Week 12: How do I define culture?

Please take a few minutes and write out your definition of culture, especially in regards to language learning. Does culture learning mean more than just having knowledge? What else? What is the role of inter-cultural competence in the classroom? How can CALL be used to facilitate learners' cultural understanding or competencies?

Once you have finished, take a look at the answers provided by your classmates and engage them in a discussion.

 

Definition of Culture

 

Culture is the set of traditions and expectations that a group of people live under, live for, and replicate for generation after generation. Culture is music, language, skills (cooking, sewing, dancing), and "innate" abilities (e.g. understanding what someone means according to body language or specific words). Culture is not simply observing that the people of Vanuatu use bamboo stamping tubes in their traditional dance, but understanding why bamboo is used and why they dance and what for. When you become a language teacher, one of your many responsibilities is to get learners to see beyond what they observe and open their minds to the reasons and ideas behind what they see.

This week was about culture. Capital C is literature, art, music. Lower-case C is people's attitudes, beliefs, and values. Culture includes groups and groups are permeable; we belong to many groups.

No one, essentially, belongs only to one culture. Let's not use culture to separate us, but conjoin/gather us.

We must beware not to generalize an entire culture to one stereotype. Not all French people love berets and saccharine romance.

Our Team Teach Project
By: Cynthia Ahlers, Hongbo Zhu, Taichi Hardiman

PURPOSE: Chinese culture and language reading and writing class

Spring Festival, Celebration, Family, Traditions, and Expectations

Email pen pals (Asynchronous Computer-Mediated Communication - ACMC) that will include Chinese language characters and Chinese culture

 

LEVEL OF STUDENTS:

High-intermediate level Chinese as a Second Language

b. American 11-13-year-olds

 

3) END PRODUCT: The students will get more out of the culture

4) ACCOUNTABILITY:

a. Write down the answers to all of the questions in Chinese, then e-mail it to the teacher for credit

 

Ask Chinese partner:

 

SPRING FESTIVAL AND CELEBRATIONS

How do you celebrate Spring Festival?

What clothes do you wear to celebrate?

What kind of music is played to enhance the festivities?

How do you decorate your room during this time of year?

What kind of food do you eat when you celebrate?

 

FAMILY AND TRADITIONS

How many people are in your family?

Do you have aunts, uncles, and grandparents?

How do you celebrate your birthday?

Could you send an attachment photo of your family?

Do you look like your father or your mother?

What was your favorite gift you got for your birthday last year?

 

EXPECTATIONS

When did you start learning a second language?

What is your second language?

What activities do you do on your spare time?

Do you play a musical instrument?

Do you play sports?

Do you want to go to university?

What do you want to be when you grow up?