Teaching Languages, Culture, or Both?

Description

Concept by Irena Papa

Today’s students need to cope with intercultural encounters in many of their daily life situations, be it when traveling abroad or staying in their hometown. Because of this, language teachers need to integrate cultural education in the classroom. But how can we teach language and culture at the same time?

This course will introduce the participants to different techniques for inserting cultural elements in language curricula and classroom activities. Because language and culture are not separated, neither can they be taught separately. Accordingly, the course will emphasize the importance of teaching culture along with language.

By learning about the Intercultural Language Teaching Approach, participants will realize the importance of shifting their teaching objectives: from those focusing on promoting fluency in a foreign language to those aimed at developing the intercultural speakers of the future.

Hands-on activities will boost participants’ confidence and motivation in introducing such an approach in their classroom. Course participants will also explore multiple methods, approaches, and teaching strategies for teaching culture in a way that best fits their students.

They will acquire the necessary tools to foster cultural understanding through the use of authentic materials and different types of media. The course will provide model exercises to promote cultural awareness and intercultural understanding.

Engaging in many hands-on activities, participants will learn how to help their students become aware of the fact that every member of a given culture has a different viewpoint, and that all viewpoints should be valued and respected.

By the end of this course, participants will know how to use a variety of techniques to teach culture along with the target language, and to encourage curiosity, awareness, and empathy among students from different cultural backgrounds.

Learning outcomes

The course will help the participants to:

• Realize the importance of integrating culture in foreign language teaching;
• Discover new techniques and activities for teaching culture;
• Lead conversation and dialogue in intercultural settings;
• Apply different techniques for introducing students to different cultures;
• Master several activities to make students solve cultural conflicts;
• Enhance students’ cultural awareness;
• Encourage students to avoid prejudices and stereotypes.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Introduction to the course

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools;
• Expressing participants’ expectations about the course.

Defining Culture

• Culture-Language a symbiotic relationship;
• “Big C” culture vs. “Small c” culture.

Day 2 – Teaching Culture in the Foreign Language Classroom

• What culture?
• Culture as a skill;
• Goals and principles for teaching culture;
• Practical activities to understand each others’ cultures: we speak and behave differently because we belong to different cultures.

Day 3 – Techniques and Activities for Teaching Culture

• Cultural Island;
• Cultural Capsules;
• Cultural clusters;
• Culture assimilators;
• Cultoons.

Day 4 – Intercultural Competence in the Language Classroom

• Different models of Intercultural Competence;
• Selecting the right tools for developing intercultural competence;
• Story circles and intercultural competence development;
• The Intercultural Speaker vs. The Native Speaker.

Day 5 – Materials and Resources for Teaching Culture

• Cultural Literacy;
• Types of texts;
• Using videos to teach culture;
• Cultural dimension in textbooks.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round up of acquired competences, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance.
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.