. For example, I would not face the problems that I would face teaching another culture. As far as Problems in teaching of Culture are concerned, I would say that when teaching your own culture “those problems” would not be problems. For instance, a teacher who teaches others about her culture, she/he can not complain that they do not know enough about that culture. Incorporating culture into language lessons can be easily achieved in different ways. One of them might be describing the tenses using a text which writes about that particular culture. For instance, ask students to read a text which is about Albanian’s weddings and find the sentences which are in the past tense. It is very important that the text contains something really interesting about the Albanian culture so that they will remember it, and not just focus in finding the sentences. After that, we give our students a text which states how weddings are done today (using present tenses). Reading the texts, students revise the tenses and at the same time they get to know something interesting or a characteristic about another culture.
First I would make some research about students’ culture. I can do that by telling students to write journals with topics about culture so I can get to know their culture better. After I will familiarize myself with students` culture I’ll make similarities and differences between my culture and their culture. Then through discussion I’ll find out what is interesting for them. I’ll present the differences and similarities through the things they find interesting. For instance: music. If students’ favourite music genre is pop students will listen to a pop song and read the lyrics of the song. With exercise like this I could introduce new vocabulary or even teach grammar tense or structure.
Culture is the most valuable thing that every nation has to have. Culture shows your identity and tells your history, art and tradition. People have to take care of their culture and to try to be themselves. The teacher should be able to deal with student’s abilities and learning disabilities. Teachers have to know that all students do not come from the same family and living environment. Teachers should take into account the age and their level of English. Firstly I will teach my culture by authentic materials such as Albanian traditional clothes and we can organize cultural fairs where every student will wear Albanian traditional clothes and will explain them shortly. Secondly, as I said culture identifies history we can organize a trip and visit some historical places were our culture can be taught easily. Thirdly, there was an interesting example on the book that students learn more when they are active. If I am teaching adults I will give them to prepare a dinner with their traditional food and they have to arrange the table according their own culture. Then I will prepare some traditional food and will serve them as in our culture.
when teaching culture its very importand to have in mind and take consideration first of the students backround and what they allready know about the target culture. When teaching culture one shuold have in mind the age of the students to prepare to theyr level of proficiency. Tacking into consideration that it is my own culture, there is no posibility that I misguiede the students I would feal more free to present details , costumes, clothing, food habits,social behaviors etc. One idea of teaching culture through the language to the students is to pick interesting and very attractive unique parts of the tradition like for example matrrimonial costumes and wedings. The lesson would starts with asking the students what is their privious knowleghean,and than present the weding ceremony, clothers,photos of this particular ceremonies, type of music played, food and drinks servet etc. than would also ask the students to do a homework research on this costumes presented and to compare similarities and diferences with theyr own culture.
Many foreign language learners, and especially beginners, expect to find the foreign language that they try to acquire to have the same framework as their own language and that they could just replace words in their native languages with the foreign language equivalent in order to form a grammatically, lexically, and socially acceptable sentences. However, this is rarely, if not, never, the case. This is because a big portion of the written or spoken words are counting on their culture-specific connotations to deliver the intended meaning. Thus, given that understanding of the culture of foreign language speakers is mandatory in order for misunderstanding-free communication to take place, I would first foster students’ cross-cultural awareness. I would do a research in order to find simple examples of language use that are corresponding, but, also, strikingly different in the two languages. For example, if I were to teach Serbian language to Macedonian students, I would alert them to the fact that “zdravo,” a word that Macedonians use to say “hello,” is a word that Serbs use to say “bye.” Macedonians who are unaware of this difference could think that the person they are meeting is extremely rude. Similarly, “cao,” which Macedonians use to say “bye,” is a word that Serbs use to say “hello.” However, I would not be able to use the same example if I were teaching Serbian to English language speakers. Instead, I would look for authentic materials, preferably videos, containing dialogues between younger and older individuals. The students would be able to notice that, unlike in English, it is considered highly inappropriate to call people older that themselves by their first names, even in an informal context. What is more, even the use of “Mr.” and “Mrs.” would sound awfully unnatural and would have a contra effect. Instead, in informal context, Serbs use the words “chika” (uncle) and “teta” (aunt), followed by the first names of the people, when talking to older individuals to whom they may or may not be related. Later on, I would use other types of authentic materials, such as literature or history books, to further develop students’ cross-cultural awareness.
We already know that cultures differ from one another. It is very useful to integrate culture in teaching language because culture is part of it. Culture need to be taught according to the learner’s age for example I will incorporate culture in my language lessons by talking about peoples lifestyle in English speaking countries and here. In every unit there are some extra information about the appropriate topic and it will be very useful for learners to have some video presentation or magazine in order to increase their motivation and the class to be interesting and cheerful. Leaner’s find it very interesting when they learn something new according to the lifestyle in English speaking country and here we will talk about their food music way of dressing and living. To make it more interesting for them I will give them as homework to write about their favorite singer and compare with one singer from here which is also considered as their favorite. So in this way students will have to read more about the singer their lifestyle and culture and make differences between them.
15 comments:
Culture is an important part of the students (learners) education. Culture in combination with language can implement in students the appropriate patterns that each student should be aware of. The reason of this arrangement is that culture has very tied linguistic concepts. Through the language I think students would find much easier to learn components of culture and the integrated patterns of human’s behavior. One good example of how would I include my culture in my native language would be: We often start our high school language classes with the Albanian old literature and with one of the most important writers Marin Barleti who wrote biography of the Albanian national hero Skanderbeg, Historia de vita et gestis Scanderbegi Epirotarum principis (The story of life and deeds of Skanderbeg, the prince of Epirotes). In this case, first I would use authentic materials, I will ask the students to read the authentic book of this writer in order they to confront the old Albanian language (which I think is important part of the culture), the improvements of the Albanian issues and society. Then, in the lesson I will bring them different pictures of people who will be wearing the traditional cloths using different tools for work and songs which were singed at that time. We will discuss all the things in details that they have encounter during the reading, customs and values of our decedent. In this way the learners will face with their past which I think will develop them as future citizens of this country. Culture is part of every subject but language speaks better of culture as any other subject.
I guess, the question is about how we would incorporate culture into language lessons if we were teaching our language to students of a culture other than our own, and not students of our own culture.
First thing I would say is that it will be easier, since it is my own language and I would not fear that I do not know enough about it. Of course, I should take into account students’ needs and their backgrounds, and the topics should be chosen carefully, according to student’s level of proficiency. If I was teaching beginners, it would have been good to start with topics such as timetables and subjects at Albanian schools, the sports that children at schools want to play, their hobbies and interests, food and drink, clothes. Also we can do this through writing letters, listening to some Albanian music, watching movies, (cartoons), other audio-taped materials, etc, etc. Therefore, students can compare these to how things go in their native language and they will be able to find out the differences. These are some of the topics that are easier to understand and discussing about these things we can use a simpler vocabulary, so students to be able to acquire it faster. And, since students are learning the Albanian language, they are also learning some things about Albanian culture because language and culture cannot be separated.
Then, to students of a higher level we should teach all of the above mentioned things, but also some other important points of my culture: Albanian symbols, important ceremonies, values, traditions, customs, something about Albanian literature and its writers, etc.
The most important thing is that the materials used in the classroom would be authentic. I would have used newspapers, maps, audio and video taped materials, posters, etc; therefore, this will connect classroom learning to the real world and students will show a higher interest and will be more motivated to participate in the classroom.
There are a lot of other things to say about how we would incorporate culture if we were teaching our own language, and here I just briefly gave some ideas of how we can do this.
Since I have to teach my culture on a lesson, then I would definitely teach my students more in terms of that which are the tradition clothes of Albanians.
The lesson would look this way: I would start it with the interaction in which one I would ask students to talk what they know in terms of the issue. Then, since we won’t have those clothes in the moment (having in consideration that they don’t know that I have them in my back bag), I would ask them to draw them in order to see while they know the tradition or not. After this warm up activity, I would explain them their culture with details and show them so they will feel it and touch it. The clothes would be : the “keçe” is the had ( I don’t think there is a word in English), the “tirçe”- the clothes itself and she shoes which are designed especially for these kind of dressing. I would also ask them something more about the “çifteli” (sort of guitar with two wires) and the “tryes”- round table where the entire family eats ( important fact here is to say that it shows how much the house keepers respected their family by eating in a round table which tells that they all were the same) .
Last, I would use an activity that is called “fly swat”. Its perfect game, which involves lots of activity where student will be divided in two groups and one by one, will have to guess on the synonym that the teacher is saying on the issue that they were studying that class.
I guess I misunderstand the question and I apologize. Anyway I don’t think that I am not faraway form the correct answer. If I was teaching my own language I think the best way to include culture in these classes is using authentic materials. In this way the students will be engaged more than anything else. I am making this kind of conclusion based on my own experience. The adaptation of the authentic material would be based on the age and the proficiency level of the student. I would start the lesson with authentic Albanian movie “Skenderbeu”, in this movie are included different fields of the Albanian traditional culture: costumes, values, traditions and historical events. After we have finished watching the movie I will give them an outline which would contain the most important points of the movie also discussion questions about the movie where the students have to give their answer at home. Meantime we will start a discussion were each student would be free to give their opinion and I would finished the lesson with a crossword in order to emphasis the key words of movie which were concern to the Albanian culture.
Concerning how we would incorporate culture in our teaching, I can say that it is not an easy thing to do. But if I were in a position to perform this task, I think that first of all I would make a plan what to teach according to the age of the students. I say this because one cannot teach or give information to six or seven years old students about complicated history events and dates that have a great importance for us Albanians. The teacher should make it as much as interesting to them so they won't "wander off" with their minds or simply make the subject boring to them. Of course you can also mention things that it might be interesting to them, or simply clear up some stereotypes that they might have about my culture.
Second thing that I would consider doing, apart from using authentic materials, is taking them to actually see or witness either a folk festival, or visit a museum, maybe a tailor that sells national clothes etc. This would increase their motivation and of course might have a huge impact on them and they wont easily forget what they have learned.
Firstly, what every teacher should take account of are students’ backgrounds of that particular language in this case Albanian, as well as student’s needs. If I were to teach Albanian language to the non native beginners I would be aware of the topics that I will choose, and regarding the student’s capacity of the language I will chose them carefully.
Firstly, I will start with subjects which students are surrounded by, such as objects in the classrooms, the sports that they are keen of, interests, animals they prefer to have at home, talking about their pets, food and drink, clothes, as well as family members. I could incorporate these while asking them to write as homework or at class, also I could put on a tape and so they can listen to in Albanian language.
I also could bring some fashion magazines so that they have a clear image of how clothes are named in Albanian language. Students will be interested for the reason that they will be able to find the differences of Albanian language from their native language. The vocabulary used in the classroom should be simple and the words should be chosen from everyday life.
Then as students have grown their knowledge about Albanian language then they should learn the same topics, but with more details, such as Albanian traditions, Albanian literature, the most impotent writers, traditions, customs ect. All the mentioned things should be provided with en example such as authentic materials in order for students to be much easier.
Video taped materials, posters, newspapers, magazines all of this can play an important role because what they see in the reality they can relate to what is tough in the classroom. The idea here is to make the classroom’s atmosphere better, students will be encouraged to learn anything even the smallest things and they will also feel free and not threatened.
There are a lot of things to say about how we would incorporate culture if we were teaching our language, and here are some ideas of how I can do this. If I have to teach Macedonian as a students’ second language, I suppose that the first thing that I would be aware will be the students’ background. Depending on their previous language knowledge I will try to make their learning easier and I will try to choose topics and materials for their levels. As beginners, they should know the things that they are viewing in their everyday life, but if they do not know those things I would try to teach them. It is very important their new vocabulary to be easier at the beginning, and also their classes should be very interesting for them, so they can remember what is taught. To make an interesting class we should involve authentic materials video materials, newspapers, magazines, pictures and everything that means interesting and educational for them. The authentic materials have a big role in the class so the students are more interested in the subject and for the language. Every teacher has his own ideas about it class and students, but I am sure that everyone will agree that including authentic materials is one of the most important things for the students in now a days learning.
Culture is a very broad term and one can never cover everything when trying to teach it. Nevertheless, when I would be asked to teach my own culture to people belonging to other cultures, the excuse of not knowing enough about the culture would not be the issue. Culture is closely linked to language so I would focus on teaching elements of culture which are closest to language. Moreover, second language learners would need to learn more about aspects of culture that would influence their language learning. Considering that learners need to be aware of certain behaviors, values and ways of living in order to acquire certain patterns and overcome language barriers. I would integrate culture into language learning according to the learners’ level. I would organize my lessons in a way that they are based on authentic materials which include topics of people’s everyday life such as: school, sports, weather, food, hobbies and interests etc. I am already teaching English culture to Albanians, who are learning English as a second language. Each module of the book I am teaching with has its own culture corner unit where learners get acquainted to the cultures of English speaking countries. One example of what I have recently taught about culture was when learners were supposed to be taught new vocabulary about fruits. Attached to this, there was an excerpt about a fruit festival in USA, so learners got to read and listen to a native speaker talking about different things that people do in these festivals. They also got to see the pictures of how they actually organize these festivals and how they look like. One thing I noticed after the lesson ended was that students were very interested in this because they had not heard of it before. So, it was something new for them. This means that in order to teach my culture to people belonging to other cultures I would need to get acquainted to their culture so that I integrate parts of culture that would be interesting for them. Considering that globalization has taken its turn, I think knowing what’s new to learners will get their attention and focus. Another thing I would like to do when teaching culture is the approach introduced to us in the last reading where students get to interview a native speaker. I think this is a great approach and I would also let students decide what kind of person they want to interview, meaning the profession of the speaker. The fact that students will be the ones asking questions means that they will learn things they want to know about that culture.
No cultures are identical even though they may have some similarities between them. Their uniqueness makes people and nationalities differ from each other and also interesting in their own different ways. That’s why when incorporating culture in my language lessons I have to take in consideration the fact that the learners may find some aspect of my culture odd and bizarre. That’s why culture needs to be taught openly and clearly for students to understand it and have positive attitude toward the culture of the language that the yare learning. One idea of how would I incorporate culture in my language lesson is the following: For example when learning the vocabulary for food and meals we can incorporate some aspects of the Albanian culture like the traditional family meals like baklava , Sheqerpare , are cooked more on special occasions such as Big and Small Bajram and national holidays. And some Albanian families eat a traditional breakfast of bacon and eggs, with sausages, tomatoes, marmalade and of course a cup of tea. But more and more people in Macedonia have very busy lives .They live fast, and that is why they have to eat fast. They love fast food such as hamburgers , French fries , pizzas, and coca cola. Today many teenagers do not have meals with their families. They eat alone at school with their friends. They eat when they watch TV especially at supper time.
Teaching culture, especially my own culture, I believe that it would be very easy. For example, I would not face the problems that I would face teaching another culture.
As far as Problems in teaching of Culture are concerned, I would say that when teaching your own culture “those problems” would not be problems. For instance, a teacher who teaches others about her culture, she/he can not complain that they do not know enough about that culture.
Incorporating culture into language lessons can be easily achieved in different ways. One of them might be describing the tenses using a text which writes about that particular culture. For instance, ask students to read a text which is about Albanian’s weddings and find the sentences which are in the past tense. It is very important that the text contains something really interesting about the Albanian culture so that they will remember it, and not just focus in finding the sentences. After that, we give our students a text which states how weddings are done today (using present tenses).
Reading the texts, students revise the tenses and at the same time they get to know something interesting or a characteristic about another culture.
First I would make some research about students’ culture. I can do that by telling students to write journals with topics about culture so I can get to know their culture better. After I will familiarize myself with students` culture I’ll make similarities and differences between my culture and their culture. Then through discussion I’ll find out what is interesting for them. I’ll present the differences and similarities through the things they find interesting. For instance: music.
If students’ favourite music genre is pop students will listen to a pop song and read the lyrics of the song. With exercise like this I could introduce new vocabulary or even teach grammar tense or structure.
Culture is the most valuable thing that every nation has to have. Culture shows your identity and tells your history, art and tradition. People have to take care of their culture and to try to be themselves. The teacher should be able to deal with student’s abilities and learning disabilities. Teachers have to know that all students do not come from the same family and living environment. Teachers should take into account the age and their level of English. Firstly I will teach my culture by authentic materials such as Albanian traditional clothes and we can organize cultural fairs where every student will wear Albanian traditional clothes and will explain them shortly. Secondly, as I said culture identifies history we can organize a trip and visit some historical places were our culture can be taught easily. Thirdly, there was an interesting example on the book that students learn more when they are active. If I am teaching adults I will give them to prepare a dinner with their traditional food and they have to arrange the table according their own culture. Then I will prepare some traditional food and will serve them as in our culture.
when teaching culture its very importand to have in mind and take consideration first of the students backround and what they allready know about the target culture.
When teaching culture one shuold have in mind the age of the students to prepare to theyr level of proficiency.
Tacking into consideration that it is my own culture, there is no posibility that I misguiede the students I would feal more free to present details , costumes, clothing, food habits,social behaviors etc.
One idea of teaching culture through the language to the students is to pick interesting and very attractive unique parts of the tradition like for example matrrimonial costumes and wedings.
The lesson would starts with asking the students what is their privious knowleghean,and than present the weding ceremony, clothers,photos of this particular ceremonies, type of music played, food and drinks servet etc.
than would also ask the students to do a homework research on this costumes presented and to compare similarities and diferences with theyr own culture.
Many foreign language learners, and especially beginners, expect to find the foreign language that they try to acquire to have the same framework as their own language and that they could just replace words in their native languages with the foreign language equivalent in order to form a grammatically, lexically, and socially acceptable sentences. However, this is rarely, if not, never, the case. This is because a big portion of the written or spoken words are counting on their culture-specific connotations to deliver the intended meaning. Thus, given that understanding of the culture of foreign language speakers is mandatory in order for misunderstanding-free communication to take place, I would first foster students’ cross-cultural awareness. I would do a research in order to find simple examples of language use that are corresponding, but, also, strikingly different in the two languages. For example, if I were to teach Serbian language to Macedonian students, I would alert them to the fact that “zdravo,” a word that Macedonians use to say “hello,” is a word that Serbs use to say “bye.” Macedonians who are unaware of this difference could think that the person they are meeting is extremely rude. Similarly, “cao,” which Macedonians use to say “bye,” is a word that Serbs use to say “hello.” However, I would not be able to use the same example if I were teaching Serbian to English language speakers. Instead, I would look for authentic materials, preferably videos, containing dialogues between younger and older individuals. The students would be able to notice that, unlike in English, it is considered highly inappropriate to call people older that themselves by their first names, even in an informal context. What is more, even the use of “Mr.” and “Mrs.” would sound awfully unnatural and would have a contra effect. Instead, in informal context, Serbs use the words “chika” (uncle) and “teta” (aunt), followed by the first names of the people, when talking to older individuals to whom they may or may not be related. Later on, I would use other types of authentic materials, such as literature or history books, to further develop students’ cross-cultural awareness.
We already know that cultures differ from one another. It is very useful to integrate culture in teaching language because culture is part of it. Culture need to be taught according to the learner’s age for example I will incorporate culture in my language lessons by talking about peoples lifestyle in English speaking countries and here. In every unit there are some extra information about the appropriate topic and it will be very useful for learners to have some video presentation or magazine in order to increase their motivation and the class to be interesting and cheerful. Leaner’s find it very interesting when they learn something new according to the lifestyle in English speaking country and here we will talk about their food music way of dressing and living. To make it more interesting for them I will give them as homework to write about their favorite singer and compare with one singer from here which is also considered as their favorite. So in this way students will have to read more about the singer their lifestyle and culture and make differences between them.
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