Reading Culture: Using Literature to Develop C2 Competence

Scott, Virginia M.; Huntington, Julie A.

doi:10.1111/j.1944-9720.2002.tb01900.x

Cited by 31 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…Knowledge of cultural background is also important. Reading competence is affected by one's language knowledge, cultural background knowledge and other professional knowledge [6]. When students read English articles, cultural differences between Chinese and western people often bring them many difficulties.…”

Section: Necessity Of Teaching About English Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Merging Culture into Foreign Language Teaching

Zhang¹

2018

Proceedings of the 2017 7th International Conference on Education and Management (ICEM 2017)

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Culture is an indispensable part of foreign language teaching. Accordingly, this paper tries to strike the point that English teachers in China should teach English culture in their class. First, it states out the present situation of cultural teaching and learning. Second, it emphasizes the necessity of teaching about English culture. English teaching is seen as a process of infusing both the target language and the target culture, which is interwoven into language itself. Last, it discusses what types of culture the English teachers in china should teach about, intending to provide the Chinese language educators with certain guidance and inspiration to more effective culture teaching methods. Present Situation of Cultural Teaching and LearningThe teaching of culture in English class is a simple yet very complex issue that has been debated for over a century. Foreign language teaching makes a small contribution to the general education if it is only taught in its narrow linguistic notion.English has been taught as a foreign language in the schools of China for a very long time. Both the teachers and students have spared no efforts to teach and learn it. Many of them do have made great achievement. However, due to various reasons, the average level of English is far from satisfaction, especially when it comes to the communicative competence which is treated as the core of English teaching and learning. Among all the reasons, the lack of cultural education is by no means a minor one [1].Traditionally, though there were many methods, English was mainly taught in the way of grammar translation which got the learners to translate English into Chinese or vise versa. In the teaching of English little attention was paid to the cultivation of communicative competence, which is essentially determined by the nature of any language. What's more, English textbooks were mostly compiled by Chinese people instead of native speakers. Therefore, the language taught and learned was not the genuine one. What's more, there was little exposure to the culture of the English-speaking countries.In recent years, fortunately, more stresses have been laid on the improvement of communicative competence. Many functional approaches have been adopted in English teaching and learning in most schools. But since both the teaching and learning focus themselves on tests, the importance of cultural education is still kept in low profile. How to pass various kinds of tests becomes most teachers and students' great concern. Lots of time and energy in or after class are spent in achieving high marks in exams of all kinds, leaving little room for cultural activities. In this sense, although basic skills of listening, speaking, reading, writing and translating have been much improved, cultural deficiencies are still apparently felt [2].On some occasions in cross-cultural communication, just because of cultural differences, even if we speak a foreign language grammatically correct, we cannot communicate tactfully and appropriately. Students cannot make ef...

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Section: Necessity Of Teaching About English Culturementioning

confidence: 99%

Merging Culture into Foreign Language Teaching

Zhang¹

2018

Proceedings of the 2017 7th International Conference on Education and Management (ICEM 2017)

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“…Texts that are carefully selected for a given group of students and with specific goals in mind can be very helpful in allowing students to acquire insight into a culture (Peterson and Coltrane 2003). One study compared the level and quality of recollection when two different groups of students learned about Cote D'Ivoire (Scott and Huntington 2000). One group studied a fact sheet and a second studied a poem about colonialism in Cote D'Ivoire.…”

Section: Emotional Development: Pilot Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Using Picture Books to Enhance Motivation and Language Learning of Remedial Efl Learners

Kochiyama

2017

IEFLJ

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According to studies done by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, many secondary schools across the nation aren't adequately preparing students to excel at college. Universities are stepping in to fill the gap by offering remedial college courses in subjects such as Japanese and English. The purpose of the present study is to explore how an EFL class for college freshmen can help the students develop the critical thinking skills as well as language skills such as pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar necessary to read at the college level.Picture books are often overlooked by adult ESL/EFL instructors as many of them feel uncomfortable reading books designed for children. However, if chosen with consideration for the interests of the students and used in ways that are appropriate for adult learners, picture books can provide valuable opportunities of language-rich experiences and interactions. In fact a number of studies in Western cultures have shown that picture books provide a wealth of possibilities for teaching English topics as well as various vocabulary sets such as family, food, clothes, and so on. They can also motivate learners to read more and learn more as the students are more likely to find reading a manageable challenge.Given these functions of picture books, the main objectives of the study are (1) to discuss the merits of using picture books in remedial English classes from the viewpoint of English language learning, (2) to investigate the effect of using picture books on the learners' motivation and emotional development, and (3) to give a report about the students' reactions towards an adoption of a picture book in an EFL class.

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“…Both documents stress the interconnectedness of language and culture. Supporting these positions, many scholars involved in FL praxis and theory have written about the significance of culture in the language classroom (see, e.g., Byrnes, 1991; Kramsch, 1993, 1995, 2002; Scott & Huntington, 2002, 2007; Swaffar & Arens, 2005).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, their research does not explore whether students had increased their ability to recognize cultural patterns in presented information, modified initial perceptions, or were able to generate inferences based on it. See also the work of Scott and Huntington (2002, 2007) regarding genre and resulting cultural perceptions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Strategic Cultural Competency: Holistic Approaches to Student Learning Through Media

Hammer¹,

Swaffar²

2012

The Modern Language Journal

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The current study investigated the impact of a German television program on changes in 4th‐semester German students’ reflections on cultural perceptions over the course of 1 semester. Sixty‐nine students at the University of Texas at Austin watched 4 episodes of the popular German television program Lindenstrasse. After viewing, students were asked to reflect in written response papers on cultural features and patterns of behavior and on cultural differences and similarities. The study results suggest that students’ perceptions of another culture can become more sophisticated when being exposed to authentic filmic material and asked to reflect in writing about observed plot features and cultural manifestations. The key to these results is a strategy for assessing not just students’ recall of cultural content, but also their strategic competencies in negotiating cultural difference. Changes in students’ cognitive styles were tracked by a scale that rewards students’ strategic ability to manage details of cultural knowledge and sociolinguistic content, including the following categories: (a) rhetorical organization; (b) content; (c) comparative point of view; and (d) interpretive substance. The article provides a model for the assessment of cultural competency (MACC), which can be adapted to assess students’ engagement with the culture represented in various materials.

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Reading Culture: Using Literature to Develop C2 Competence

Cited by 31 publications

References 2 publications

Merging Culture into Foreign Language Teaching

Merging Culture into Foreign Language Teaching

Using Picture Books to Enhance Motivation and Language Learning of Remedial Efl Learners

Assessing Strategic Cultural Competency: Holistic Approaches to Student Learning Through Media

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