Peterson and Coltrane state that, “students cannot truly master the language until they have also mastered the cultural contexts in which the language occurs.”

Claire Kramsch points out ...

"If...language is seen as social practice, culture becomes the very core of language teaching. Cultural awareness must then be viewed as enabling language proficiency ... Culture in language teaching is not an expendable fifth skill, tacked on, so to speak, to the teaching of speaking, listening, reading and writing."

What are the implications for primary?

If cultural awareness needs to be an integral

part of language learning, then all learners

need to be introduced to the target culture

no matter how young or early on in their

language learning experience.

What can we do as primary teachers?

We need to look at culture through a child’s eyes and

consider what will motivate a primary child to want to know

more about the target culture.

Brewster, Ellis & Girard (2002) suggest we should:

“... look at:• everyday life for children in an English-speaking country;• traditional songs, rhymes, games and stories from the target culture;• special festivals and celebrations;

Practical ways of using British culture in the primary classroom through resources children like:

• Flags: The story of the Union Jack.• Emblems: The rose, daffodil and leek, thistle and shamrock • Stamps: For stamp collectors in your class. Special packs in the

post office.• Currency: Keep some to show the children • Maps: Maps develop concepts of the town around them and the

world at large.• Postcards: Send a postcard to the class; collect postcards to share

with them.• Food: Food to enjoy in the English class, e.g. scones.• Music: Irish/Scottish music in particular.• Dancing traditional dances: Investigate!• Songs, rhymes, chants: traditional rhymes.

• Playground games: many have chants with useful language, e.g. ‘London Bridge’. (Ask in English schools about games the children play.)

• Historical characters and legends: Stories like George and the Dragon and St. Patrick and the snakes in Ireland.

• Historical events and buildings: e.g. Castles in the UK and the Great Fire of London.

• Art and craft: e.g. Make a ‘London’ or ‘England’/Scotland box with things you collect.

• English teddy who only understands English. Photograph yourself with him at places you visit. Let the children choose his name.

• Stories and characters from stories: Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter, Peter Rabbit, Alice in Wonderland (See websites)

• Festivals: Interesting to children and link with cultural studies e.g. Bonfire night and Guy Fawkes; Halloween (trick or treat).

Festivals and celebrations in the language classroom:

•Imply fun! They are colourful. They lend themselves to all kinds of things children enjoy: songs, art and crafts, story-telling, drama, role-plays and acting out, games, cooking, food tasting, dancing...

•Provide a meaningful context for a range of language to take part in those activities.

•Because they are rooted in social events, they are something even young children can react to and be involved in.

•Give us the opportunity to teach customs and traditions of other cultures.

•Lend themselves to cross-curricular work, so may help to teach older children such things as general knowledge, historical, geographical, scientific, religious and social facts.

Halloween /iː/

We’re witches of Halloween.

Wooo-oo! /uː/

Our faces are ugly and green. Wooo-oo!

We fly around at night (/aɪ/)

And give you such a fright

We’re witches of Halloween. Wooo-oo!

• Stories:

• ‘Meg and Mog’ stories

Paul, K & V. Thomas, Winnie the Witch, ISBN 0-19-459069-0

Oxford University Press

Making a pull-through book

Halloween PoemShow me the pumpkin. Show me the bat.

Show me. Show me. Show me the cat.

Show me the witch. Show me the ghost.

Show me the one that you like most.

 

Colour the pumpkin. Colour the bat.

Colour. Colour. Colour the cat.

Colour the witch. Colour the ghost.

Colour the one that you like most.

 

Cut out the pumpkin. Cut out the bat.

Cut out. Cut out. Cut out the cat.

Cut out the witch. Cut out the ghost.

Cut out the one that you like most.

Reilly, V, (2007), Surprise 1, Oxford University Press

Following the example of Brown bear. Brown bear. You could tell a similar story for Halloween.

• It’s Halloween. It’s Halloween. What do you see?

I see an orange pumpkin looking at me.

• Orange pumpkin, orange pumpkin. What do you see?

I see a brown bat looking at me.

• Brown bat. Brown bat. What do you see?

I see a black cat looking at me.

• Black cat, black cat. What do you see?

I see a green witch looking at me.

• Green witch, green witch. What do you see?

I see a white ghost looking at me. Etc.

 

Halloween playground rhyme and game

Wizard's den, Wizard's den.

Run when you reach ten.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10!

“Trick, treat or something to eat.”

Apple bobbing – probably Roman in origin• Combining Feralia, when the Romans commemorated their dead and the

festival of Pomona the goddess of fruit and trees.