Integrating Cultural Awareness and Language Skills by Using Folktales
Henny Putri Saking Wijaya
Petra Christian University, Indonesia
Introduction
Learning a language cannot be separated from learning the cultures where the language is
spoken. Culture is ‘a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development’,
or ‘a particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group’ or ‘the works and
practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity’ (Williams, cited in Storey, 1993:
2). It means that language is one among other products of cultures. Many researchers
have discussed the importance of including cultural components into L2 curriculum
(Sysoyev and Donelson, 2002). People involved in language teaching have begun to
understand the intertwined relation between culture and language (Pulverness, 2003). It
has been emphasized that without the study of culture, teaching L2 is inaccurate and
incomplete. For L2 learners, language study seems senseless if they know nothing about
the people who speak the target language or the country in which the target language is
spoken.
According to Kramsch (1993 cited in Saluveer, 2004), teaching cultures in a language
classroom is not a simple “transmission of information” about the foreign culture. It
includes:
 Establishing a ‘sphere of interculturality’, which means that teaching culture is
not transferring information between cultures but a foreign culture should be put
in relation with one’s own. The intercultural approach includes a reflection on
both cultures.
 Teaching culture as an interpersonal process, which means replacing the teaching
of facts and behaviors by the teaching of a process that helps to understand others.
 Teaching cultures as difference, which means considering multiculturality and
multiethnicity of modern societies.
Therefore, integrating culture in the language classroom makes learners become a whole
person.
EAP Classes
EAP Classes in Petra Christian University (PCU) are English classes for non-English
Department students. This class is offered every semester. The maximum number of
students in each EAP class is 24 students. The students are from Engineering
departments, Art and Design departments, Chinese department, and Economics
departments. Usually the students are from at least three departments.
Besides the different department, the composition between male and female students is
not balanced. There is a possibility that there is only one male or female student in the
class. This kind of situation can happen in PCU. The students can choose their own
schedule but the computer system will decide whether they can enter the class which they
register. The computer system makes students unable to predict who their friends will be.
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It is possible that they do not know anyone in the class. Therefore, EAP classes are
heterogeneous classes due to the heterogeneity of their students.
In the EAP class, the students focus on integrated language skills and study skills such as
skimming. There are a lot of language skills and study skills teachers need to cover in
each meeting. As a result, EAP teachers will focus more on those skills due to the time
constraint. They hardly ever raise their learners’ cultural awareness. In fact, “language is
a cultural phenomenon that is best understood and transmitted within the scope of the
culture that shapes it” (Yassine, 2006).
Due to these conditions, folktales can be alternative media that can accommodate not
only the teachers’ needs but also the learners’ needs. EAP teachers can teach both
language and study skills and raise the learners’ cultural awareness, and EAP learners can
learn language in a meaningful context.
Folktales in Language Classroom
Folktales are “rich oral histories grounded in cultural tradition and life experiences”
(Samuel, 2005). Cambridge Dictionary defines folktale as “a story that parents have
passed on to their children through speech over many years.” Folktales comprise fables
and fairy tales. Folktales from one country may have the same story with ones from
another country. Although folktales may appear in different cultures, there are some
common characteristics (Zdybiewska, 2004):
 The events in folktales are structured chronologically.
 The plots of the story are predictable so that it is easy to guess what is coming
next.
 There are typical sets of characters that appear in many tales such as a witch, a
stepmother, cruel sisters, and a prince.
 The language used is simple.
There are some justifications of using folktales in language classrooms:
 Folktales can foster language learning by providing rich and varied content
(Zdybiewska, 2004). Through repetitive languages, they can facilitate learning of
grammatical structures. In many folktales there are series of encounters when the
same language structures are used over and over again. For example in Three
Little Pigs, each pig goes through the same experience and the same dialogue is
repeated three times.
 Folktales contain universal values and plots (Danandjaja, 1984 and Hanlon,
1999). Although each culture has its particular folklore, it is fascinating to
recognize that there are some resemblances among certain folklore in different
societies. “Cinderella” in German folktale and “Bawang Merah Bawang Putih”
in Indonesian folktale share similar themes of a girl who is being mistreated by
her step-mother. Therefore, students can develop their critical thinking by
comparing and contrasting those cultures, events or characteristics in these stories.
 Folktales are enjoyable but meaningful (Kononenko, 1998 and Hanlon, 1999).
They represent human experience, values, and history; thus it can provide both
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entertainment and opportunities for further discussion. Because of its universal
values, similar plots and values, most people find it easy to remember folklore.
These advantages show that the use of folktales can encourage learners to participate
actively in the learning process, develop their critical thinking, and act as a bridge for
arousing cultural awareness among the language learners.
Practical Suggestions
These are some possible activities to incorporate folktales in teaching.
A. Activity 1
Teaching Points : Adjectives and adverbs (Language skill)
Summarizing (Reading skill)
Group discussion (Speaking skill)
EFL level
: Pre-intermediate
Material
: Bawang Merah Bawang Putih
Teaching method : Deductive method
Activities
1. T asks Ss to read the story of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih.
2. T explains how to summarize.
3. Ss write the summary of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih.
4. T explains the theory of adjectives and adverbs.
5. Ss identify the adjectives and adverbs used in the story.
6. Ss make some sentences by using the adjectives and adverbs they have learnt.
7. T asks Ss to discuss the following questions in groups of 3:
a. What would you do if you were Bawang Putih? Justify your answer.
b. What are the values you can learn from the story?
c. Are there similar stories in other countries? Can you identify the
similarities and differences between Bawang Merah Bawang Putih and
that story?
B. Activity 2
Teaching Points
: Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (Language skill)
Narrative writing (Writing skill)
EFL level
: Intermediate
Material
: The Hare and the Tortoise
Teaching method : Inductive method
Activities
1. T tells Ss that they are going to read a passage about a hare and a tortoise.
2. Ss discuss the following questions in groups of 3:
a. What are the characteristics of a good person?
b. What are the values you can learn from the story?
c. Are there similar stories in Indonesia?
3. T asks Ss to identify the sentences that have conjunctions.
4. T explains the use of coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
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5. T asks Ss (in groups) to write on a transparency a short story that has a
value/some values, and use the conjunctions they have learnt.
6. Ss share their story in front of the class.
Conclusion
The use of folktales in language classrooms can be an effective medium to teach
language skills, study skills and cultural values. Therefore, it is highly suggested that
language teachers exploit folktales as a valuable resource of authentic material to teach
language and culture at once.
References
Danandjaja, J. (1984). Folklore Indonesia Ilmu gosip, dongeng, dan lain-lain. Jakarta: PT
Pustaka Utama Grafiti.
Hanlon, T. L (1999). General Guidelines for Teaching with Folk Tales, Fairy Tales,
Fables, Ballads, and Other Short Works of Folklore.
http://www.ferrum.edu/applit/studyg/studygfolk.htm (Last retrieved on November
7, 2007).
Kononenko, N. (1998). Report from the Lectern: Reflections on Over Twenty Years of
Teaching Folklore Courses. Stories for the Young and Old. SEEFA Journal, Vol.III,
No.2. http://www.arts.ualberta.ca/SEEFA/LECTERN.HTM (Last retrieved on
November 19, 2007)
Pulverness, A. (2003). Distinctions & Dichotomies: Culture-free, Culture-bound.
http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/elt/forum/distanddich.htm (Last retrieved on November 15,
2008).
Saluveer, E. (2004). Teaching Culture in English Classes.
http://dspace.utlib.ee/dspace/bitstream/10062/922/5/Saluveer.pdf (Last retrieved on
November 15, 2008).
Samuel, S. (2005). Traditional folktales enter the classroom.
www.shareliteracy.org/images/AfroAmericanarticleaboutRosemount.pdf (Last
retrieved on November 10, 2008).
Storey, J. (1993). An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture.
Hertfordshire: John Storey.
Sysoyev, P. V. & Donelson L. R. (2002). Teaching Cultural Identity through Modern
Language: Discourse as a Marker of an Individual’s Cultural Identity.
http://www.americancouncils.org/JER/archive2/issue4/11.htm (Last retrieved on
November 15, 2008).
Yassine, S. (2006). Culture Issues in FL Teaching Towards the Fostering of Intercultural
Awareness. http://annales.univ-mosta.dz/fr5/yassine.pdf (Last retrieved on
November 12, 2008).
Zdybiewska, M. (2004). How to … use folk tales in classroom.
http://elt.britcoun.org.pl/elt/m_howto.htm (Last retrieved on August 30, 2008)
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Curriculum Vitae
Name
Institution
Educational background
Research interests
Email address
: Henny Putri Saking Wijaya
: Petra Christian University
: MA-ELT from Assumption University of Thailand
: Material development and EFL writing
: hennyputri_t10@yahoo.com
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