Integrating Chinese culture into the EFL classroom.(English as a Foreign
Language )
Academic Exchange Quarterly; 12/22/2005; Chism, Rebecca L.
Abstract
The authors explore the role of culture in the contemporary language classroom in
Taiwan in the form of content-based curriculum for integration into the EFL
classroom. Language teachers need cultural sensitivity as well as the ability to design
curricula that motivate students to pursue cultural learning and help them
communicate with people from different cultures. The writers emphasize the
importance of cultural learning and justify the notion that teaching students' native
culture in an EFL language classroom can foster successful dialogues.
Introduction
The role of culture in language learning is well known: culture provides a broad and
deep context for the way one knows or determines what is valued, appropriate, of
even feasible and why. Culture itself, however, is somewhat difficult to define.
Robinson (1985) reported that in his lectures and workshops on culture learning, the
responses of most teachers regarding the meaning of culture fell into three categories:
products, ideas, and behaviors.
Kramsch (1991) stated that in many language classrooms, culture is reduced to "foods,
fairs, folklore, and statistical facts" (p. 218), emphasizing, however, that the
implications of culture for language learning and use ate in fact more complex than
"the four Fs." Karmich (1993) also noted that culture in language learning is not an
extended fifth skill; it is always in the background for learners, challenging their
ability to make sense of the world around them.
Moran (2001) asserted that culture could take the form of products, perspectives,
practices, persons, and communities; it involves interaction among people and
changes from day to day. He wrote that culture is learned in many special social
contexts, circumstances, and groups in which members implement cultural practices
and that other influences, such as schools, materials, curricula, learners, and
objectives, can emphasize different and varied cultural concepts; therefore, the role of
the instructor can determine what cultural knowledge is implied. Chastain (1988)
stated, "Second language teachers need a definition, a thematic organization, and at
least an elementary knowledge of the culture" (p. 308). Through careful planning and
wise course material selection, the teacher has the ability to promote cultural
sensitivity and appreciation among students.
Culture can be integrated into the EFL classroom when a teacher views culture as an
integral part of a syllabus; furthermore, learning culture through of in conjunction
with subject matter can enhance a language course. Such courses have also been
called content-based because they integrate particular content with language teaching
aims. Lee and VanPatten (2003) stated, "Culture as people, customs, and artifacts--is
content and can be treated the same as any content in any course; teachers can use
culture as content in the various kinds of activities that can be developed for
communicative language teaching" (p. 5). In the language classroom, intercultural
understanding is a goal as students become more aware of their own culture and
knowledgeable about the target culture. In learning a new culture, learners need to
purposefully construct an understanding of the other worldview, a different reality in
order to speak with people from other cultures. Moran (2001) contended that culture
learning is based on cultural comparison, a "process [which] runs back and forth
between the learner's culture and the culture under study" (p. 126), providing a basis
for comparison and contrast in the language classroom. Asking learners to describe
what they know about their own culture can increase their ability to compare and
contrast it with other cultures.
Tomalin and Stempleski (1993) strongly advocated a task-orientation approach when
teaching culture. This approach features cooperative learning tasks in which students
work together in pairs or small groups to gather precise segments of information,
share, and discuss what they have discovered "in order to form a more complete
picture and interpret the information within the context of the target culture and in
comparison with their own culture(s)" (p. 9). Activities such as these encourage
interaction with other ethnic groups as well as in their own communities, promoting
healthy communication and relationships.
Research Rationale
The goal in a language classroom is intercultural understanding, not only the
understanding of another culture but of one's own culture as well. Most of the EFL
teachers in Taiwan, however, ate using textbooks written by Americans and published
by American's companies. Textbooks such as Interactions 1 Reading, (Hartmann &
Kim, 2002), are often used by language teachers in Taiwan for teaching English. The
content of books like Interaction 1, however, overemphasizes the target culture (world
or American culture), while giving much less attention to Taiwanese culture. Often the
result is that Taiwanese students may be able to talk about world or American culture
in English but ate unable to talk about their own culture in English because it has
almost never been addressed in their instruction. Chiu (1998) advocated that teachers
increase the amount of Chinese culture taught in English language classrooms in order
to integrate Chinese culture into EFL teaching. In this way, students become more
aware of their own culture and ate able to use English to talk about it.
Based on this suggestion, we propose the following lesson plan that purposefully
incorporates Chinese culture into the EFL classroom asa content-based approach
toward English language instruction and cultural awareness.
Population
This lesson is targeted toward Taiwanese university sophomores majoring in applied
English. In Taiwanese schools English is regarded as subject matter; since the students
are majors in applied English, they have at least a high intermediate level of language
proficiency in speaking and listening. According to the curriculum reform program in
Taiwan, known as the Grade 1-9 Curriculum Guideline, the new English curriculum
focuses on three goals for English taught in elementary schools from Grade 3 (schools
in some regions begin instruction in Grade 1): (a) to cultivate students' basic skills in
English communication, (b) to cultivate students' interest and means of learning
English, and (c) to promote students' understanding of native and foreign culture and
customs (Zhan & Chai, 2001).
Procedure/Activities
In order to achieve these objectives as well as to promote students' understanding of
native and foreign cultural customs, the legend of Chinese Valentine's day, as
illustrated through the poem Fairy of the Magpie Bridge will be used (Appendix A).
Scott and Huntington (2002) asserted that studying literature fosters students'
"affective awareness and cognitive flexibility and [is] therefore effective for
development of C2 competence" (p. 622).
Chinese Valentine's Day is a legend about Zhi Nu, the seventh daughter of the
Emperor of Heaven; and Niu Lang, an orphaned cowherd. They meet once a year on
the 7th day of the 7th lunar month on the Chinese calendar on a bridge made of
magpie wings over the Silver River. The Emperor had separated the pair, forcing his
seventh daughter to move to the star Vega and the cowherd to the star Altair. Written
by Guan Qin during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Fairy of the Magpie Bridge is one
of the most famous poems about the legend. At the end of the poem, the narrator asks
why the lovers are so greedy for time to spend together when they love each other so
much. The narrator does not believe that lovers must be together continuously; instead,
the love itself is loyal and steadfast. Love is faith and emotional connection, not the
physical attraction and desire emphasized in the story.
Before the first class session, each student receives a letter from the instructor, which
includes a needs assessment in order to identify students' needs and determine how
much they already know. Students will then work together to translate the poem for
basic understanding. The traditional foreign language teaching method known as
grammar-translation focuses on developing student appreciation of literature in the
target language as well as teaching the language. Its goals include the following: to
"read literature in the target language; learn grammar rules and vocabulary; and
develop mental acuity" (Larsen-Freeman, 2000). Deeney (1999) also recommended
this approach for students to help them understand both language and culture. Also,
additional websites and resources will be available for reference.
Then, students will work together to prepare 15-minute oral presentation or role-play
that expresses their perspectives and/or interpretation of this traditional Chinese
cultural legend. After the performance, each group will pose at least three questions
associated with the theme. Students will have opportunities to discuss and interact
with one another, not only in class but also outside of the classroom, as Deeney (1999)
suggested, via e-mail exchange of data. Students' responses using this type of
communication are less formal than the writing mode and provide them with more
time and opportunity to share their thoughts and findings. After the cultural
presentations, the instructor will show a videotape of American culture relevant to the
theme and ask them to write a short reflection/discussion in order to assess the degree
to which they understood the similarities and differences between the two cultures.
To assess the cultural presentations, each student will submit a two-page,
double-spaced, word-processed description in English of his or her oral or dramatic
presentation. Students will then translate new vocabulary and phrases in Chinese and
use three sentences patterns in their papers that exemplify the grammar rules studied
in class. In this manner, the instructor will assess the students' overall speaking and
writing proficiency and improvement, their reading and listening proficiency and
improvement, and their grammar skills. In addition, since the presentations will be
videotaped, students can assess themselves in order to improve their language skills
for future performances.
Finally, the instructor will employ a Classroom Critical Incident Questionnaire
(Brookfield, 1995) to obtain their feedback on the lesson; Brookfield stated that one
of most vital elements in any career in education is the teacher's ability to see herself
or himself through students' eyes. When we do this, we also learn; moreover, in this
way, we are modeling behavior for our students.
Reflection
Although this lesson has not yet been field tested, the authors believe that the plan can
be effective in culture learning for the target Taiwanese students. It also can be
developed as a future research project in order to more completely examine its
potential asa means to facilitate cultural learning and teaching in a language
classroom. Additional questionnaires and/or surveys can be used to triangulate its
effectiveness toward a better cultural awareness of others as well asa deeper
understanding of their own culture. Lado (1997) stated, "We must have an
understanding of our own culture before we can compare it with others" (p. 4).
Through this lesson Taiwanese students will be better able to share their own native
culture with foreigners, and they will be more open to appreciating cultural
differences; thus, increasing their cross-cultural learning. Deeney (1999) pointed out
that "anyone seriously engaged in cross-cultural communication tends to become a
comparativist" (p. 60). The lesson plan comprises various dimensions: It begins with a
traditional Chinese love story and a poem for literary appreciation and then proceeds
into intercultural awareness. Most importantly, this lesson allows the instructor to
guide Taiwanese students to appreciate their own traditional culture and facilitate their
expression of their cultural perspective in English, demonstrating how one's own
cultural knowledge and awareness can be used as a reference for mutual
understanding, competence, and communication.
Conclusion
Clearly, students' native culture can be effectively integrated into the EFL classroom
as a basis for comparison and contrast as well asa means of second of foreign
language acquisition. In this particular instance, the use of Chinese culture not only
provides content that students are already familiar with, but also a means to develop
language skills while communicating with and educating others. In addition, students
have the opportunity to develop cultural sensitivity and appreciation, adding to their
motivation to be able to interact with others whose cultures are different from theirs.
It goes without saying that the teacher plays a key role in culture teaching and
learning in EFL classrooms. Course materials effectively used and carefully planned
by teachers are important considerations toward the effective integration of culture
into a content-based curriculum.
Appendix A
Fairy of the magpie bridge
By Guan Qin Translated by Kylie Hsu
Among the beautiful clouds,
Over the heavenly river,
Crosses the
weaving maiden.
A night of rendezvous,
Across the autumn sky,
Surpasses joy on earth.
Moments of tender love and dream,
So sad to leave
the magpie bridge.
Eternal love between us two,
Shall withstand the time
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Wen-Ling Lou, Kent State University
Rebecca L. Chism, Kent State University
Wen-Ling Lou is a doctoral candidate in curriculum and instruction in Foreign
Language Education, and Rebecca L. Chism, Ph.D. is an assistant professor of
Foreign Language Pedagogy at Kent State University.
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