CC BY
16THE MAIN REASONS OF STUDYING OTHER NATION'S
CULTURES Soliev S.M.1, Kodirov H.B.2, Habijonov S.K.3
1Soliev SanjarbekMirmahmud o'g'li - Student;
Kodirov Hursandbek Bahtiyorjohn o 'g'li - Student;
Habijonov Salohiddin Kahramonjon o'g'li - Student, MANAGEMENT IN PRODUCTION FACULTY, FERGANA POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, FERGANA, REPUBLIC OF UZBEKISTAN
Abstract: the article under discussion depicts the main reasons of studying other nation's cultures. The authors of the article discuss the importance of integrating culture teaching into the classroom where culture motivates students to study foreign languages and improves their cultural competence. Keywords: culture, main reasons, integrate, teaching, motivate, identity, awareness, tolerance, behaviour, customs, beliefs.
It has long been assumed that language and culture are strongly linked to each other and an important aspect of learning a foreign language is learning its culture. However, teachers in different classrooms in different parts of the world still ignore the importance of teaching culture as a part of language study. Many English teachers ask a question: Is it really important to teach British, American or English speaking countries studies? Does it really help students understand the language better? Here is the answer of Hinkel concerning the problem of teaching British studies: "Why teach British culture to students of English? Isn't English supposed to be an international language, unattached to any single country or way of life? Yes, but learning about how a foreign culture works brings your own culture into perspective. 'What should they know of England who only England know?' as Kipling has it. We teach our students about British life and culture in order to have them examine their own. [2, p.p.78-85]"
Before developing the topic referring to the function of culture in a foreign language teaching, the term culture should perhaps be more clearly specified. Generally, it could be defined as various
customs, values, typical behaviour, attitudes and the overall approach regarding the way of life reflected in movies, songs, fashion, literature and numerous products of art, but also in everyday use of the particular language, e.g. recognized proverbs, common idiomatic expressions or phrases which are characteristic for certain members of society and which significantly differentiate these people according to their age, level and specific area of education, as well as their position in the society, etc.
Culture may mean different things to different people. In the anthropological sense culture is defined as the way people live. Byram defines culture as "...an all-inclusive system which incorporates the biological and technical behavior of human beings with their verbal and non-verbal systems of expressive behavior starting from birth, and this "all-inclusive system" is acquired as the native culture. This process, which can be referred to as "socialization", prepares the individual for the linguistically and non-linguistically accepted patterns of the society in which he lives [3, p.p. 3-12].
According to Brown culture is deeply ingrained part of the very fiber of our being, but language - the means for communication among members of a culture- is the most visible and available expression of that culture. And so a person's world view, self-identity, and systems of thinking, acting, feeling, and communicating can be disrupted by a change from one culture to another [1, p.p. 100-115].
Similarly, Hinkel propounds the view that culture is language and language is culture. He suggests that to speak a language well, one has to be able to think in that language, and thought is extremely powerful. Language is the soul of the country and people who speak it. Language and culture are inextricably linked, and as such we might think about moving away from questions about the inclusion or exclusion of culture in foreign language curriculum, to issues of deliberate immersion versus non-deliberate exposure to it [2, p.p. 78-85].
In a word, culture is a way of life. It is the context within which we exist, think, feel and relate others. It is the "glue" that binds a group of people together. It can be defined as a blueprint that
guides the behavior of people in community and is incubated in family life. It governs our behavior in groups, makes us sensitive to matters of status, and helps us to know what others expect of us and what will happen if we do not live up to their expectations. Thus, culture helps us to know how far we can go as individuals and what our responsibility is to the group [1, p.p. 100-115].
The issue of culture being a part of the classroom setting in two complementary viewpoints is discussed by Tavares and Cavalcanti who point out that "culture is not only present in the classroom setting but also in the language that is being taught" [4, p.p. 19-23]. Culture and language are thus interrelated and language is used as the main medium through which culture is expressed. We can therefore agree that bringing cultural studies of English speaking countries closer to students will help them to better understand the language, its background and usage. And vice versa. Better understanding of the language will help the students to accept a foreign culture and also their own culture. Apart from this, by teaching and learning any cultural studies at a foreign language lesson we do not include the whole term of cultural learning. With regard to culture in the English language teaching and learning some authors distinguish between British studies, which focuses mainly on information about Britain, and cultural awareness, which focuses on the difference between cultures. As Cavalcanti suggests, we need to create in our students awareness and tolerance of other people's culture, greater awareness of their own culture and also to support the student's own ability to explain his or her own cultural viewpoint. In other words, cultural awareness is understood as a more general term which is superior to the term cultural studies. Therefore, by teaching British, American or Uzbek cultural studies we try to educate a person as a cultural being. Byram says that most people are not aware of themselves as cultural beings, products of their own environments. In practice, culture is a phenomenon which is always original and typical for a particular nation. As it has already been stated above, most people do not think consciously about their culture, they simply live and behave as other people in their society do. The issue becomes topical when they are
confronted with people from another culture and it can cause various misunderstandings and sometimes problems. We strongly believe that once people realize they are products of their culture, they are more willing to accept that the others are not 'wrong' only different [3, p.p.3-12].
In conclusion we can summarize that in developing cultural awareness in the classroom it is important that we help our students distinguish between the cultural norms, beliefs, or habits of the majority within the speech community and the individual or group deviations from some of these norms. Students should be enabled to discuss their native culture with their foreign-speaking friends at the same time that they are provided with a real experiential content.
References
1. Brown H.D. "Principles of Language Learning and Teaching". The USA: Prentice Hall Regents, 1994. Pp. 100-115.
2. Hinkel Eli. Culture in second language and teaching learning. Cambridge University, 1999. Pp. 78-85.
3. Byram M. Language Learning in Intercultural Perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1998. Pp. 3-12.
4. Tavares R., Cavalcanti I. Developing Cultural Awareness. In English Teaching Forum. Vol. 34. № 3-4, July - October, 1996. Washington: The United States Information Agency, 1996. Pp. 19-23.
