Kultura w nauce języka angielskiego odgrywa równie ważną rolę jak słownictwo czy gramatyka. Poznawanie zwyczajów, wartości i sposobów komunikacji pomaga lepiej rozumieć język oraz jego użytkowników. Poniżej publikujemy artykuł naszej nauczycielki języka angielskiego w oryginalnej wersji językowej, poświęcony roli kultury, literatury oraz elementów zabawy w skutecznym nauczaniu języków obcych.
What is culture?
Culture is a learned way of life shared by a group of people. It includes languages, food, celebrations, artistic expression, the arts, sports and media.
It can be divided into three groups:
- Products: literature, folklore, art, music, artefacts
- Behaviours: customs, habits, dress, foods, leisure
- Ideas: beliefs, values, institutions
Beware of stereotypes
We must beware of stereotypes e.g. everyone in England has tea at 4 o’clock, London is foggy; as they tend to be outdated, idealised, represent the middle-class and often quite wrong. For culture if dynamic and also exists on two levels. There is what we can see: surface culture and what lies beneath: deep culture, which includes belief systems and attitudes.
We include culture in education
Because learners should have contact with native speakers and cooperate with them. Learners must be acquainted with the target culture.
Stern, 1992
But what is the ‘target’ culture when learning a global language?
The goal of education is to equip all pupils with the foundation skills, attitudes and expectations necessary to prosper in a changing society
And help understand diverse cultures and beliefs
These are all excellent reasons for studying cultures of other countries and groups, especially in the multicultural world we live in today, where ignorance of cultures and beliefs leads to so much friction and even hate.
BUT: ‘the viewer contains the view’.
I would argue that any study of culture should begin with one’s own. Start with the known, then move to the alien. For:
- Culture is a two-way process
- Students need to have a sense of their own cultural reality
- We need to appreciate our own culture in order to make comparisons and appreciate similarities
We use various tasks:
- To explore fascinating aspects of cultures = motivation
- To understand diverse cultures = become a global citizen
- Appreciate own culture = represent own realities
- And we don’t forget we are teaching English = afford opportunities to use language meaningfully
Literature
We use all kinds of texts in the language classroom and literature doesn’t have to mean Shakespeare and Byron, but can be folk stories, comics, simple poems.
In exploring literature we can learn about different cultures as well as individuals.
Communication is “a process by which two individuals ‘try’ to exchange a set of ideas, feelings, symbols.. meanings”
Pierre Casse, Teaching for the Cross-Cultural Mind, Society of Inter-Cultural Education, 1981
We must learn to understand more than just the words, but also:
- Read between the lines
- Negotiate meaning
- Tolerate ambiguity
- Effectively interpret messages
- Accept difference
Including culture in language teaching:
- Brings the world into the classroom
- Broadens students’ knowledge of world
- Leads to classroom exploration
- Practises more than just grammar and vocabulary
- Allows for critical thinking
We can find examples for class room use in the following:
Video, CDs, TV programmes, Readings, Internet, Stories, Students own information, Songs, Newspapers, Interviews, Guest speakers, Anecdotes, Souvenirs, Photographs, Surveys, Illustrations, Literature.
Why Having Fun is Crucial in learning
It’s 2026 and we still come across learning environments where playing is regarded as the opposite of working and not to be entertained in a classroom. Of course, things have improved overall in classrooms, helped a lot by the fabulous course books on offer, which come packed with games, songs and drama.
It has long been believed that play is a necessary part of life:
The healthy individual is someone who can work, play and love effectively
G. W. Allport
Pattern and Growth in Personality, 1961
And we can see arguments for it even in the 18th Century.
Teachers need to encourage free expression and natural playfulness…
Jean Jacques Rousseau, 1762
Jean Piaget said:
play leads to consolidation of newly learned behaviours… exposing the child to new experiences and new possibilities for dealing with the world.
We encourage students to play with English:
- To make them feel comfortable
- To help language be memorable
- To practise language
- To facilitate involvement
- Because we recognise that language learning is affective as well as cognitive
- It’s fun and motivating
But with teens and adults the game changes. We probably don’t play so much with our older students because of:
- Student expectations – their previous learning experiences have been serious and rigidly defined
- Teacher expectations – we wear a different hat with our older students
- The course book – there aren’t many games in exam preparation books, for example
- Play lacks credibility
- It’s regarded as the opposite of work
- Play has been defined as trivial by a male-dominated society which emphasises the power of rational thought (Anning, 1991)
It won’t come as any surprise that we incorporate elements of play with our teenage language learners including those studying Academic English and preparing for exams.
But We never FORGET:
If learning is just serious it can become boring, uncreative and depersonalised and if it’s just fun, it can lack a language purpose. We are trying to make sure it’s SERIOUS FUN!
Autorem tekstu jest Nauczyciel: Elena Yakunina
