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Using
Student Native Culture as Content in the EFL Classroom
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In their recent EFL textbook Build
Up Your English , Italian authors Maria Cirelli and Sirio Di Giuliomaria highlight the
duality of English use in Europe and throughout the world today by writing in an
introductory note to their students (translation ours): "To learn a foreign language
today is very important in that it permits entrance into contact with other realities and
other cultures in order to understand their mentality and varied customs.(at the same
time) English is in fact an important lingua franca , that is, a language spread
among native speakers of various languages much as was Latin during the medieval
period."
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Today's world is integrating-due to the closing
of the Cold War and the opening of worldwide trade and media markets-but also showing
signs of persistent culturalism and nationalism. These changes suggest that we examine
whether English is more a vehicle for local and international use-that is a lingua
franca -than a vehicle by which non-native speakers may learn a correspondent Anglo
culture for purposes such as travel or immigration. In fact the existence of a continuum
of uses for English, such as the eight mentioned for English in Singapore by Talib (1992)
suggests reconsideration of the emphasis placed upon teaching an Anglo culture along with
the English language. With English generally being seen as the main lingua franca
for international contact, EFL teachers can expect to see signs of a "global
village" in their classes with students expecting to use English as a vehicle for
their own specific purposes, which may not necessarily include use in a native-speaking
country.
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For these reasons we support use of student
native culture as cultural content in the English language classroom. Further support for
using students' own culture content in English language classrooms comes from schema
theory research. A wide range of studies has shown that using content familiar to
students, rather than unfamiliar content, can influence student comprehension of a second
language (see, for example Anderson and Barnitz 1984, Johnson 1981, Long 1990,
Pearson-Casanave 1984). Research has demonstrated that unfamiliar religious (Carrell
1987), folklore (Johnson 1981), and literary (Winfield and Barnes-Felfeli 1982)
information can impede students' learning of the linguistic information used to convey the
content. Why overburden our students with both new linguistic content and new cultural
information simultaneously? If we can, especially for lower-level students, use familiar
cultural content while teaching English, we can reduce what Winfield and Barnes-Felfeli
call the "processing load" that students experience.
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An additional benefit to students for using
content from their own cultures in studying English can be their increased ability in self
expression, especially when they need to explore their changing identities in a new
linguistic environment. Students may feel that they have "no words" to express
complex culture-based themes such as family systems (Gonzales 1982) and values (Ojaide
1987 and Wierzbicka 1991). English can be a vehicle for expressing such themes.
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Using native culture in the English language
classroom can also enhance student motivation and, further, allow for greater sensitivity
to students' goals in studying the language. Specifically, Huizenga and Thomas-Ruzic
(1993) noted that many European teachers and students were not interested in learning
English for the purpose of integration into British or American culture. For example,
Polish students were more interested in accessing English-language literature now
permitted in their country. For those teaching in an EFL context we must realistically
evaluate who among our students will ever visit or spend extended time in an Anglo
culture. Only once we have identified this proportion of students can we consider their
potential need to learn and/or assimilate Anglo cultural content.
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Let's look now at some activities which we have
used in our classrooms in Japan and Italy which incorporate student native culture as
content. These examples represent a range of shading of cultural content from entirely
student culture to nearly completely Anglo culture. They in turn emphasize our intention
to promote the inclusion of student native culture as content in the English language
classroom as an integral part of an overall balanced curriculum. We by no means intend for
teachers to eliminate all target cultural content. We also recognize that cultural content
is implicit in many languages' syntax, vocabulary and other features. While such intrinsic
cultural flavor cannot and should not be avoided, we propose de-emphasizing additional explicit
target cultural content in English language study.
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1. Collecting "local" English
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Where used? Japan and Italy
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Content type: All native culture
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Students are asked to keep a regular log or
diary in which they record words, phrases, and texts in English which they read or hear in
the course of their everyday activities. The log may include clippings from magazines or
newspapers. Students often find advertisements a common source of English, but often names
of businesses, slogans, and American, and British food brands are recognized. In Japan, by
chance, several students were wearing clothing printed with "local English." We
copied down the texts from their clothes and discussed the source and meaning of what was
written. Some grammatical and lexical errors in the printed English provided plenty of
material for classroom analysis. This activity not only makes students aware of sources of
English in their own cultures but also can lead to discussions of the role of English in
their society. Note: A similar activity was presented by Caparrini (1995) as an
ice-breaking activity for his Spanish students.
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2. Exploring cultural icons
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Content type: All native culture
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Figure 1 shows a simple handout used to allow our Japanese students to
attempt to describe objects unique to Japanese culture. Students are asked to describe the
objects first by answering some simple Wh- questions about the objects such as
"What is it?" and "Where do you use it?" After answering the Wh-
questions, students attempt to provide an English language equivalent for the name of the
object. When we did this activity we found that students were surprised to learn that they
could actually communicate these icons, which they saw as uniquely Japanese, in a
non-native language. They benefited from this activity, learning to use English, and
gaining a bit of cross-cultural awareness.
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3. Guessing game with cultural objects
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Where used? Japan and Italy
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Content type: All native culture
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Each student in the class presents an object
from the native culture which is not found or easily recognized overseas. For instance one
student in Japan brought a portion of a kimono used to support the obi , another
student brought an inkan or ivory stamp used to stamp one's name on documents, and
a third student brought a bamboo whisk used for the Japanese tea ceremony. Italian
students brought various pasta and wine-making implements as well as football club emblems
and unusual toiletry articles. The students presented their objects to the rest of the
class, then formed groups to write descriptions of the objects. Later, teacher and
students played a game using alternating Wh- and Yes/No questions. The game, much
like twenty questions, had the teacher role-play a naive non-local who asked questions to
which the students responded until the function of the object was clear. This activity was
later expanded into a full-scale project in which students wrote articles in English for a
cultural brochure which explained the overall use and role of the objects in the local
culture.
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Where used: Japan and Italy
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Content type: Native culture and U.S.
culture
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We have successfully used this handout in both
cultures ( Figure 2 ). Here
students write in the simple medical remedy corresponding to that which is listed for each
ailment in U.S culture. Then, in groups, students discuss their remedies. Often these
differ on a person-to-person basis even within a single culture. After all, not all
Americans believe in chicken soup for a cold! Students are often quite surprised and
amused by the remedies recommended by their classmates. Students can write a paragraph or
essay about a favorite remedy as a follow-up activity to the oral exercise.
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5. Let's talk about pizza
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Content type: U.S. and Italian culture
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We devised this activity after noting that
Italian pizza was quite distinct both in culinary terms and social terms from pizza we
knew in the United States. Students, individually or in groups, answer the questions
listed about Italian pizza. If they also know some of the information about pizza in the
U.S. (from visits there, media information, or guesses) they fill this part in also ( Figure 3 ). The teacher provides
information about American cultures, where needed. After the sheet has been filled out,
students are asked to write a short comparison-contrast essay on pizza. This activity can
be adapted for other foods exported overseas (perhaps by emigrants) from the countries in
which EFL is being taught.
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6. Talking about public transportation
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Content type: U.S. and Japanese
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This activity was used to help students prepare
to go to the United States for a home stay. Thus, in terms of cultural content, it
represents a stage where students are preparing to experience the Anglo culture associated
with the language they have been learning. Students need to be prepared to use a city bus
system on arrival in the United States. However, before discussing the procedure used in
riding the bus system in the home stay city the class is asked to list the steps in riding
and paying for a ride on a Japanese bus. This is done as a whole class exercise. After
doing this, the teacher uses an eraser to erase those steps not needed when riding an
American bus and then uses a different colored chalk to add those steps additionally
required on an American bus. For example in Japan, we erased a step requiring passengers
to look up at the front of the bus at an ever-changing electronic fee display. We added a
step reminding students the exact change was required on an American bus.
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7. Talking about education
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Content type: Native culture to prepare
for all- U.S. culture
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This activity emerged from the need to use a
reading containing only American cultural content. We needed to introduce some pre-reading
activities which included the students' native culture in order to make the reading more
accessible to them. The final goal of the activity was to read an article from a popular
news magazine on bilingual education in the United States. Three activities prepare
students for attempting this fully non-native cultural content reading. First students
form small groups and interview each other using the chart on Education, Comparison, and
Contrast ( Figure 4 ). In this
way they explore the educational histories of their fellow students. After students have
finished the interviews and discussed the results, each group chooses a flash card on
which is illustrated the educational structure of some country. Their group must cooperate
to write several sentences describing their flash card. Then each group shares their
sentences with the other groups. In the next step American culture is introduced. Students
look at a chart of the American educational system from the ESL Miscellany, and
individually write sentences similar to those written about the flash cards describing the
chart. (See above.) They are then shared with the rest of the class. Here the teacher adds
clarifying information about American culture. Students are asked to write a short essay
for homework comparing some aspect of their own and the American educational system. Only
after this has been completed and discussed are students presented with the reading on
bilingual education in the United States.
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These activities illustrate only a few of the
ways in which we can incorporate student native culture content in EFL classrooms, thus
adding a more culturally sensitive, student-focused flavor to English language teaching in
today's varied English teaching environments.
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Ron
Post is an instructor, curriculum consultant, and teacher trainer based in Rome.
He has been involved in TESOL in the United States, Japan, and Europe since 1983.
Ilyse Rathet has taught English and Science in the United
States, Latin America, and Japan. She currently teaches English and trains English
teachers in Rome and Central Italy. |
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Return
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- Anderson, B. and J. Barnitz. 1984. Cross-cultural schema and reading comprehension
instruction. Journal of Reading, 27, pp. 103-107.
- Caparrini, B. 1995. Labels: Motivation from the very first day. English Teaching Forum,
33, 2, pp. 47-48.
- Carrell, P. 1987. Content and formal schemata in ESL reading. TESOL Quarterly, 21, 3,
pp. 461-480.
- Clark, R., P. Moran, A Burrrows. 1981. The ESL Miscellany. Brattleboro VT: Pro Lingua
Associates.
- Di Giuliomaria, S. and M. Cirelli. 1990. Building up your English. Firenze: La Nuova
Italia Oxford University Press.
- Gonzales, A. 1982. English in the Philippines. In New Englishes, ed. John B. Pride.
Rowley, Mass: Newbury House, Inc., pp. 211-226.
- Huizenga, J. and M. Thomas-Ruzic. 1993. English language teaching and a changing Europe:
Motivational factors. Presented at TESOL 1993 convention, Atlanta, Georgia.
- Johnson, P. 1981. Effects on reading comprehension of language complexity and cultural
background of a text. TESOL Quarterly, 15, 2, pp. 169-181.
- Long, D. 1990. What you don't know can help you: An exploratory study of background
knowledge and second language listening comprehension. SSLA, 12, pp. 65-80.
- Ojaide, T. 1987. My poetry: English language and the African tradition. World Englishes,
6, 2, pp. 165- 167.
- Pearson-Casanave, C. 1984. Communicative pre-reading activities: Schema theory in
action. TESOL Quarterly, 18, 2, pp. 334-336.
- Talib, I. 1992. Why not teach non-native English literature? ELT Journal, 46,1, pp.
51-55.
- Wierzbicka, A. 1991. Japanese key words and core cultural values. Language in Society,
20, pp. 333-385.
- Winfield, F. and P. Barnes-Felfeli, 1982. The effects of familiar and unfamiliar
cultural context on foreign language composition. Modern Language Journal, 66, pp.
373-378.
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Figure 1
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What is it? |
Where do you use it? |
Furin
(wind chime) |
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Ofuro
(bath) |
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Shohi
(sliding paper door) |
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Kotatsu
(heated table) |
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Sensu
(paper fan) |
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Zabuton
(floor pillow) |
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Zabuton
(floor pillow) |
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Tatami
(bamboo floor mat) |
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Getabako
(shoe storage rack) |
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Hashi-oki
(chopstick rack) |
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Inkan
(name stamp) |
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Soroban
(abacus) |
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Figure 2
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What
should you do? |
| What's wrong? |
What should you do? |
What should you do? |
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The United States |
Your Country |
| You have a cold. |
Take aspirin. Drink liquids.
Take vitamin C. Get a lot of rest
Eat chicken soup. |
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| You have the flu. |
Take aspirin. Drink liquids.
Get a lot of rest. Maybe take some other medicines (antibiotics). |
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| You have the hiccups. |
Hold your breath for 10 seconds.
Drink water. Drink water from the back side of a cup. Be scared by someone. |
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| You have a headache. |
Take aspirin. Take a nap or sleep. |
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| You have diarrhea. |
Drink clear liquids (soup, tea).
Eat only bread or crackers. Rest.
Take diarrhea medicine. |
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| You have swelling from an injury. |
Put a cold compress (ice that is
wrapped in a towel) on the injury. |
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| You are constipated. |
Drink prune juice or strong
coffee. Eat wheat bran, or take medicine. |
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| You feel run down. |
Get a lot of rest. Eat healthy foods: fruits
and vegetables, meat, fish. Take some vitamins, especially B and C. |
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Figure 3
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Pizza in Italy and in the United
States:
Your own comparison
Please try to answer the following questions about Pizza in Italy.
Then, we will discuss the answers which describe Pizza in the U.S.
WHO makes it?
WHO eats it?
WHO buys it?
WHAT image comes to mind when you think of pizza?
WHAT ingredients are most commonly used to make pizza?
WHAT toppings are common for pizza?
WHERE is pizza eaten?
WHERE are pizzerias found?
WHERE can one buy pizza?
WHEN is pizza eaten? (time of day, special occasions)
HOW is pizza cooked? (type of oven, time, temperature)
HOW much does pizza cost? Is it expensive? |
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Figure 4
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CP4
Education-comparison and contrast
Please fill in the following table by interviewing people in your group
or class about the following information about their high school. After you have gathered
the data, write down four main conclusions you can reach using the information that you
have gathered. |
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student name |
country |
high school class size |
years in
high school |
public or
private |
classes
taken |
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