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UNIVERSITY ,,St.

KLIMENT OHRIDSKI- BITOLA


PEDAGOGICAL FACULTY- BITOLA

Contemporary strategies in teaching English language


SEMINAR PAPER:
Cultural awareness, stereotypes, ethnocentrism and concept
of differences and similarities

Mentor:
Prof. Viktorija Petkovska

Zorica Dinevska
Index nr: 259

CONTENTS:
What is culture?................................................................................................................. 3
Cultural awareness..5
Cultural stereotypes9
Ethnocentrism11
Concept of cultural differences and similarities16
References..22

What is culture?

Culture is a way of life. Culture is the context within which we exist, think, feel,
and relate to others. It is the ,,glue that binds a group of people together. Culture is also
described as a ,,blueprint that guides the behavior of people in a community and is
incubated in family life. It governs our behavior in groups, makes us sensitive to matters
of status, and helps us know what others expect of us and what will happen if we do not
live up to their expectations. Culture helps us to know how far we can go as individuals
and what our responsibility is to the group. Different cultures are the underlying
structures which make Round community round and Square community square.
Culture might be defined as the ideas, customs, skills, arts, tools which
characterize a given group of people in a given period of time. But culture is more than
the sum of its parts. The fact that no society exists without a culture reflects the need for
culture to fulfill certain biological and psychological needs in human beings. The mental
constructs that enable us thus to survive are a way of life which we call ,,culture.
These constructs are infinitely diverse and therefore cultures have widely
differing characteristics. George Peter Murdock cites seven ,, universals of cultural
patterns of behavior: 1. They originate in the human mind; 2. They facilitate human and
environmental interactions; 3. They satisfy basic human needs; 4. They are cumulative
and adjust to changes in external and internal conditions; 5. They tend to form a
consistent structure; 6. They are learned and shared by all the members of a society; 7.
They are transmitted to new generations.
Culture thus establishes for each person a context of cognitive and affective
behavior, a blueprint for personal and social existence. But we tend to perceive reality
strictly within the context of our own culture. Perception, though, is always quite
subjective. Misunderstandings are therefore likely to occur between members of different
cultures. We will probably never be able to answer the question of how perception came
to be shaped in different ways by different cultural groups. But the differences are real,

and we must learn to deal with them in any situation in which two cultures come into
contact.
It is apparent that culture, as ingrained set of behaviors and modes of perception,
becomes highly important in the learning of a second language. A language is a part of a
culture and a culture is a part of a language; the two are interwoven such that one cannot
separate the two without losing the significance of either language or culture.
In a word, culture is deeply ingrained part of the very fiber of our being, but
language- the means for communication among members of a culture- is the most visible
and available expression of that culture. And so a persons world view, self-identity and
systems of thinking, acting, feeling and communicating can be disrupted by a change
from one culture to another.
Culture in the broad sense has two major components. One is anthropological or
sociological culture: the attitudes, customs and daily activities of a people, their ways of
thinking, their values, their frames of reference. Since language is a direct manifestation
of this phase of culture, a society cannot be totally understood or appreciated without a
knowledge of its language. The other component of culture is the history of civilization.
Traditionally representing the ,,culture element in foreign-language teaching, it includes
geography, history and achievements in the sciences, the social sciences and the arts. The
second component forms the framework for the first: it represents the heritage of a people
and as such must be appreciated by the students who wish to understand the new target
culture, and isnt just a list of holidays or shared recipes, religious traditions, or language;
it is a lived experience unique to each individual.
Culture can also be perceived as the big C of material culture and the smaller c of
shared behaviors. The outer world of material culture includes the artifacts or products of
a particular group: dress, cuisine, buildings , art and all those things that lure people to
travel. The behavioral aspects are equally interesting and in many ways far more
challenging. Culture in this sense can then be defined as ,, the way in which a group of
people solves problems and reconciles dilemmas.
There are some terms related with culture: cultural awareness, stereotypes,
ethnocentrism, and cultural differences and similarities. In this paper we will elaborate
some aspects of them or scratch the surface and look underneath.

Cultural awareness
In learning foreign language there should be lessons about culture, but some
teachers are hardly aware of the necessity of cultural orientation. Communication is seen
as the application of grammatical rules in oral and written practice. In some case, learning
about the target culture is taken as a threat to the native values, and the importance of
linguistically relevant information is neglected. Since having a close contact with the
target culture and its speakers is a rare opportunity for all language learners in the
country, learners cannot appreciate the importance of learning the cultural aspects of
communication unless they visit a foreign country and experience the difficulties. Nonverbal aspects of target culture are sometimes picked up from TV serials, which are far
from being helpful for communicative purposes or which may sometimes impart faulty
conceptions.
It should not be forgotten that if the learning of the cultural aspects were
necessary for the learners survival abroad, the problem could be minimized; but when
the person faces problems in the comprehension, interpretation, translation and
production of written and oral texts, either as a learner or as a professional, the problem
gets even more serious. That is to say, an analytic look at the native culture is important
as the learning of the target culture. On the other hand, problems that arise from the lack
of cross- cultural awareness are not limited to the verbal side of communication. The fact
that culture-bound hand-signals, mimics and another ways of behavior can also cause
miscommunication is neglected.
By teaching the language, we are automatically teaching culture. The forms of
address, greetings, formulas and other utterances found in the dialogues or models our
students hear and the allusions to aspects of culture found in the reading represent
cultural knowledge. Gestures, body movements and distances maintained by speakers
should foster cultural insights. Students intellectual curiosity is aroused and satisfied
when they learn that there exists another mode of expression to talk about feelings, wants,
needs and when they read the literature of the foreign country. For depth of cultural

understanding it is necessary to see how such patterns function in relation to each other
and to appreciate their place within the cultural system. If language learners are to
communicate at a personal level with individuals from other cultural backgrounds, they
will need not only to understand the cultural influences at work in the behavior of others,
but also to recognize the profound influence patterns of their own culture exert over their
thoughts, their activities and their forms of linguistic expression.
The culture of people refers to all aspects of shared life in the community. A
language is learned and used within a context, drawing from the culture distinctive
meanings and functions which must be assimilated by language learners if they are to
control the language as native speakers control it. The relationship between language and
culture is widely recognized, communicative behavior and cultural systems are
interrelated, as there is relation between the form and content of a language and the
beliefs, values and needs present in the culture of its speakers.
Teachers task is to make students aware of cultural differences, not pass value
judgments on these differences. Students learning a foreign language have to assimilate
many new categorizations and codifications if they are to understand and speak the
language as its native speakers do. This does not mean that the native language of the
students could not have established such distinctions for them. All languages which have
been closely studied seem too possess the potentiality for expressing all kinds of ideas
and making all kinds of distinctions. Learners should be exposed to these distinctions as
much as possible in the foreign language teaching classrooms. Therefore, the reasons for
familiarizing learners with the cultural components should be to:

Develop the communicative skills;

Understand the linguistic and behavioral patterns both of the target and the
native culture at a more conscious level;

Develop intercultural and international understanding;

Adopt a wider perspective in the perception of the reality;

Make teaching sessions more enjoyable to develop an awareness of the potential


mistakes that might come up in comprehension, interpretation and translation
and communication.

While developing cultural awareness, it should be kept in mind that the native
language is learned along with the ways and attitudes of the social group, and these ways
and attitudes find expression through the social group. Learning to understand a foreign
culture should help students of another language to use words and expressions more
skillfully and authentically; to understand levels of language and situations appropriate;
to act naturally with persons of the other culture, while recognizing and accepting their
different reactions, and to help speakers of other tongues feel at home in the students
own culture.
As students progress through a foreign language program, it is expected that they
will increase their awareness of the culture or cultures characteristic of the speakers of the
language under study. This broadened awareness may touch on all aspects of culture: the
peoples way of life as well as the geographic, historical, economic, artistic and scientific
aspects of the target culture. Contributions of the target culture includes awareness of the
contributions to world civilization in general and to the history of the students home
country, where appropriate, which the learner must comprehend.
In order to encourage cultural awareness, the students must be encouraged to
explore and share their unique culture and heritage. That can be done in several ways,
such as:

Autobiographical writing assignments

Oral presentations on students native countries

Participating in a school talent show to showcase culturally unique skills

Comparing and contrasting holidays in different countries, perhaps


through classroom or school-wide celebrations

Organizing students to provide peer tutoring to other students studying


their native languages

Discussing current events from a multicultural viewpoint

Organizing a cultural bazaar to share students cultures with the larger


school community

While most learners indeed find positive benefits in cross-cultural living on


learning experiences, nevertheless a number of people experience certain psychological

blocks and other inhibiting effects of the second culture. Teachers can help students to
turn such an experience into one of increased cultural and self-awareness. It is possible
that learners can feel alienation in the process of learning a foreign language, alienation
from people in their home culture, the target culture and from themselves. In teaching
foreign language we need to be sensitive to the fragility of students by using techniques
that promote cultural understanding.
It is suggested that students should be able to demonstrate that they have acquired
certain understandings, abilities and attitudes while they are taught culture:

That they understand that people act the way they do because they are

using options the society allows for satisfying basic physical and psychological needs;

That they understand that social variables as sex, social class and place of

residence affect the way people speak and behave;

That they can demonstrate how people conventionally act in the most

common situation and crisis situations in the target culture;

That they are aware that culturally conditioned images are associated with

even most common target words and phrases;

That they have developed the skills needed to locate and organize

material about the target culture from the library, mass media and personal observation;

That they possess intellectual curiosity about the target culture and toward

its people;
In other words, developing cultural awareness in the classroom is important in a
way that we help students distinguish between the cultural norms, beliefs or habits of the
majority within the speech community and the individual or group deviations from some
of these norms. Students should be enabled to discuss their native culture with their
foreign-speaking friends at the same time that they are provided with a real experiential
content. What we are after is the development of an awareness of sociocultural and
sociolinguistic differences that might exist between the students first language and the
target language. Such awareness often help explain to both teachers and students why
sometimes there is unintended pragmatic failure and breakdown in communication. If we
are aware of it, it might be easier to find the appropriate remedy. Smith advocates that
studying English does not change ones identity. Students ethnic, religious and political
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backgrounds should remain the same. Students will certainly want to use English well
and be acknowledged as doing so, but this does not require them to attempt a change in
their identity. There is no need to become more American or British in order to use
English well. Ones morals or dedication to family traditions need not change at all.

Cultural stereotypes

Very often we picture other cultures in an oversimplified manner, lumping


cultural differences into exaggerated categories, and then we view every person in a
culture as possessing corresponding stereotypical traits. Thus American are all rich,
informal, materialistic, and overly friendly. Italians are passionate and demonstrative. The
British are reserved, polite, and drink tea. Germans are stubborn, industrious, methodical,
and drink beer. Orientals are reserved, wise, cunning and inscrutable.
We must answer the question how do stereotypes form. Our thinking about culture
shapes our world view in such way that reality is thought to be objectively perceived
through our own cultural pattern, and a different perception is seen as either false or
strange and is thus oversimplified. If people recognize and understand differing world
views, they will usually adopt a positive and open-minded attitude toward cross-cultural
differences. A closed-minded view of such differences often results in the maintenance of
a stereotype- an oversimplification and blanket assumption. A stereotype is a category
that singles out an individual as sharing assumed characteristic on the basis of his or her
group membership. The stereotype may be accurate in depicting the ,,typical member of
a culture, but it is inaccurate for describing a particular person, simply because every
person is a unique individual and all of persons behavioral characteristics cannot be
accurately predicted on the basis of cultural norms.
Another question that should be answered about cultural stereotypes is- are
they ,,bad? And the answer is not necessarily, if a person recognizes positive effects of

stereotyping. All human beings organize the environment by means of systematic and
meaningful storage. Having developed one particular world view- one set of tools for
storing experiences and for reacting to others in our culture- we place different world
views into categories for meaningful understanding. Since one person is not an integral
part of another world view, that other world view is simplified. Sometimes these
perceptions are accurate. To say that Americans think of distances in relatively broad
categories (60 miles is an easy jaunt) and that the French view distances in narrower
categories (60 miles, or 100 kilometers, is a considerable travel distance) is reasonably
accurate. So the cautious accumulation of stereotyped images can help a person to
understand another culture in general and the differences between that culture and his or
her own.
But there are obvious negative connotations of stereotyping. One is the idea that
all persons in a culture fit neatly into a group of rigid categories. Clearly not all
Americans are rich, friendly, and materialistic, even tough that may be a fairly accurate
stereotype of an American in general. And to judge a single member of a culture by
overall traits of the culture is both to prejudge and to misjudge that person. The most
destructive aspect of stereotyping is that people are valued and prized from different
cultures.
False stereotyping is another negative aspect of cultural stereotyping. Sometimes
our oversimplified concepts of members of another culture are downright false.
Americans sometimes think of Japanese as being unfriendly because of their cultural
norms of respect and politeness. The false view that members of another culture are
,,dirty or ,,smelly- with verbal and nonverbal messages conveying that view-in fact
usually stems merely from different customs of so-called cleanliness. Muriel SavilleTroike notes that ,,middle-class whites may objectively note that the lower
socioeconomic classes frequently lack proper bathing facilities or changes of clothing,
but may be surprised to discover that a common stereotype blacks hold of whites is that
they smell like dogs coming in out of the rain.
Stereotyping is connected with some type of attitudes toward the culture or
language in question. Attitudes, develop early in childhood and are the result of parents
and peers attitudes, contact with people who are ,,different in any number of ways, and

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interacting affective factors in the human experience. These attitudes form a part of ones
perception of self, of others, and of the culture in which one is living.
Second language learners benefit from positive attitudes and that negative
attitudes may lead to decreased motivation and in all likelihood, because of the decreased
input and interaction, to unsuccessful attainment of proficiency. Yet the teacher needs to
be aware that everyone has both positive and negative attitudes. The negative attitudes
can be changed, often by exposure to reality- for example, by encounters with actual
persons from other culture. Negative attitudes usually emerge from false stereotyping.
According to Gadamer we live in tension between the familiar, that brings us
comfort and the strange, that brings us feelings of disorientation. When we break out of
our comfort zones, we are able to engage in true comprehension involving new
perspectives, new horizons. On the other hand, to use stereotypes to deal with the strange
is to remain fixated on the familiar and to close ourselves off from change.

Ethnocentrism

Ethnocentrism leads us to make false assumption about cultural differences. We


are ethnocentric when we use our cultural norms to make generalizations about other
peoples cultures and customs. Such generalizations often made without a conscious
awareness that weve used our culture as a universal yardstick can be way off base and
cause us to misjudge other people. Ethnocentrism can lead to cultural misinterpretation
and it often distorts communication between human beings.
The term comes from the Greek root ethnos, meaning a people or group. Thus, it
refers to the fact that our outlook of world view is centered on our own way of life.
Ethnocentrism leads us to make premature judgments.
,,They may not be very good at what we are best at.

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By evaluating ,,them by what we are best at, we miss the many other aspects of
life that they often handle more competently than we do.
Here are some very simple examples of ethnocentric thinking:
We often talk about British drivers driving ,,on the wrong side,, of the road. Why
not just say ,,opposite side,, or even ,,left hand side,,?
We talk about written Hebrew as reading ,,backward. Why not just say ,,from
right to left,, or ,,in the opposite direction from English,,
Ethnocentrism is the belief that ones own patterns of behavior are the best: the
most nature, beautiful, right, or important. Therefore, other people, to the extent that they
live differently, live by standards that are inhuman, irrational, unnatural, or wrong.
An attitude that ones own culture, society, or group is superior to all others is
negative attitude. Judging other cultures by your own cultural standards only by their
differentness doesnt mean that they are inferior. Ethnocentrism means an inability to
appreciate others whose culture may include a different racial group, ethnic group,
religion, morality, language, political system, economic system etc. It also means an
inability to see a common humanity and human condition facing all women and men in
all cultures and societies beneath the surface variations in social and cultural traditions.
Ethnocentrism can be understood as the disposition to read the rest of the world,
those of different cultural traditions, from the point of view of ones own ethnic group.
The ethnocentric attitude assumes that ones own ethnic world view is the only one from
which other customs, practices, and habits can be understood and judged. The notion of
ethnocentrism is conceived as a profound failure to understand other conceptual schemes.
Standing inside our own conceptual schemes, we are blinded even to the possibilities of
other ways of thinking, seeing, understanding, and interpreting the world of being and
belonging- in short other ways of world making.
There are a lot of definitions about ethnocentrism, but in fact ethnocentrism is a
claim about superiority of ones own culture or ethnic standing, it is the way all people
feel about themselves as compared to outsiders. There is no one in our society who is not
ethnocentric to some degree, no matter how liberal and open minded claims to be. People
will always find some aspect of another culture distasteful, a way of treating friends or
relatives, or simply food that they cannot manage to get down with a smile. This is not

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something that we should be ashamed of, because it is a natural outcome of growing up


in any society.
Ethnocentrism in language can be found in the origin of the English term
barbarian. It is originally Greek word, and it was used to refer to tribes that lived around
the edge of ancient Greek society. The Greeks referred to these people as barbars because
they could not understand their speech. Bar-bar was the Greek word for the sound a dog
makes. So, as a classic example of ethnocentrism, they considered that those whose
speech they couldnt understand is on the same level as dogs, which also could not be
understood. Such people didnt have the status of human being.
Food preferences are perhaps the most familiar aspect of ethnocentrism. Every
culture has developed preferences for certain kinds of food and drink, and equally strong
attitudes toward others. It is interesting to note that much of this ethnocentrism is in our
own heads and not in our tongues, for something can taste delicious until we are told
what it is.
Ethnocentrism is a universal human reaction found in all known societies, in all
groups and in practically all individuals. Everyone learns ethnocentrism while growing
up. The possessiveness of the small child quickly translates ,,into my toys are better than
yours. Much of the learning of ethnocentrism is indirect and unintended, but some of it
is deliberate. History, for example, is often taught to glorify the achievements of ones
own nation, and religious, civic and other groups disparage their competitors openly.
Once one becomes conscious of ethnocentrism, the temptation is strong to
evaluate it in moral terms; to label it with epithets as chauvinistic, and to imply that one
who has not discovered and compensated for his or her ethnocentric biases is not worthy.
This is also ethnocentric. The important point, is that ethnocentrism is one of the features
of culture and like the rest of culture, it needs to be evaluated in terms of its contribution
to the maintenance of social order and the promotion of social change.
Another view of ethnocentrism is that it is a basic expressing the belief that ones
own ethnic group or ones own culture is superior to other ethnic groups or cultures, and
that ones cultural standards can be applied in a universal manner. The term was first used
by the American sociologist William Graham Sumner to describe the view that ones own
culture can be considered central, while other cultures or religious traditions are reduced

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to a less prominent role. Ethnocentrism is closely related to other attitudinal indicators for
racism, xenophobia, prejudice, mental closure, and more generally an authoritarian
personality structure.
Although ethnocentrism is closely related to racism, it can be distinguished from
racism because it does not involve necessarily a negative vision toward other nations.
Any culturally distinct outsider group (whether the distinction involves language religion,
color) can be targeted by ethnocentric attitudes. In practice, European researchers often
tend to avoid using the term racism because they are reluctant to apply the concept of
race to human beings. In a U.S. context, the use of the term racism is not considered a
problem. Given the fact that ethnocentrism is such a powerful attitude and is associated
strongly with various behavioral patterns, ethnocentrism measurements are routinely
included in almost all major survey projects. Ethnocentrism leads to in-group favoritism
with regard to contact and cooperation, and accompanies outsider-group hostility,
sometimes even leading to intergroup conflict, violence, or support for discriminatory
behavior.
Various explanations have been suggested for ethnocentrism. Social identity
approaches assume that ethnocentrism is the result of a strong identification with the ingroup of the actor, which almost automatically leads to negative feelings toward and
stereotyping of members of the out-group. Because some personality types are more
clearly dependent on this strong form of group identification, these personality types are
also more vulnerable to adopting ethnocentric prejudice. Social scientists speculate that a
lack of real-life contact with members of outsider groups might enhance stereotyping, as
the outsider group can be seen as homogeneous, but the empirical evidence about the
allegedly beneficial effects of contact tends to be mixed.
Some surveys reveal strong individual- level determinants of ethnocentrism: for
example, high education levels effectively reduce ethnocentrism, and in general, men are
more willing to express ethnocentrism than women. It is believed that people with fewer
individual resources (lower economic status, cognitive ability, or self-esteem) are more
dependent on in-group confirmation of their identity, thus strengthening prejudice toward
members of outsider groups. There is no consensus, however, on the impact of religion
on ethnocentrism. Several authors have argued that this relation can be considered as

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curvilinear, with the highest ethnocentrism levels among believers that are only
marginally connected to organized religion. Ethnocentrism is also clearly associated with
distrust and with authoritarian and right-wing ideologies, and is the single most powerful
determinant of extreme-right voting behavior.
Ethnocentrism has two major components that are closely related but steel can be
distinguished. Cultural ethnocentrism finds its origin in the belief that ones own cultural
norms and attitudes are superior to the cultures of other societies or groups. Cultural
ethnocentrists believe that this cultural order is threatened by the arrival of new groups
(with their own cultural norms) to the territory that is claimed as their own. Cultural
ethnocentrism often expresses itself in a symbolic manner, for instance, in disagreements
about the public presence of cultural markers of identity such as clothing, religious
symbols, or other visible elements of minority cultures. Economic ethnocentrism can
express itself in discriminatory measures on the labor market, and in boycotts or other
consumer actions expressing a clear preference for goods and services associated with
ones own culture.
Some researchers have also distinguished between explicit and implicit
ethnocentrism. In the explicit condition, respondents are willing to express negative
stereotypes toward outsider groups; the implicit condition is characterized by an
inhibition to express these sentiments despite the fact that other responses clearly indicate
that the respondent is unwilling to grant the same rights and legal protections to members
of outsider groups. Implicit ethnocentrism can lead to calls for segregation with regard to
education, housing, or cultural participation, or to a negative attitude toward affirmative
action.
Although throughout the world, various government agencies and education
systems have developed social and legal strategies to reduce ethnocentrism, thus far no
universally successful strategies have been documented. Avoiding stereotyping seems to
be a necessary prerequisite, and mass media and other socialization agents clearly play an
important role in this respect.
The opposite of ethnocentrism is xenocentrism which means preferring ideas and
things from other cultures over ideas and things from your own culture. At the heart of
xenocentrism is an assumption that other cultures are superior to your own.

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Concept of cultural differences and similarities

Before learning about culture, students must be receptive to the concept of


learning about cultures other than their own. To achieve culture goals, often teacher has
to play a role in breaking down cultural barriers prior to initiating teaching-learning
activities. One way to begin teaching culture on a positive note is to emphasize
similarities between people. Such a beginning should be followed by a discussion of
differences between members of students family, between families, between schools and
between culture. While teaching a culture specific topic first language equivalent can also
be given in order to enhance learning. The use of culture-based activities abundantly in
the classroom help learners be familiar with the target culture. The activities in the
materials should involve the cultural values of the target language designed for every
level.
A cultural series usually begins at the elementary stage with discussions of the
daily life of the peer group in the other language community-their families, their living
conditions, their schools, their relations with their friends, their leisure-time activities, the
festivals they celebrate, the ceremonies they go through, dating and marriage customs.
At higher levels attention may be drawn to geographical factors and their
influence on daily living, major historical periods, how the society is organized,
production, transport, buying and selling, aspects of city and country life, the history of
art, music, dance and so on.
Some of these topics can be presented to show the similarities and the differences
between the speakers of the native language and the learners of the foreign language:
Climate
Clothing
Crime
Eating
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Education
Family life
Geography
History
Holidays
Humor
Language
Meeting people
Money
Pets
Population
Religion
Sports
Transportation
Vacation
Nonverbal communication
In doing these activities, the aim is to increase students awareness and to develop their
curiosity towards the target culture and their own, helping them to make comparisons
among cultures. The comparisons are not meant to underestimate any of the cultures
being analyzed, but to enrich students experience and to make them aware that although
some culture elements are being globalized, there is steel diversity among cultures.
A useful starting point to applying cultural awareness to language learning is to
recognize that we carry our own cultural values to any learning. Our encounters will be
based on our ,,shared set of practices associated with a shared set of products, based upon
a shared set of perspectives on the world and set within specific social contexts
(Morgan). When we learn new language we will find language items which function
differently in social context. The contexts are contrasts between our own and others
perspectives can be challenging and lead to questioning which cultures have better basis
for learning.

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One goal of many foreign language classes is to sensitize the students to the
existence of differences in daily life patterns between the target culture and the native
culture.
Students learning a new language learn that the target culture and the native
culture do not always have identical values and attitudes. At first, students are made
aware of the existence of these differences. Then, an effort is made to develop an
understanding of these new values. Many facets of daily life are organized differently in
another culture. In the foreign language course, the students should learn how to interpret
unfamiliar cultural conventions and realia. This understanding will help those studnts
who travel to the foreign country to function more easily. Even students who are unable
to travel will be able to understand foreign films and magazines. Very often the foreign
culture has a different way of indicating dates and times. Meals may be served at
different hours, and foods may be served in different combinations or at unexpected times
of day. Driving codes and streets signs may be different in the foreign country.
Cultural difference is an extremely complex and sometimes highly personal and
emotive subject. Thinking about differences is not just about ,them. It is also about ,us.
It touches the very essence of who ,we are, the core of our own identity. When educators
bring this issue into their classrooms, they can easily create many problems as they solve.
If the teaching and learning objective is to encourage a positive, constructive and
optimistic approach to differences, here are some general dos and donts:

Do start with positives, such as the benefits of cultural difference.

Dont start with negatives, such as racism or prejudice. These imply a kind of
accusation an approach unlikely to change attitudes.

Do start by discussing the range of possible attitudes to cultural difference,


without allowing students to align themselves personally. Then in a somewhat
more detached way, they can then work through the consequences of different
attitudes

Dont start by having students voice their attitudes to cultural differences. This
might be the first time they have been asked to voice their feelings on this subject
in a formal or public way, and once they have voiced them they will feel that they

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have to remain committed to them. You will fix in place and simplify views that
are probably more complex and fluid.

Do emphasise social cohesion: the way differences can complement and benefit
each other. Focus on shared and core values, such as respect, acceptance,
generosity and freedom.

Dont overemphasise ethnic color.

Do talk about everybodys differences. Teaching about cultural difference must be


inclusive of all students, at all times.

Dont single out particular groups, such as ethnic groups.

Do link the question of cultural difference to the main themes of the curriculum:
literature, history, political studies

Dont let it seem that talking about difference is an afterthought, an add-on the
curriculum.

Do talk in a such a way that difference means all of us: who we are compared to
others, and how we relate to others in our local and global environments. When
we look very closely at all the parts of our identities, we are all minorities, and we
all deserve to be part of the mainstream. Teachers need to build on every students
self-interest and the benefits to all, in making the most of our differences.

Dont give the impression that the reason you are discussing differences is so that
the mainstream or the majority will feel better about minorities.

Do deal with the facts and the practical skills and attitudes we need to succeed in
a future of local and global cultural diversity.

Dont be moralistic. There is no point in accusing people of having bad attitudes,


or even implying that they do.

Do start with words that students relate to, such as differences, acceptance,
respect and freedom. This is the beginning of discussion about why schools
and governments have policies on diversity and multiculturalism.

Dont be heavy handed with difficult authority words, such as multiculturalism,


tolerance and diversity.

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Differences between people within any given nation or culture are much greater
than differences between groups. Education, social standing, religion, personality, belief
structure, past experience, affection shown in the home, and a myriad of other factors will
affect human behavior and culture.
Sure there are differences in approach as to what is considered polite and
appropriate behavior both on and off the job. In some cultures "yes" means, "I hear you"
more than "I agree." Length of pleasantries and greetings before getting down to
business; level of tolerance for being around someone speaking a foreign (notunderstood) language; politeness measured in terms of gallantry or etiquette (e.g.,
standing up for a woman who approaches a table, yielding a seat on the bus to an older
person, etc.); and manner of expected dress are all examples of possible cultural
differences and traditions.
There are cultural and ideological differences and it is good to have an
understanding about a culture's customs and ways. Aaron Pun, a Canadian ODCnet
correspondent, wrote: "In studying cross cultural differences, we are not looking at
individuals but a comparison of one ethnic group against others. Hence, we are
comparing two bell curves and generalization cannot be avoided." Another correspondent
explained the human need to categorize. True and true, but the danger comes when we act
on some of these generalizations, especially when they are based on faulty observation.
Acting on generalizations about such matters as eye contact, personal space, touch, and
interest in participation can have serious negative consequences.
Much of the differences in culture have to do with food preparation, music, and
what each culture considers politeness. Food preparation, for instance, can be quite
different in various cultures. Often, observations on cultural differences are based on our
own weakness and reflect our inability to connect with that culture.
As we interact with others of different cultures, there is no good substitute for
receptiveness to interpersonal feedback, good observation skills, effective questions, and
some horse sense. There is much to be gained by observing how people of the same
culture interact with each other. Don't be afraid to ask questions as most people respond
very positively to inquiries about their culture. Ask a variety of people so you can get a
balanced view.

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Making a genuine effort to find the positive historical, literary, and cultural
contributions of a society; learning a few polite expressions in another person's language;
and showing appreciation for the food and music of another culture can have especially
positive effects.
The contention, then, is not that there are no cultural differences. These differences
between cultures and peoples are real and can add richness (and humor) to the fabric of
life. The assertion is that people everywhere have much in common, such as a need for
affiliation and love, participation, and contribution. When the exterior is peeled off, there
are not so many differences after all.

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REFERENCES
BROWN, H.D. 1994. "Principles of Language learning and Teaching". The USA:
Prentice Hall Regents
VALETTE, M.R. 1977. "Modern Language Testing". Second Edition. Harcourt Brace
Jovanovich, Inc.

INTERNET SOURCES
http://iteslj.org/Articles/Rees-Stereotypes.html
http://www.webref.org/sociology/E/ethnocentrism.htm
http://home.snu.edu/~HCULBERT/ethno.htm
http://science.jrank.org/pages/9234/Ethnocentrism-Definition.html
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-ethnocentrism.htm
http://www.sociologyguide.com/basic-concepts/Ethnocentrism.php
www.associatedcontent.com/article/1852797/teaching cultural awareness understanding
pg2.html?cat=4
tojde.anadolu.edu.tr/tojde23/pdf/article_12.pdf
http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-b/sociology/18966-ethno
www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/.../dos.pdf
www.stephenjhall.com/.../Look%20question%20and%20listen
%20culture%20Bangkok%2004...

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