I believe that there must be, but WHY is it so complicated? Is it, perhaps, that the answers are right in front of us and we simply are blowing the complexities way out of proportion? I'm not sure. Any thoughts?
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Why so complicated?
As we talked in class today I wondered why it has to be so complicated (no Avril Lavigne reference intended). What is it about teaching culture and language together that is SO hard that it seems (or at least according to the article it seemed) that no one has done it really well yet. Are we just being idealistic in hoping that it will actually come together, or are we going to be stumbling upon some concrete answers anytime soon? While I understand and accept that there are all kinds of complexities when it comes to language and when it comes to culture, what can we actually do to make valuable learning happen happen? When will it stop being the norm to say "I didn't learn anything in high school Spanish"? ARE there solutions? 
I believe that there must be, but WHY is it so complicated? Is it, perhaps, that the answers are right in front of us and we simply are blowing the complexities way out of proportion? I'm not sure. Any thoughts?
I believe that there must be, but WHY is it so complicated? Is it, perhaps, that the answers are right in front of us and we simply are blowing the complexities way out of proportion? I'm not sure. Any thoughts?
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7 comments:
I think the basic problem for teaching culture revolves around the fact that to really understand and appreciate a culture you have to experience it. That is [nearly?] impossible in the classroom. This is, of course, one reason that study abroad is so valuable. I think the only concrete answer is that you cannot, ultimately, acculturate students in a classroom setting--you can teach discrete points of information and customs et cetera, but you cannot turn your classroom into the real thing anymore than hopping on a plane makes you a bird.
I think ultimately to really teach culture in a classroom setting we would need much more time and resources. We need several hours of instruction each day, authentic food and customs in class, etc.
Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I think that it doesn't seem possible to integrate culture and language 100% in today's classroom without study abroad.
In response to Sarah's comment, I admit I tend to think somewhat among the same lines. The theories and procedures outlined in the article were so complicated that I often found myself drifting off and getting lost. Additionally, it seems like it could be a lot simpler. In regards to Andrew's comment, I agree. Unless you are in a Spanish-speaking culture and/or interacting with people from those countries on a daily basis, it will be like talking about a juicy hamburger at lunch time instead of actually eating. However, I do agree with the points made in the article regarding getting the students to think in terms of other cultures, the "process" as it's called, so that they have the ability to adapt and come to understand the cultures even if they don't know every single detail of a particular culture. It's almost a theoretical principle that can only be fully implemented outside of the classroom. At best, the activities they participate in are an approximation, but considering the fact that we can't travel to Guatemala in the middle of the semester (though that would be AWESOME), this is what we have to work with and we can make the best of it, especially someplace like Provo where there is an increasing number of Hispanic immigrants and students available for the students to consult. As far as the theories go, maybe making them a little easier to implement might be beneficial.
When I decided to take this course I thought it would help me feel successful in teaching culture. However, it seem like the more I learn, the more inadequate I feel. I don't think I ever realized that culture was such a complicated thing to teach.
I definitely agree with what's been said as far as the fact that to really understand a culture you have to experience it. At the same time though, I've spent time in both Spain and Argentina and I'm pretty positive that I still don't fully comprehend the culture. Like Sarah said, is it possible? Are there answers?
At the same time, going along with what Matt said, there is definitely value in focusing on the process and not making the teaching of culture simply a list of "facts." I don't know how to teach culture so that it can be completely understood. I don't know that it's possible. But there are definitely things we can do to improve our ways of teaching it, helping students to realize that cultures are different, and that even though two places may do things differently, both may be well-motivated.
I wonder if the question I ought to ask myself is, "What will I do to improve the way I teach culture?"
I feel like a big part of this is to try out some of these ideas now. I don't have the authentic materials that the fully integrated curriculum required, but I can dig out my box of Argentina stuff and look at my arrowheads, and Día del Amigo cards with my students in mind.
I can't rewrite the curriculum this semester, but within each chapter I can find opportunities to teach culture as process. I can try to help my students recognize their own culture and learn to learn about other cultures.
I can't alter the tests to incorporate an evaluation of their cultural understanding, but I can have them show me (perhaps in less formal assessments) that they are thinking about cultural issues.
I think these will at least give me a place to start. It is complicated! And I think if I wait until I figure it all out, I could put off indefinitely the application of what we've discussed.
As we mentioned in class yesterday, I believe that one thing that adds to the fire of "complication" with regards to teaching culture is the hesitation we FL teachers have in deciding if a certain practice or product is worth teaching. Since the language we teach is found in such a rich variety of cultures, we hope to avoid generalizations and stereotypes.
Also--as far as the integrative method is concerned--we have to be very creative in the area of blending the cultural lesson with grammar (it is easy to teach them new vocabulary with a cultural lesson).
I am anxious to see what we come up with for our presentations in this class. That way we will be able to borrow ideas from each other.
It seems like this is all so complicated because of something in the reading for Thursday's class. The Galloway chapter quotes someone who said that we can never fully understand people within our own culture, let alone in the culture of others. I think that this is very true. Even in the relationships in which we are the closest to other people (family, best friends, etc.), I think that it is really hard to understand others.
Perhaps this is because we could all learn to communicate better, but perhaps this is also part of the test of life. I think that understanding others is meant to be a challenge that we have the responsibility to tackle. It is definitely one of the most difficult but most worthwhile of endeavors.
I am grateful to be focusing on the importance of culture, even if it is a hard thing to incorporate into our teaching. I think that my perspectives of it have changed a lot. I didn't used to see language and culture as being so connected, but now I can't really separate them. Language is definitely both a product and a practice of culture, and it is full of perspectives. I want to use Spanish more the way a Spanish speaker does and begin to think a little bit more like them. I wonder how I can get my students to do the same.
Teaching culture and language together is an interdisciplinary endeavor. It seems that anthropology has been trying to help people recognize their own ethnocentrism and to teach people how to study another culture from the studied culture's point of view rather than from the outside observer's point of view. While I doubt that it is possible to truly, completely adopt the insider's perspective, I think it would be valuable to see what tools the anthropologists have developed. One of the readings mentioned that what we as language teachers are attempting to do is anthropological in nature. So often, one field has real solutions to the problems another field faces, and if the two fields don't communicate, researchers don't see research that has already been done.
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