Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom

The purpose of this paper was to explore the topic of teaching culture in a Korean university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, and determine its impact in enhancing students language skills. A selfreport questionnaire was administered to two groups of EFL students to assess the effect on their language skill and any change in awareness of their own or English culture. Various pedagogical techniques for teaching culture are presented such as role play, culture capsules, games, drama, and use of authentic materials. The researcher provides some observations on teaching two classes of Korean EFL university students, concentrating on the skill of reading. One class used a textbook, and the other class of more proficient students were assigned to read English literature, including Hemingway short stories. During a survey, both of these classes expressed generally positive responses about learning culture. The study concluded with some implications for the classroom.

Teaching Culture in the Foreign

Language Classroom*

1)

Bokyung Murray**

<Abstract>

The purpose of this paper was to explore the topic of teaching culture in a Korean university English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classroom, and determine its impact in enhancing students' language skills A self-report questionnaire was administered to two groups of EFL students to assess the effect on their language skill and any change in awareness of their own or English culture Various pedagogical techniques for teaching culture are presented such as role play, culture capsules, games, drama, and use of authentic materials The researcher provides some observations on teaching two classes of Korean EFL university students, concentrating on the skill of reading One class used a textbook, and the other class of more proficient students were assigned to read English literature, including Hemingway short stories During a survey, both of these classes expressed generally positive responses about learning culture The study concluded with some implications for the classroom

Key words: Foreign Language and Culture, Learning Culture in an EFL Classroom, Korean

University Students, Techniques for Teaching Culture, Culture Defined

I Introduction

In recent years, there have been many studies by scholars interested in the process

of learning culture in the foreign language classroom (Doganay, et al., 2013; Kuang, 2007; Lavrentera, 2015; Lopez- Roche, 2016; Shemshadsara, 2012; Trang, 2010) However, this recent emphasis on including the teaching of culture in the foreign language learning curriculum was, for many decades, largely ignored (Lopez-Roche, 2016) During the first decades of the 20th century, researchers started to test the

투고일: 2016년 5월6일, 심사일: 2016년 5월25일 ~ 6월20일, 게재확정일: 2016년 6월30일

* This research is supported by Sangmyung University 2016 academic research fund.

** Assistant Professor of Sangmyung University, bokim@smu.ac.kr

possibilities of including cultural studies into the foreign language classroom (Bada, 2005) But it was not until after the mid-1980's that this concept for cultural inclusion

in the language classroom became more universally accepted, with studies by scholars such as Byram (1989), Damien (1987) and Kramsch (1996, 2001) Byram (1989) referred

to culture as the "hidden curriculum", and Damien (1987) suggested that culture learning could be considered as the fifth skill, together with reading, writing, listening and conversation, which needed to be learned by foreign language students It was at this time that writers came to acknowledge that learning a language required both language competence and cultural competence

As Bada (2000) stated, it came to be recognised that the need for culture learning

in foreign language teaching was essential This was because it was evident that most language learners who did not have the opportunity to be exposed to the cultural elements of the target language, seemed to have the most difficulty in making progress in learning how to communicate with native speakers

Lee (2012) considered cultural knowledge to be necessary to enhance students' overall core competency in this globalized world

The purpose of this paper was to explore the concept of teaching culture in a Korean university EFL classroom and to determine its effect on these students' language learning Two groups of students engaged in learning the skill of reading in English participated in this study One group of students was assigned to use a textbook, and the other group used authentic materials such as Hemingway short stories This study sought to answer the following research questions:

1 Did the inclusion of learning culture in the course make any contribution toward improving your reading skills in English?

2 Did the inclusion of learning culture in this course raise your awareness about your own culture and the target language culture?

3 Did your attitude towards the target culture change because of this course?

II What is culture as it applies to foreign language

teaching?

Despite this general agreement among researchers as to the importance and necessity to include culture in language teaching, there has been limited agreement on

a precise definition of the concept of culture This definitional problem is not unusual

in the field of foreign or second language teaching For example, the concept of motivation in language teaching also has strong support among scholars as to its critical importance in enhancing foreign language learning However, finding agreement for its precise nature and how it is operationalized is hard to discover As with the concept of motivation, many scholars have attempted to define culture as it applies to language teaching

In a study done back in 1952, anthropologists examined approximately 154 definitions

of the term culture, but despite these many attempts to explain the concept, a common denominator among them was not found (Kroeber & Kluckhohn, 1952) Since that time, researchers have continued to search for a more precise explanation, including how it applies to foreign language teaching, especially in the work by Professor Kramsch of the University of California

Hofstede (1994), outlined in a diagrammatic form some fundamental components of culture in the human condition:

Culture

Human Nature

Person- ality

specific to individual

inherited and learned

specific to group

[Figure 1] Fundamental Components of Culture (Hofstede, 1994)

Figure 1, makes clear which human characteristics are learned and which are inherited Culture is applicable to a specific group and is learned by members of the group A part of this learning process should include gaining knowledge about various aspects of a target culture in a foreign language classroom setting

In simple terms, Tang (2006) states that "culture is none other than a set of values, beliefs, or worldviews shared by a given people in a given cultural community”(p 89) Tang also asserts that several models of the components of culture have been proposed, such as the Hammerlian model of achievement culture, informational culture, and behavioral culture Another attempt to describe culture in theoretical terms is the framework of the "Three Ps”, perspectives, products and practices However, these attempts to categorize culture into definitive components or identifiable parts are not suitable for use for teaching culture in a foreign language classroom These attempts have achieved no consensus as to whether they are appropriate, all inclusive, or definitive (Tang, 2006) Tang also concludes that language is culture and culture is language, and the two are inextricably intertwined and language cannot be separated completely from its culture

Stern (1992) provides us with a seemingly more conclusive and understandable approach to understanding culture, as it applies to the foreign language classroom Stern suggests that culture teaching includes three primary components First is a cognitive component which relates to various types of knowledge about the target culture, such as its contribution to civilization and an understanding of the values and attitudes of the target language community Second is an affective component which involves a learner's curiosity and empathy for a target language Third is a behavioral component which enhances a learner's ability to correctly interpret culturally related behavior and to conduct themselves in culturally appropriate ways If a learner is provided an opportunity to acquire each of these three components which define cultural learning, it should make a positive contribution to learners' overall achievement in the foreign language classroom

III The process of teaching culture in the foreign language

classroom

There are many textbooks which provide teachers with instructions on how to teach

a foreign or second language However, very few of these resources give any explicit direction on how to include the cultural discourse and behaviors associated with the target language, and the values, beliefs and worldviews of the people who speak that language Doganay et al (2013), assert that culture content or culture-based activities have not been designed and included in language course textbooks effectively enough

to allow students to put target language (TL) communication into practice outside of the classroom

Krasner (1999), claims that the important factors to be considered relating to teaching culture in the foreign language (FL) classroom consist of the following questions:

1 Why teach culture in the FL classroom?

2 What elements of culture should be taught in a FL course?

3 How could culture be incorporated in a FL curriculum?

4 What are the techniques and methods of teaching culture in the FL classroom? (Krasner, 1999, p 79).

Agar (1984), proposes that there are essentially three steps in teaching culture in a language course, Mistake, Awareness and Repair:

Step 1 - Mistake Learners, especially at a beginning level, will make

mistakes in cultural communication with target language speakers.

Step 2 - Awareness The learners need to be able to have an awareness of when these

mistakes and errors are made, and to think about alternatives.

Step 3 - Repair Learners at this step seek to repair and correct cultural interaction

with newly-learned frames of reference.

Agar goes on to suggest, that with this three-step framework in mind, the main goal

of including culture in a language course is to raise a student's awareness from the level of a tourist to the level of a person who is completely familiar with the target culture This is done by helping the learner be aware of his/her cultural mistakes and take effective action to correct these errors The question then is what kind of

pedagogical techniques can the teacher use to effect this outcome.

Chastain (1988) suggested that the following pedagogical techniques could be useful

in conveying cultural values to foreign language learners - role play, readings, films, simulation, games, culture capsules, and cultograms For the purpose of this study, I will discuss the use of readings and literature in the target language, as an effective method of conveying cultural understanding to students engaged in learning English as

a Foreign Language (EFL)

Galloway (1984) recommends that teachers use Convention Clusters to incorporate culture in the classroom A list of these clusters includes:

Street greeting, excusing self, leave taking, forms of address, greeting according to hours of the day, asking or giving direction, expressing respect, thanking, politely inquiring, well wishing, giving or receiving compliments

Galloway also suggests that culture teaching should include the use of physical or facial gestures, and when it is appropriate to touch another person or make eye contact Rules of etiquette are also necessary to be discussed Some other often used methods for teaching culture are:

1 The Mini-Drama - where students are exposed to cultural miscommunications in the form of drama Students must analyse and reveal the cause of the miscommunication.

2 Culture Capsules - where discussion of foreign customs can take place.

3 Use of authentic materials - especially TL newspapers and everyday television news shows can be especially effective Television news can

be used as a basis for discussion or even a presentation by a student.

This type of authentic material can have considerable importance for understanding

TL culture, as it covers a broad range of topics such as way of life, domestic and international politics, economic issues and sports (Galloway, 1984)

Kasner (1999) also suggested that it may also be useful to have students visit ethnic sections and restaurants of a city and interact with and observe cultural behavior of the local residents

However, as Kim (2004) indicates Korean students studying English as a Foreign Language and trying to understand target language culture at the same time, experience certain unique obstacles which apply to studying English This is due to the

dichotomy existing between collectivist and individualistic cultures, which makes it more difficult for these Korean students to understand and assimilate cultural differences into their language learning While no culture or group are entirely collectivist or individualistic, many Asian countries, such as Korea, Japan and China, are primarily collectivist, and most western countries are much more individualistic Kim (2004) outlines these differences in the following table:

Individualism Representative of U S culture Collectivism Representative of Asian Culture

1 Fostering independence and individual

achievement

1 Fostering interdependence and group success

2 Promoting self-expression, individual thinking 2 Promoting adherence to norms, respect

for authority

3 Associated with egalitarian flexibility in roles 3 Associated with stable hierarchical roles,

(gender, family)

4 Students will speak in class in response to a

general invitation

4 Students only speak in class when called upon personally by teacher

5 Face-consciousness 5 Neither the teacher nor any student

should ever be made to lose face

6 Associated with private property, individual

ownership

6 Associated with shared property, group ownership

<Table 1> Salient Features of Collectivism and Individualism

The actual impact of these cultural values on student learning in the foreign language classroom should not be overstated, but it is important to remember that they definitely can play a role when trying to impart target language culture Kim (2004) makes clear that "these fundamental values help form notions of people's right and responsibilities, what roles they may take in societies, norms of communication, and ideas of how to rear and educate their children”(p 4)

IV A Look at My Own EFL Classes

My current teaching schedule includes two EFL classes with an emphasis in the skill

of reading For both classes, I have tried to include culture along with teaching the

language I used two different learning materials for these classes One class used a textbook entitled Skills for Success, Series #3 For the second class, the assigned reading was from three short stories by Ernest Hemingway, Indian Camp, The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife, The End of Something Both of these groups of students were asked to complete a survey consisting of three questions:

1 Did this course make any particular contribution to your reading skill?

2 Did this course help you raise your awareness about your own and the target culture?

3 Did your attitude towards the target culture change because of what you learned in this course?

1 First group of students

The first group consisted of 38 students, 16 males and 22 females These students were in their first year of university and were not English majors, and their ages ranged from 18-20 The reason I chose to use a textbook with these learners was I felt their English proficiency was not high enough that they would benefit from reading English literature itself

The chapters in this textbook were primarily oriented to teaching language and not concerned with the expression or teaching of cultural values In this respect, the textbook was fairly typical of most books used by teachers in the FL classroom However, the book did present certain common situations in the form of culture capsules in some of the lessons Two of these capsules will be discussed here The first capsule presented information on how to conduct oneself during a job interview in the TC In other words, what Koreans applying for a job in the U.S or a U.S company in Korea may need to know during a job interview Many actions are similar with the two cultures, such as showing up on time, wearing appropriate clothing, and being polite But in some instances, interaction can be quite different, such as the appropriate eye contact, the need to promote yourself even to the extent

of bragging about your accomplishments, to feel free to ask the interviewers questions

or even make small talk It is important to know these distinctions as it might help to get a job in this globalized era Student discussions and practice interviews were conducted to reflect some of these differences in participating in job interviews

Another area of comparison was food culture Generally speaking, Americans are not

so concerned about finding balance in food, and many prefer to just eat fast food at any time However, the French and the Asian countries, including Korea, are more interested in achieving food balance For France, this is in the form of eating food from various regions in France consisting of several courses, eaten and enjoyed at a slow pace For Korea and China, food balance is achieved by eating cool and warm dishes together, such as a warm dish like fried rice might be eaten with a cool fruit like watermelon (Ward & Gramer, 2015) I also led discussion as to differences they might find in TC restaurant behavior For example, tipping procedure, methods of getting attention from waiters, pouring of drinks, decisions about who will make payment Korean students may have learned well the appropriate language and linguistic turns to use in a TC restaurant setting But also knowing about these cultural tips would no doubt enhance their experience and make them feel more comfortable

in such a TC setting

Therefore, learning about just these two cultural differences, along with the appropriate linguistic values including syntax and vocabulary, might make it easier for Koreans to get a job and appreciate the dining habits of the target culture This could reduce the chance for cultural shock and help in target culture assimilation

This first group answered positively to the survey questions, in the range of 80 to 90%, except for question 3, where answers to the question as to whether these limited classroom exposures to TC culture changed their attitude towards the TC, were less positive at 63%

2 The second group of students

Participants in the second EFL reading class consisted of 30 Korean university students, 18 females and 12 males All of these students were English majors also engaged in an EFL class in reading The ages of these students ranged from 18 to 27 Some of the assigned reading material for this class consisted of three short stories

by Ernest Hemingway These stories contained many elements of cultural discourse and types of communication which, at first glance, could be difficult to understand for a non-native English speaker At first, students had some difficulty not only with the

linguistic syntax, vocabulary and dialog contained in the pieces, but also with some of the behavioral relationships and interactions between the characters, as the stories went on

The story titled "The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife” contained an element of possible gun violence between two of the characters For Korean students, this was unusual as gun culture in Korea is very different from the U.S., and such a scene would be very unusual This led to a discussion about the two cultures regarding guns and how strongly Americans believe that they had a right to possess guns This belief for Americans came from historical development factors This right to possess guns came as a defense against the British colonizers, and the need for protection against native Indians This gun ownership right was even established in law as the second amendment to the U.S Constitution This insight on gun culture in the U.S was new for most of the students who have a hard time understanding the high level of gun violence in the U.S This story also presented new vocabulary associated with guns, such "shells”, "shotgun”, and "magazines”

Students read each of the stories and made presentations in groups in the class, explaining the meaning, and discussing any problems they had culturally

This second group answered the survey questions at almost 100% positive that the course had improved reading skills About 60% agreed that the class did raise their cultural awareness, and 50% said their attitude toward TC did change

V Conclusion

During the course of researching for this paper it became readily apparent that teaching culture in a FL classroom was neglected for many decades Lopez-Roche (2016) indicates that this became a significant problem because teachers focused extensively on language as communication Also, the context in which that communication occurs was often relegated to second place in the curriculum This resulted in language learners not being given the opportunity to be exposed to cultural elements In addition, students were having considerable difficulty to make themselves understood to native speakers