Bridging the culture gap in the classroom

Hugh DellarThe University of Westminster /

Heinle Cengage

Such communication helps avoid unnecessary inconveniences and protects the arts and culture sector

Evolver is now firmly established as the region's most popular arts and culture guide

The Department for Culture, Media & Sport has announced that funding for free swims ends this summer

We have always placed great emphasis on company culture and core values

Our fixation on youth culture has left the elderly out in the cold

The subculture is poised to move above ground, with its impact on films, music, comics and fashion

The use of tobacco has long been a central part of French culture

You may find Polish women to be very frank and open because this is part of Polish culture

Some low culture of the past, such as jazz, through time and social change becomes high culture

Celebrity culture is fuelling sex and violence among children, it was claimed this week

Schools have to tackle a culture of yobbishness if teachers are to be kept in the profession

Spoilt footballers are breeding a culture of greed

It’s not that I don’t enjoy wine when I drink it. It’s just that it’s not part of my culture

It is overstating the case to suggest that cultural values allow us to predict individuals' moral attitudes

We are witnessing a profound cultural shift from mass communication to interactive digital media

Atwood, an ardent Canadian nationalist, has often spoken out against the cultural dominance of the USA

Culture is everywhere

Language without culture is like a finger without a body.

Culture and language are intimately related. They go hand in hand during the teaching-learning process.

Language and culture are not separate, but are acquired together, with each providing support for the development of the other.

The person who learns language without learning culture risks becoming a fluent fool.

Culture at conferences

Culture as product

 

Culture as process

1 Culture is NOT static. It’s changing all the time.

Some key points

2 Culture is all-embracing.

3 Unified national cultures are a myth.

4 As English is a global language, this is all even more complicated.

Does English mean English culture?

Work with a partner. Discuss to what degree each of these items is culturally rooted. By this, I mean the degree to which you would need to mention UK / US culture when explaining each.

She wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.I can't stand being the centre of attention.I think I'm quite a level-headed sort of person.Compulsory military service should be abolished.I spent a lot of the holidays just roaming around the countryside, exploring.She has no qualms about giving her child a head start.That film has had a lot of hype.They fell on hard times.The kidnappers released him after his family agreed to pay a ransom of $100,000.He swore under oath that he'd spent the evening at home.Hold your breath and count to ten.I had an interview for the job, but I blew it.

Does English mean English culture?

Shoom span a Balearic mix of Detroit techno, New York garage and Chicago house.

Nationalist murals started springing up in areas like the Falls Road when IRA inmates of the Maze prison began a hunger strike.

The NUT has long been run by hardcore members of the Loony Left.

It was a pretty good talk, even if I say so myself!

Classroom implications

1 The days of facts and figures about the UK – the tourist board approach – are over.

2 Culture in the classroom has to be a two-way process.

3 It has to be global in perspective.

4 It has to be language focused.

5 It has to allow space for the personal.

Just because I’m English, it doesn’t mean I’m an alcoholic or a football hooligan.

Just because I’m a teacher, it doesn’t mean I’ve failed at everything else!

Just because I’m a man, it doesn’t mean I can’t cook cook or sew.

Just because . . . it doesn’t mean . . .

REAL ENGLISH FOR THE REAL WORLD

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