TASK 1: Essay
This is an interesting inquiry that makes us think about how a second
language learning process works. In regards this question, the Polish
journalist, author and poet Ryszard Kapuściński (2004) says that:
Cada
una de las lenguas europeas es rica, solo que su riqueza no se manifiesta sino
en la descripciĂłn de su propia cultura, en la representaciĂłn de su propio
mundo. Sin embargo, cuando se intenta entrar en territorio de otra cultura, y
describirla, la lengua desvela sus lĂmites, su subdesarrollo, su impotencia
semántica.
This idea reveals how limited a language is when it is
used to teach culture. In this sense, Claire Kramsch says that “you cannot help
construct culture through a language” (Kramsch, 2013). Thus, the aforementioned
comments state that language cannot be used to teach culture. And, to support
this thesis there are three main aspects people should consider. First of all,
language belongs to culture. Secondly, language takes students into culture and
thirdly, the social and psychological integration of the learner with the
target language suggests that to learn culture students need to learn language
first.
Harmers and Blanc (1989) suggest that language is a
main component of culture along with values, beliefs, customs and norms.
Consequently, it is worthy to mention that language is an important element
that constructs culture. Thus, accepting the idea of teaching culture using
language might bring us into the assumption that through language, culture can
be taught. If this were possible, we would have to accept that language can
build up culture. Idea that is not acceptable as long as it is part of the
culture not the other way around. In this regards, Claire Kramsch says that if
this were possible, we should consider that while teaching culture using
language; a new culture must be built.
All in all, the assumption of teaching culture using
language is not valid because language belongs to culture and it is a
constituent component of it.
Now, another important fact that supports the idea
that using culture people can teach language is that Language does not exist
outside a cultural context. Thus, in order to think as a native speaker,
foreign language learners need to have contact with the given culture. That is
to say, teachers can teach language patterns, vocabulary and grammar but this
does not mean that students are likely to understand how the target culture works.
Therefore, they will not be able to perform well in that culture. Then, using
culture to teach language assure a better understanding of the right use of the
language in real contexts. Otherwise, second language learners would be capable
of creating sentences with no meaning in real contexts.
Finally, Schumann (1978) describes the concept of
acculturation, that helps us clarify the fact that language cannot be used to
teach culture. This terminology is used
to define a process in which people adapt to a new culture. In the frame of
this definition, Pourkalhor, O. & Esfandiari, N. (2017) mentions that this
process requires understanding of the systems of thoughts, beliefs and
traditions of the target culture. Therefore, learners need to understand the
components that build up culture and, since language is one of them, it is
unlikely to think that language has all the elements to teach culture.
To conclude, believing that teaching culture using
language is possible is contradictory since language is a component of culture.
Consequently, to understand a target culture, pupils need, not only to learn language
but to understand other social variables like behaviors, manners rules etc. So,
teaching language using culture becomes a more reasonable statement.
References
Kapuscinsiky,
R. (2000). Ébano (CapĂtulo 29). Barcelona, Editorial Anagrama. Recuperado de: https://books.google.com.co/books?id=juQlk_U8L3kC&pg=PT285&dq=#v=onepage&q&f=false
Kramsch C, (2013). Do we teach language using culture
or do we teach culture using language. Video. Taken from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Gk9A_dnmK8&t=47s
Pourkalhor, O. & Esfandiari, N. (2017). Culture in
Language Learning: Background, Issues and Implications. International Journal
of English Language & Translation Studies. 5(1), 23-32. Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qA5bs9A9eebvrN6s1PsZLLSaIyNQltHW/view?usp=sharing