some approaches for teaching culture in classroom

Some Approaches for Teaching Culture in Classroom

Dr Mohamed Abdelrahim,

My student once said in a speaking session“Imagine that you are reborn in an Arab country, relearning the world again through new, different eyes. You need to approach Arabic with a clean slate, as if you’re learning Arabic as your first language.

Since the start of sound and script, I felt like I was reliving my childhood once again, by learning the world around me through a different culture, a different perspective.”

Introduction

Culture is a complex concept and has different meanings in different disciplines. In foreign languages teaching culture revolves around the following elements (Brooks, Nelson,1968):

Symbolism,values,authority,order,ceremony,honor,love, humor, beauty, sprit

Culture in this PP includes songs, poetry , idioms, figurative expressions ,music, jokes, caricatures , sports and hobbies, musical instruments, costumes , customs, traditions, hospitality etc.

Reasons for Teaching Culture

In learning TL, words count less than what they mean. The meaning of a word is a segment of personal or societal life to which it refers(Brooks, Nelson,1968).

There are meanings that are not captured by skills, grammar or lexicon because there is a cultural meaning that needs to be understood.

Possible strategies for Teaching Culture

Encourage the development of materials targeted for teaching culture and also test materials to measure students’ progress in that cultural areas.

Provide materials showing how life looks in other places. Writings of foreign authors in this area can be motivating and have aesthetic and humanistic appeal refers(Brooks, Nelson,1968).


Teach Students idiomatic and figurative expressions i.e. such as collocations,euphemism,hyperboles, metaphors which mirror life or societal experiences in TL area.

Comparing and contrasting idiomatic expressions – Apart from being very informative about the two cultures, proverbs can lead to a discussion about stereotypes or values represented in the proverbs of both cultures. Furthermore idioms form a significant part of language and knowing them is a plus for every learner.


Use role plays – They especially help students in making the change in perception from their own culture, which can become a extraordinary one and is looked at from the outdoor, and the target culture, which becomes more familiar. In the process, students practice speaking and using language in unpredictable situations.

Provide listening materials which give an idea about certain cultural feature such as musical instrument, famous singer, author, scholar or a popular sports such as falconry , wedding tradition etc etc to create a sense of curiosity to learn about this and challenge students to search and know more about that.


Let student listen to a song, piece of music , poetry , and ask them to figure out the source of that material. According to authorities ,the use of a song allows the teacher to combine conscious and unconscious processes to involve all the students no matter their type of intelligence(Gardner,H,Formaie-2015)

Present a caricature that carries with it a certain element of the ones mentioned. Challenge students to translate it and extract the cultural references therein embedded.


Provide students with authentic materials – Watching films, news broadcasts or TV shows can provide students with ample information about non-verbal behavior, such as the use of personal space, eye contact or gestures(MILENA VIALIVIDONIC-2013)

Activity examples-Idioms

ران لفترة ربما تراجعت التغطية االعالمية لكارثة سقوط الطائرة التابعة لشركة مصر للطي

سبب ما حدث لمعرفة على قدم وساق وجيزة لكن ال يزال التحقيق يجري

Classify the figurative expression underlined.)للرحلة

Give a close translation of a similar one in English

Students will likely respond as : Collocation- will give an arm and leg to this matter, in full swing

Activity examples-Caricature

1.What do you know about alharaka alshabia and the challenges it faces?

What are the values this caricature symbolizes? Work in pair to get information associated with the history of Alharaka Alshabia

Give synonyms for the word االنشقاقات

Activity examples-Songs

Listen to the song, identify the singer, instrument used and work with your classmate to tell about its history and some of the Arab countries countries using it.

Identify three imperatives and use them in sentences.

Search about the composer of this song and write a summary about his/her artistic history

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHfCu3qLvzA&list=RDhHfCu3qLvzA

Idioms mirrors culture

Idioms is an offshoot of peoples’ culture involving matters such customs,

religion, life style , history…etc. These corresponding cultural settings need to be

observed when translating idioms from English to Arabic keeping in mind the

differences in patterns of thinking across cultures.

Cultures have different rhetorical devices and each culture expresses these

devices differently. The language is more than an abstract conveyor of

information. It mirrors social life as well. It is not a universal means of

communication. It is a means of communication within a particular culture. See

this example about rainbow colors in three languages:

We need to encourage learning and teaching idiomatic Translation-Common

The absent party is not faulty - عذره معهالغايب

Actions speak louder than words - العبرة باألعمال وليست باألقوال

Add fuel to the fire - يزيد الطين بلة

Address people in the language they can understand - خاطب الناس على قدر عقولهم

Advice is ever in want - ال خاب من استشار

After black clouds, clear weather - مفتاح الفرجوتهون،الصبركل شدة

We need to encourage learning and teaching idiomatic Translation-

2.(A)Idioms where the meaning can be readily guessed.

Idiom Literal transfer better translation

On pins and needless على االبر والدبابيس على احرمن الجمر

From hands to mouth من اليد الى الفم يعيش على الكفاف

Looking for a needle in haystack

عن ابرة في كومة يبحثمن القش

جهد ال طائل تحته

3.(a) Culture specific idioms requiring study

Idiom Imported translation(Awkward) Better

Tossing wrenches into the

gears

وضع العصي في الدواليب عرقل األمر

The devil lies in the

details

الشيطان يكمن في التفاصيل المختصر المفيد

To throw out the baby

with the bath water

يلقي بالطفل مع ماء الغسيل ال يفرق بين الصالح والطالح

Even Homer sometimes

nods

حتى هومر يخطيء أحيانا لكل جواد كبوة

some approaches for teaching culture in classroom

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