Hello Mohamed Cherif,

Indubitably, the necessity of teaching culture to EFL learners plays a major role in meeting the ever-increasing demands of what is called "globalization" . Before coming to L2 classrooms, EFL learners already have  a sense of cultural or social identity shaped by pre-established sets  of values and beliefs as well as  patterns of judgment about the appropriacy and  rightness of native ways. Notably, when these students begin learning a new language , an acculturation process is triggered in which they compare and contrast the world view or ethos of the first culture with those of the new language in order to learn new ways of tackling old problems by looking at the world through the cultural lens provided by it. Under such circumstances, the teachers should help learners to enhance their cultural awareness by adopting particular techniques. According to Hughes (1986), to boost learners' cultural awareness, the following techniques may be used:

1. Comparison method

2. Culture assimilators

3. Culture capsule

4. Drama

5. Audiomotor unit or Total Physical Response

6. Newspapers

7. Projected media

8. The culture island

For further details, the following link can hopefully provide you with the targeted information.

Best of luck,

R. Biria 

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED511819.pdf

Dörnyei said that EFL learner motivation stems from imaging themselves in the future, functioning successfully in a cosmopolitan international society.  Therefore, teachers should help students imagine themselves this way...and I think that interesting things about foreign culture helps establish that imagination of the future.

I think it is not about perfectly understanding another culture, but simply understanding enough to be intrigued and to imagine going there and learning more.

Hello Mohamed Cherif,

Indubitably, the necessity of teaching culture to EFL learners plays a major role in meeting the ever-increasing demands of what is called "globalization" . Before coming to L2 classrooms, EFL learners already have  a sense of cultural or social identity shaped by pre-established sets  of values and beliefs as well as  patterns of judgment about the appropriacy and  rightness of native ways. Notably, when these students begin learning a new language , an acculturation process is triggered in which they compare and contrast the world view or ethos of the first culture with those of the new language in order to learn new ways of tackling old problems by looking at the world through the cultural lens provided by it. Under such circumstances, the teachers should help learners to enhance their cultural awareness by adopting particular techniques. According to Hughes (1986), to boost learners' cultural awareness, the following techniques may be used:

1. Comparison method

2. Culture assimilators

3. Culture capsule

4. Drama

5. Audiomotor unit or Total Physical Response

6. Newspapers

7. Projected media

8. The culture island

For further details, the following link can hopefully provide you with the targeted information.

Best of luck,

R. Biria 

https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED511819.pdf

Thanks Mahmood Yenkimaleki

Certainly, movies are another tool to consolidate all that has been previously debated; they would help students explore variant cultural and social values.

Thanks a lot Reza Biria.

It could be said that the more varied tasks are, the easier ways to engage students will be.

Hi there

I agree to manipulate the concept culture in language teaching. BUT, I’d like to make the learner aware of his own culture, first.

Since his culture is known to him, he knows the cultural concepts, i.e. he knows the events, places, people… traditionally, historically, geographically, he can build a scheme for learning the concept. In the other hand, if he learns about a totally foreign culture, the learner might be delayed by the traditional language he faces in the taught material. But when he studies about his own tradition or history, he is not hindered with an alien concept or a totally new concept.

This acknowledgment facilitates the learning process. In other words, the bulk of vocabulary he needs to undergo the learning experience is facilitated by his environmental knowledge. By this he goes through a successful experience in the learning experience which leads to undergo a further experience. Then, I think the learner is ready to learn about the foreign culture comparing to his own culture. Moreover, this strategy empowers the learner’s identity and motivates him for more successful experiences through the teaching/ learning process.

From my experience I believe that it is very meaningful to empower the learner’s identity through his culture. Alienating his culture makes him alienate his own identity, then, he might reject the whole process of learning and teaching.  We all know the importance of being regarded, esteemed and respected as appears on Maslow Scale for the human being needs, and its positive effect on the learner’s personality.

It’s very important in the teaching process to deal with success oriented strategy. Putting the learner in a successful atmosphere encourages and makes him succeed again and again. In other word we expose his to a loop of success.

Thanks Sanaa Abu Sale,

I do share the same views vis a vis what culture EFL instructors should focus on. True that target culture shapes most of what occurs in class, namely tasks and techniques, but the overuse of target cultural information might frustrate students. Balance is needed, if not stressed. Doing so, EFL students would certainly feel involved; they would explore differences, compare values and reflect on their experiences. 

The pedagogical approach here has to involve the learners as doers in the learning process.

Participatory learning is arguably the best approach to making culture more appealing to learners of English as a Foreign Language. This could involve taking the learners to their local community on excursion (if there is time) otherwise, learners should be given practical assignments that would be presented in class. The learners’ culture must be brought to the fore. This is very necessary because misuse of terms in describing any form of the learner's culture could result in unpalatable experience.

When learners participate, they provide the appropriate diction by themselves sparing the teacher the trauma of misuse of vocabulary and mis-representaion of indigenous concepts and practices. To get this done, learners are told ahead of time to prepare to render indigenous songs, recite indigenous rhymes, bring some indigenous crafts to the learning centre, describe indigenous foods, processes and rituals, dress in some indigenous attires --- shoes, clothes and their accessories, etc.  When learners participate actively in the learning process, learning is enhanced, interesting and appealing!

Dear MC,

Teaching or administration of learning activities has definite methods for different kinds of learners. In a second language situation, the target language is not unfamiliar to the learner; but in foreign language situation, the target language is a bit strange to the learners because it is not used everyday or outside the classroom. This is why the teaching or administration culture should be made more appealing (probably than a second language setting), to capture the learners and make them stay with the learning activities.

Best.

My students like to watch TV series and I believe they learn a lot about the culture of the language they are learning, i.e. English. Reading also helps a lot, so exposing students to different written genres with some cultural taste in it would help them learn bits and pieces about that culture. Students also like real experiences of us as their teachers... It is always interesting to share some interesting experience we have, especially the ones that may show them that knowing the culture helps survive ...