How to bring culture into
the classroom?
KEY WORDS:
CULTURE, LANGUAGE, INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE, TEACHING
How are culture and language bound?

1. Language expresses cultural reality (with words
people express facts and ideas but also reflect their
attitudes).

2. Language embodies cultural reality (people give
meanings to their experience through the means of
communication).

3. Language symbolizes cultural reality (people view
their language as a symbol of their social identity)
What’s the aim of introducing culture
into the class?

1. Knowledge about the target culture.

2. Awareness of its characteristics and of differences
between the target culture and the learner’s own
country.

3. A research-minded outlook.

4. An emphasis on the understanding socio-cultural
implications of language and language use.
Culture
tangible and intangible components

everyday living (e.g., food and drink, holidays and working practices),

living conditions (e.g., housing conditions),

interpersonal relations (e.g., class structure, family structures and relations between
generations),

values, beliefs and attitudes (e.g., social class, wealth, regional cultures, minorities
and arts),

body language,

social conventions (punctuality, dress and behavioral and conversational
conventions)

ritual behaviors (e.g., birth, marriage and death)
Approaches to the teaching of culture

the intercultural approach – comparison of the target and the learners’ own
culture, main focus is on the target culture;

the multicultural approach – a focus on the ethnic and linguistic diversity of the
target country, but also on the learners' own culture;

the trans-cultural approach – a foreign language is an international language,
so that it is not necessary at all to link the foreign language to any specific
culture;

the foreign-cultural approach – focuses on the target culture and neither takes
the learners' own culture into consideration nor does it compare the two
cultures together.
Intercultural competence

Attitudes – cultural diversity and pluralism ,

Knowledge and understanding – awareness and
understanding of one’s own and other people’s assumptions,
stereotypes, prejudices, and overt and covert discrimination

Skills – cognitive flexibility, linguistic, sociolinguistic and
discourse skills

Actions – Interacting and communicating appropriately,
effectively and respectfully with people who have different
cultural affiliations from one’s own
Activities emphasising multiple
perspectives

develop skills of observation, interpretation and
decentring, openness and non-judgemental thinking

e.g. a verbal description or visual recording of an
event, action or phenomenon supplemented by or
juxtaposed to descriptions or visuals of the same event,
behaviour or phenomenon provided by others who see
these from different perspectives
Role plays and simulations

develop attitudes of openness, curiosity and respect, as
well as a willingness to empathise and suspend
judgement and skills of observation and interpretation,
skills of learning about one’s own culture and
discovering others as well as skills of adapting and
empathy.
Theatre, poetry and creative writing

gain knowledge about people they have never met,
and to learn about lives they have never imagined

e.g. staging theatrical works
Ethnographic (sociocultural) tasks

learn about the norms, behaviour or social practices of
people with different cultural affiliations and belonging
to different ethnic, religious, or socio-economic groups.

e.g. expressing respect, gratitude, anger or any other
emotions; personal stories from people on historic
events
Use of films and short videos

raise learners’ awareness of multiple perspectives and
develop their critical thinking

e.g. British Council series “Britain is Great” including
Countryside is Great, Creativity is Great, English is Great,
English is Great, Entrepreneurs are Great, Green is
Great, Heritage is Great, Innovation is Great,
Knowledge is Great, Literature is Great, Music is Great,
Shopping is Great, Sport is Great
Social media and other online tools

raises communicative awareness and awareness of
one’s own ‘voice’

e.g. social networks – Facebook, Tweeter
on-line courses – Coursera, Future Learn