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Cultural content of foreign language education on the example of English lesson Gaurieva G.1, Amirova A.2 (Republic of Kazakhstan) Культурный контент иноязычного образования на примере урока английского языка Гауриева Г. М.1, Амирова А. Б.2 (Республика Казахстан)
'Гауриева Гульжан Мухаметкалиевна / Gaurieva Gulzhan - кандидат педагогических наук, доцент;
2Амирова Айжан Бейсембаевна / Amirova Aizhan - магистрант, кафедра теории и практики иностранных языков, филологический факультет, Евразийский национальный университет имени Л. Н. Гумилева, г. Астана, Республика Казахстан
Abstract: the given article is devoted to the problem of integrating cultural context into the foreign language education. The model lesson of English is compiled which aims to include cultural component into foreign language lesson.
Аннотация: статья посвящена проблеме интегрирования культурного контекста в иноязычное образование. Предлагается модель урока иностранного языка с культурным компонентом.
Keywords: cultural component, intercultural communicative competence, foreign language teaching. Ключевые слова: культурный компонент, иноязычное образование, межкультурная коммуникативная компетенция.
As educators prepare competitive specialists that meet the requirements of modern society they take into account all changes occurring around the world, consequently they include intercultural objectives in curricula of foreign language education. According to the concept of foreign language education of Republic of Kazakhstan the strategy of education development comprises rising quality of foreign language education and training professionals who meet global requirements. One of the principles which the national education system is based on is the principle of communicative - intercultural interaction that supplies the effective training for the intercultural communication [1, p. 4].
Nowadays, people from different cultures have to negotiate, interact with, understand and accept the behaviour and reactions of people from quite different cultures. Thus it is very important that there is an awareness of cultural differences since multicultural groupings are becoming more common in professional settings and elsewhere around the globe.
Lies Sercu underlines that foreign language education is meant to be intercultural. Bringing a foreign language to the classroom means connecting learners to a world that is culturally different from their own. The objective of language learning is no more defined in terms of the acquisition of communicative competence in a foreign language. Teachers are now required to teach intercultural communicative competence [2, p. 1] To raise intercultural awareness teachers use various activities such as solving cases, role plays, watching films, singing songs, intercultural projects, working with authentic literature, newspaper articles which contains knowledge of target culture and many others. When teachers design their materials or select among various sources Ewa Bandura recommends bearing in mind the following principles:
- Students develop their autonomy and critical skills when they are encouraged to analyze individually.
- Projects including home or virtual ethnography require prior development of various research skills and attitudes.
- Making cross- cultural comparisons activates student's knowledge of their own culture.
- Texts in foreign language are useful for comparing different cultures, diverse views and beliefs.
- Texts about critical incidents illustrate the influence of socio - cultural knowledge on the effectiveness of communication [3, p. 21].
Taking into account all mentions above, we suggest sample English lesson plan for the junior bachelor students. Time is fundamental in our existence. It is one of the essential topics that show peculiarities of a culture. That is why it is important to include this topic while learning the culture of the target language.
Table 1. Sample lesson
Topic Time is money
Level Intermediate
Aims of the lesson l.To o develop students' reading, speaking, writing, listening skills; 2.To raise awareness of intercultural differences in values, behavior and ways of thinking; 3 .To practice observation and interpretation skills as well as critical thinking; 4.To develop empathy, open-mindedness and respect for other cultures.
Duration 90 min
Introduction How do you understand the proverb «Time is money». In English, the words associated with time are very much the same as the words associated with money. It can be «spent», «wasted», «invested», «saved», etc. In most English-speaking cultures, the idea of wasting time is seen as very regrettable. It is not that there is any harm in simply doing nothing, but it is, for example, regarded as unacceptable to make others waste time by being late. This applies to public transport timetables, and all appointments in business, health care, education and so on. Here, you are expected to keep appointments «to the minute». However, there are cultures where it is acceptable to keep appointments to the nearest hour or even day. There is no shame involved in being a couple of hours late. Time and delay are clearly used in many cultures to demonstrate power and authority. If you keep people waiting, you demonstrate that you have power over them. It becomes almost obligatory and expected. On the other hand, in much of Europe, it is considered bad manners. What about our country?
Procedure: Reading The aim is to discover other cultures in the context of «time» and to reflect on one's own culture. Pre reading: English-language invitations to social events are sometimes formulated as «7.30 for 8 p.m.», for example for a formal dinner party. This means you are expected to arrive between 7.30 and 8 p.m., when the party or dinner will start. Arriving outside these times would be impolite. Questions for discussion: At what time would your culture find it acceptable to arrive at a dinner party where the starting time was given as 8 p.m.? At a business appointment arranged for 10 a.m.? At a private language lesson arranged for 3 p.m.? 2. What happens if secondary school pupils arrive fifteen minutes late at school in the morning? Are any disciplinary measures taken? 3. How precisely does public transport follow timetables in your culture? Do timetables give exact times of departure or do they just tell you at what intervals buses should be expected to come? Students read short texts called «Going round the bend in Greece», «Late arrivals», «Staying overnight». Students read texts (given in appendix) Post reading. Discussion: • Do you think she had a responsibility to be punctual? • Would it be fair to assume that Italians are late in general? What do you think of the Italian student's lack of punctuality? • Would you go window-shopping if you unexpectedly had to wait for two hours? If not, what would you do while you had to wait? • Is it common in your culture to have guests overnight? • If you are invited for dinner at 7 p.m., what time do you expect to leave? How long does a traditional wedding last in your culture?
Individual work 1. Look at the list of words in the box below and select three which you personally associate with time. Explain your choice in a short paragraph with a concrete example: organisation — relaxation — stress — money — holidays — family — cigarette —work—future — motivation — competition — food — calendar — watch — movement—past — obligation. 2. Rank yourself on a «punctuality scale» from 1-5 (1 = very punctual, 5 = hardly ever punctual). Then rank the majority of people in your culture on this scale! Give examples.
Pair work Act out dialogues between the following people: - boyfriend arriving late on a date to meet girlfriend outside a café in a busy street; - student arriving late for a seminar at the university, teacher has to interrupt introduction to a debate; - plumber coming twenty minutes late, owner of house ankle deep in water in the living room.
Work with vocabulary 1. What time related idioms and sayings do you know? «The early bird catches the worm».
«Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise». «Haste makes waste». 2.Collect more idioms like the ones above and discuss their meaning. Then write them individually on small cards, have two partners draw them and create little stories illustrating them.
Listening Listen to 5 people talking about life situations that once had happened to them. What time related proverbs, sayings or idioms could summarize and reflect the ideas of each story?
Grammar Revision of Relative Clauses. Grammar exercises and tasks from Grammar in Use by Martin Hewings. pp 140- 144
Feedback Conclusion. The way life has changed in the last hundred years or so. Many people in the world live «life in the fast lane», in all senses. They want things to happen «at the drop of a hat» or «in a flash»; that is, «in no time». In the industrialized world, people are obsessed with «multitasking» - doing several things at once. For instance, they drive, make phone calls and have a snack at the same time. Are those in the highly «time-conscious» cultures missing out on important things?
Home task 1 .Read a famous fable about the tortoise and the hare. Think of the idea, the message of the author and write an essay reflecting your opinion on this.
Table 2. Texts
Text 1. Going round the bend in Greece
On a bright, sunny Thursday afternoon Elizabeth, a South African lady married to a Greek, reported at George's Driving School in Makriyianni Avenue at 2 p.m. as requested. She was faced by a shocked Mr. George. «What are you doing here so early?» he asked, unable to believe that a candidate for the driving test had already arrived. Elizabeth replied, «But, you left a message stating that I should be here at 2 p.m.» «Ah», said Mr. George, raising his bushy, grey eyebrows. «These foreigners and their punctuality! I said 2 p.m. as everybody usually arrives half an hour or so late, which means that we'll still get to Brahami in time for your test at 4 p.m.,» replied the baffled driving school owner. «Why don't you have a look round the shops and come back at 3 p.m.»? he suggested kindly. Mr. George had never had a student arrive early in the
thirty odd years in which he owned the school. In the background, his plump wife was busy preparing his lunch and the enticing aroma wafted through the office making his mouth water, while simultaneously provoking waves of nausea in the anxious Elizabeth. All this came as quite a surprise to Elizabeth, who was in no mood to go window shopping. She had butterflies in her stomach, and felt light headed from nerves. All she wanted was to get the test over and done with. After all, it was no joke having to re-sit the test more than twenty years after she had first obtained her driving license in another country, another continent - almost light years away. (by Joseph Chryshochoos).
Text 2. Late arrivals
An Italian student on a postgraduate course at a British university never once, in a whole year, turned up for lectures and seminars on time. She was always, without exception, about 10 minutes late. It became a standing joke, and some lecturers simply started 10 minutes late to allow for her late arrival. Of course, other Italian students were quite punctual, but the point is that the student seemed not to notice. Apparently 11 a.m. seemed to mean 11.10 a.m. to her.
Text 3. Staying overnight
Do you know what an «Armenian visitor» is? Greek speakers do. It is one of those that stays and stays, when you just want to go to bed. But conversely, if you visit an Armenian family for a social visit, you are expected to stay all night, leaving only in the morning. Polish weddings are a bit like this, too. That is, an invitation means, for most people, a couple
of days out of their lives [4, p. 20-22].
In conclusion we could say English teachers should encourage students to experience the culture related to linguistic knowledge, and guide students' cultural experience. Some activities, such as information gap, interview, brainstorming, problem solving, debating and role-play can be arranged in the classroom. These activities focus on what is being done and how it is done rather than learning linguistic knowledge, thus improving students' intercultural communicative competence.
References
1. The concept of FL education of RK, Almaty, Kazakhstan, 2010. 20 p.
2. Sercu L. Teaching FL in an Intercultural world. Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Competence: An International Investigation. Clevedon, GBR: Multilingual Matters, 2005. 231 p.
3. Bandura E. Developing cultural self -awareness and knowledge to enhance intercultural competence of foreign language students, Poland, Jagiellonian university, 2011. p. 43.
4. Huber-Kriegler M., Lázár I. and Strange J.. Mirrors and windows: An intercultural communication textbook. ISBN 92-871-5193-8, Council of Europe, May 2003. 110 p.
