The Role of Culture in EFL Contexts
...y positive or negative? Francis (1998) makes note of sociocultural issues in relation to language learning. Often English can seem to be imposed on learners either through economic pressure (i.e. in order to get a good job) or through government regulation. This feeling that the language needs to be learned in order to succeed learners may discourage learners, effectively raising their affective filters. However, there is of course variation between learners, as English may be viewed as a language of prestige. These factors can raise or lower the affective filter in learners. The role of the sociocultural context cannot be ignored, and should be considered when finding ways to teaching English. These articles point out that there is more to teaching culture than simply showing learner how the teacher’s culture works. These problems force the teacher to adapt the presentation of culture through language according to the context in which they teach. There may be differing expectations that must be dealt with, which arise out of culture, and there are sociocultural factors, such as the attitude towards learning and speaking English. But there are other questions to complicate matters further: which culture should be taught? Simply the teacher’s culture, or should this choice be more learner-centered? 2.3 rise and role In his article, van Essen (2004) argues that English has become a lingua franca, and because of this, speakers of very different backgrounds use English to communicate across linguistic boundaries. Van Essen points out some of the factors that may have led English to become a lingua franca, which has some consequences both in how languages are spoken (i.e. dialects) and how English is taught. Because of its status as a lingua franca, English has effectively become de-nationalized, so that there is no longer any particular culture associated with the language in general. Thus it becomes hard to choose which culture to teach as background to English. Effectively side-stepping this dilemma, van Essen argues that there is no need for any focus on particular cultures when teaching English in the classroom. Instead, he emphasizes the importance of learning intercultural communication and to be familiar with problems associated with cross-cultural communication. So English would be learned as a tool to communicate around the world generally for specific purposes (e.g. in business, science, or technology). 2.4 global education Nakamura argues for a similar standpoint, shifting content and focus away from the culture of the target language. Again, there is no need to internalized cultural norms of English, because much of the language has become de-nationalized, making it difficult to legitimately “choose” one or even a few cultures to expose students to. The article points out ways in which English has potential to be used to foster communication and understanding between people across cultures. Instead of explicitly teaching cultural values of one culture, English effectively becomes a tool with which students may better understand culture in general, fostering cultural understanding and sensitivity. The role that would be played by teaching the language-culture connection is replaced by teaching cross-cultural sensitivity and global awareness in content-based instruction. 2.5 Paradigm Shifts in Postcolonial Discourse In an alternative view, Eoyang (2003) argues that language should and must be supplemented by culture. However, he argues for more flexibility in the presentation of cultural information. As English has become a lingua franca, so it would not be beneficial to push one form of English over another. It would be more beneficial to teach students about different varieties of English, making students more flexible in communication over broader contexts. He points out that one must consider the teaching context: emphasizing one dialect without consideration of student needs may create resentment, if it does not match learners’ goals or interests. Unlike van Essen and Nakamura, he argues against the conceptualization of language as a tool (that can be used outside of its cultural context), saying this metaphor is inherently faulty: language is inherently tied up in the culture of those who speak the language. So, instead of throwing out culture in the teaching of English, Eoyang argues for the study of a variety of English-speaking cultures as interesting content for EFL classrooms. 3 My focus/reaction...