The Cultural Diversity Aspects - Essay Example

Name: xxxxxxxxxxxx Tutor: xxxxxxxxxxxx Title: Language Teachers on Unity and Differences Across all Cultures Institution: xxxxxxxxxxxx Date: xxxxxxxxxxxx Language Teachers on Unity and Differences Across all Cultures Introduction Cultural differences can not be ignored if the teachers have to effectively develop lesson plans that are responsive to the curriculum and the diverse needs of students. In a classroom setting teachers are faced with a group of students coming from or having cultural backgrounds that are vary different. Despite this, the teachers have to deliver the same message to these students. According to Bublitz and Norrick (2011), language teachers have a responsibility of coming up with a method that includes the cultural diversity aspects with the objective of attaining the best way to deliver the message without leaving anyone confused. This paper seeks to discuss if the cultural differences are to be emphasized or what unites people across different cultures. The language teachers have a responsibility of recognizing the cultural differences that exist among students from different cultural backgrounds and at the same time they have to acknowledge the unifying factors that will enable the students to co-exist in the same classroom context without feeling discriminated upon. Carrasquillo and Rodríguez (2002) argue that to create an ample environment for learning the language teacher has to embrace and appreciate the socio-cultural differences and find commonalities within them that will draw the students together while at the same time maintaining their unique culture. Majority of the communication is cultural aspects embedded in it. It is portrayed with the way an individual speaks and the interpretation of non-verbal messages that will draw different meaning to different people within diversity cultural contexts. Features such as individual personality, mood and context reflect the range of cultural differences that is internalized and influence people interaction (Holmes, 2008). Good relationship between students from diverse cultural backgrounds will make the teacher adjust according so that he or she does not use illustrations or examples that will demean other cultures and ignite bad blood between him and the victimized student. According to Holmes (2008), miscommunication is likely to happen particularly in an environment where there are substantial cultural differences amidst the communicators and the situation can be worse if the unifying lines between the difference cultures is not identified and used to bring the affected individuals together. Language teachers should maintain proficiency in the target language they are involved in and make sure they are time to time up dated on the latest cultural issues affected the culture that is targeted. If the teachers bring themselves up to date with the cultural diversity that surrounds them they will automatically appreciate and embrace the unity within different cultural backgrounds and use them as a tool of making learning and teaching very enjoyable experiences (Sercu & Bandura, 2005). The perspective that people emanating from a variety of cultural background possess varying learning styles is apparently very realistic, and intuitively sensible, to an extend that is difficult to view it as a fallacy or a lie. It has been established by psychological researchers that one method of learning or teaching for children from a single cultural group whereas a different method of expressing the same teaching will work better for children of a different cultural context. Intellectual abilities of children from different cultural settings seem to be defined with the cultural setting in which they were brought up in (Wardhaugh, 2006). It has been seen that children with the American native origin appear to possess particularly high degree of spatial and visual skills and they do less well on tests concerning English verbal ability. This is not a complete reflection of the entire Native American child but this pattern seems to be more common. For the simple reason that different groups from different cultural backgrounds have varying cognitive strengths does not translate that teachers have to narrowly match their styles of teaching to these patterns of abilities. Such an approach will not be appropriate and instead it will counter-productive and it might backfire. Wardhaugh (1998) argues that culture defines which of the objects is worthy of being categorized and what kind of language should be spoken. Learning of language or the ability to symbolize thoughts into words is an accomplishment of human beings and that the difficulty or ease that children will encounter in the realization of their potential is determined by the genetic characteristics that are unique. These characteristics may have been entered in different cultural backgrounds and may go on to affect the individual acquisition of knowledge and ability to understand other people way of life (Troike, 2003). It follows that the language teachers should have prior knowledge of the cultural setting in which his or her students have grown to make sure that her lessons and various approaches do not threaten to set him against the students or the students against themselves. It may be worth noting that interactions in social setting are not usually haphazard. Troike (2003) notes that where as cultures are complex and may tend to change persistently as different groups adapts to new challenges, the interpretation which the group members link to experience is stable relatively and represents almost unconscious definitions of what is right and consequently normal human behavior. Interaction of cultural patterns guides the child who is developing and more so they become the reference point for the definitions of themselves which is their identity (Deckert & Vickers, 2011). In most circumstances pupils develop skills of participation, communication, enquiry and responsible action by means of creating links between learning of people in the classroom and the activities happening across the school, in the society and the wider world as a whole. In the past years, general rethinking of the significance of language as a social practice which has occurred propose new ways of reviewing teaching of culture and language. Wardhaugh (2006) notes that the social reality that is referred to as culture is depicted in the way language is used in social context. The paradoxical similarity among approaches that are in opposition of each other reveal the significance of analyzing multicultural, intercultural, bilingual and educational responses from a wider perspective than the disciplinary pedagogical one. It will be noted that teaching of second and foreign languages in the United States has the mark of the history of education in America. While in a majority of the countries which are industrialized, the basic objectives of education have been intellectual development and disciple in general of the mind, which is foretold on the perspective that the acquisition of a body of knowledge, of intellectual training or a mind of culture, are all essential for life and for higher education, and consequently education in America commencing from the First World war has had priorities that are different. Schools are supposed to prepare students or the different duties of life, make citizens be aware of the community responsibilities, and enhance the chances of individuals’ employability. Regardless of English being a foreign language or a second language, education of language is viewed basically as a means through which foreign immigrants into the United States are integrated socially into the global economy of the world. It is not viewed as a means for critical thought, for enlightenment of citizens, or just as aesthetic education (Deckert & Vickers, 2011). A majority of the learners located in the United States and learning English as a second language are concerned with acquiring understanding of American society in a critical way than in attaining a fast access as possible to the economic and technological benefits they have come to seek for. The prevailing desire to learn foreign languages in school emanates from concerns that are economic and from the quest that the United States regain its competitiveness on markets of the world. It is this perspective that statements made in the United States concerning teaching of culture in foreign language classes can be better understood. Most of the teachers in this setting view culture as a fifth skill on the proficiency scale of ACTFL. They see competence in cultural aspect as grasp of foreign facts and a general embracing for culture that is foreign. Acceptance of culture is a matter of democratic attitude and ethics; knowledge of cultural aspects can be administered in appropriate way in building blocks that are paced. To the language teachers understanding of cultural differences and identifying factors in the various cultures is very crucial (Murray & Christison, 2010). Teachers should be aware that the difficulty of materials of real-life is not purely linguistic, but a issue concerning the choice of topics and discourse styles. Topics that can be described as abstract such as women’s rights and ethnic minorities are less intriguing to the American student as compared to life-styles and personal stories. Understanding that is coherent of another culture makes up the central code of that culture in addition to an awareness of regional and socio-economic variations. Utilization of real life material raises the issue that culture is a reality that is political, ideological, and social and more so, the difficulty of comprehending cultural codes emanates from the difficulty of seeing the world from a different perspective, not of grasping another grammatical or lexical code. Students will be exposed to different political ideas if the keep watching a foreign television. Discourse in the television is commercial, sensational and hyperbolic. In France particularly, it is defined with typical mannerisms such as the stressing of first syllables that goes ahead of normal prosody. This particular presentation style is very familiar to viewers of television raised and born in France; it confirms their feeling of rootedness and permanence in French soil; it enhances their belief in superiority in biological, natural processes like sex and food over goods that are ephemeral like success and money. The fact that the soundtrack in the advertisement was obtained from American classical could be seen in this context as ironical. The advancement in multimedia, a combination of computers and video is likely to change the way the way real-life materials comprising of television broadcasts for pedagogic objectives. Multimedia assists teaching of culture through interactive documentaries and interactive narratives. Multimedia provides narrative mode explorations. The most famous illustration is the interactive videodisc narrative that has been constituted at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the Athena Language Learning Project framework. An American visiting Germany will realize that the German like to keep their doors locked when they are in office or a room. In a sharp contrast is with the American habit of often leaving their doors open. This kind of observation can be grouped as insignificant, but foreigners to this kind of culture will try very hard to reasonably interpret such an occurrence. Language teachers have no option but to understand the different cultural environments that their students are coming from (Troike, 2003). The essence of the language teacher highlighting the differences within different cultures in their teaching is to come up with unifying factors that will help them put across the desired message without leaving students from a certain country or nationality outside. Emphasizing the differences should be used to bring in sharp differences with the cultures but to appreciate the way things are done differently within another culture. The students should be made to appreciate the other cultures the way they are and embrace the differences while relying on the commonalities to help them to co-exist in a similar setting. The American for instance, understand their culture of leaving their door open as a sign of friendliness in America and they will some how be of the view that the German habit of closed doors as a sign of unfriendliness or general animosity or unwelcoming behavior. The German see their practice as a show of human respect and order. The Germans on the other hand will view the American culture of leaving the doors open as an indication of disorderliness or disrespect and may find the habit very distressing. This shows that small cultural or social differences may be interpreted in various ways within different cultural settings. In order for the language teachers to succeed in creating a good environment of learning, they should acknowledge that such kind of cultural differences do exist (Llurda, 2006). If the students understand the other students cultural backgrounds they may not view one culture as superior or inferior to another; but simply unique in its on way and it should be respected. Language learning enhances social intercourse and creates awareness of other peoples’ culture. The language teacher must realize that the objective of foreign language education is to enhance self-realization awareness in the cross-cultural aspects in life. Language pedagogy has to come to grips with a variety of issues that are fundamental such as meaning of cultural context, whether discourse practices can be taught as grammar rules, the role played by literature in the second language literacy development and how are the learners supposed to gain both outsider’s and insider’s interpretation of foreign culture by means of language (Wardhaugh, 1998). The fault lines between two cultures that are different can not be erased but instead they can be used as a tool to unify the two cultures by first appreciating the uniqueness of their culture; and looking for ways of breaching the gaps between the two different cultures. The context should be closed analyzed to determine whether it is appropriate to stress the differences or the points of unification in the cultures. For comparison purposes, the differences will be emphasized to come up with a contrasting scenario while for illustrations and giving example, what unites people across cultures should be emphasized to achieve the desired effect. Whatever essential premise that should be exploited; the major objective is to demonstrate that there is unity in diversity of cultures. People of different culture and upbringing can come together to achieve a common course in one single context or environment despite their differences (Chambers, 2003). Translation of material from one culture to another may change the indented meaning or result in misinterpretation. The setting should be maintained while extracting such kind of information and keeping in mind that there are sharp differences amongst different cultures but within them unifying codes or points of references that are similar can not fail to surface. While acknowledging that the cultural settings are different, the language teacher should make the students understand that embracing other peoples’ culture bring unity and co-existence and root out misunderstandings and controversies. Translations made by people from different cultural background may not be necessarily similar although they might me using the same text. Socio-cultural differences have substantial impact on how people understand language and the interpretation they draw from a given text such as a poem, narrative or a song. Cultural differences will define the interpretation of such aspects (Crozet & Liddicoat, 1999). The teaching of English language to the learners can prove to be very challenging since teachers are usually interacting with students from cultural and linguistic backgrounds that are distant from their own. Many people who speak English as being their first language tend to think about the dynamics that language and culture play in the day to day life. People live relatively unaware of how the dimensions figure into the daily life. An individual may struggle to read a book that has been written in a style that is unfamiliar or may not decipher the explanation by the doctor owing to the fact that it includes technical language that is unknown to the individual. In some circumstances the distance the experience of the teacher and that of the student may hinder his sense of his students as learners and thinkers and without knowing work against his best intentions of teaching them (Davies, 1999). Teachers in many circumstances are faced with the dilemma of how to understand a student who uses language, whether another language or English, in a manner that do not make sense to the teacher involved, that seem to be off topic, ridden with confusion or in a way academically deficient. The teacher may fail to understand of the student has understood what is being said to him. They may interpret the child to be rude or simply being a total joker. In this case the English language teachers and learners have to learn the in-depth connections that exist between the students cultural practices and language and particular applications in other subjects such as science. The diversity in the life experience and background of various students in reality represent a source of significant pedagogical and intellectual power for both students and teachers as opposed to being an obstacle that has to be overcome (Duranti, 2009). When the teachers are not aware of the cultural backgrounds of their students they may fail to assist the students connect the curriculum of science to their lives outside the school setting or classroom setting. Stern (1992) points out that whereas students’ cultural and language differences present teachers with challenges in the instructional area, it is vital to keep in mind that these kind of challenges are not an outcome of deficits in the students, intellect. If the teachers are to realize how to recognize and build on this kind of diversity, it will automatically be an asset in the classroom setting and in particular; the science classroom. The language teachers should examine keenly the talk in the classroom to determine how effective communication is achieved. In many situations the talk present in the classroom is usually structured and it deters the effective thinking and participation of the students. The teachers should adjust in the manner in which they pose questions to students to allow more room for deliberation. If a student gives an answer which is incorrect, he should be asked to explain why he thought it was the right answer and the teacher expound why he thinks the students is wrong. The students who challenges he teacher’s perspective should not be ridiculed but he should be told why his answer or perspective is wrong. In some cultural setting students are in the habit of never arguing or opposing the teacher’s perspective. Through reflecting on the ideas of students in relation to the material they look forward to teaching, teacher create a good foundation for designing lessons that are exactly responsive to the thinking of the student and also the given curriculum (Kramsch, 1993). Conclusion Cultural differences within people from different backgrounds will always exits. However, these differences should not be seen as an obstacle to effective interaction but rather as a way of finding a common ground of drawing comparison and understanding. The differences should be appreciated and embraced as a way of creating a friendly environment that will assist the language teachers take into account the reality of cultural impact. The teacher has to be objective and open-minded as opposed to being judgmental and discriminative. Understanding the way of thinking of students from different backgrounds will help the teacher understand the answers given to him by the students and not simply interpret it as a show of rudeness or deviant behavior. This paper has sought to explain the importance of cultural differences and the essence of achieving unity in diversity through the emphasis of unifying factors. Bibliography Holmes, J, 2008, An introduction to sociolinguistics, 3rd ed, London: Pearson Education Limited Kramsch, C. 1993, "Teaching language along the cultural faultline", in Context and Culture in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 205-232. Wardhaugh, R. 1998, "Ethnography and ethno-methodology", in An Introduction to Sociolinguistics, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 237-254. Stern, H.H. 1992, The intralingual-crosslingual dimension", in Issues and Options in Language Teaching. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 279-299. Crozet, C. & Liddicoat, A.J. 1999, The challenge of intercultural language teaching: Engaging with culture in the classroom", in Striving for the Third Place: Intercultural Competence Through Language Education, eds J. Lo Bianco, A.J. Liddicoat & C. Crozet, Language Australia, Melbourne, pp. 113-125. Wardhaugh, R., 2006, An introduction to sociolinguistics. London: Wiley-Blackwell. Deckert, K. S & Vickers, C.H., 2011, An Introduction to Sociolinguistics: Society and Identity. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. Duranti, A., 2009, Linguistic anthropology: a reader. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Troike, S.M., 2003, The Ethnography of Communication: An Introduction. New York: John Wiley and Sons. Davies, A., 1999, An introduction to applied linguistics: from practice to theory. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Bublitz, W & Norrick, N., 2011, Foundations of Pragmatics. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. Chambers, J.K., 2003, Sociolinguistic theory: linguistic variation and its social significance. London:Wiley-Blackwell. Llurda, E., 2006, Non-Native Language Teachers: Perceptions, Challenges and Contributions to the Profession. New Mexico: Springer. Sercu, L. & Bandura, E, 2005, Foreign language teachers and intercultural competence: an international investigation. New York: Multilingual Matters. Carrasquillo, A. & Rodríguez, V., 2002, Language minority students in the mainstream classroom. New York: Multilingual Matters. Murray, D.E. & Christison, M., 2010, What English Language Teachers Need to Know: Understanding Learning. Oxford: Taylor & Francis. Read More