Culture In ELT

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Ismail Hattane TEFL - Academic Writing Workshop - Group 2 American and British Culture in ELT: A Blessing or a Curse? The status of English as today?s most widely-used language has regularly been a topic of wonderment and alarm to observers. Although the global dominance of English carries with it great possibilities, development, and increased knowledge, there are also prominent concerns about the negative impacts such a powerful language has on local cultures. For English Language Teaching practitioners, much of the discussion about linguistic and cultural imperialism spins around the issue of whether language teaching should involve culture teaching. Teaching American or British culture in ELT, in our case, is essential; it helps form…show more content…
One has just to think about the American or British movies, TV shows, documentaries, western music, commercials and many other products which students are in constant contact with thanks to tremendous advances in mass media. As far as English Teaching goes, the bigger issue is not the culture itself. What can truly corrupt the youth and strip them off of their indigenous identities is the media. Media culture has plausibly become the most governing force in defining the sense and the understanding of our culture and other cultures. Students might get a more realistic perception of the American and British cultures if they study it inside the classroom, instead of just trying to emulate pop-culture; thus, helping conserve their own culture. In fact, speakers of English who are knowledgeable and informed of its cultural issues are not culturally deracinated. They are usually more preservative and proud of their cultural identity. At this age of globalization, where the economic and ecological destiny of the world becomes interlinked, it is unrealistic to retain insulated and pure cultures. To strip English off its underlying culture is tantamount to missing very constructive incentive and atmosphere of language…show more content…
Before trying to implement some aspects of the culture of a foreign language in their teaching, it is critical for the teacher to take into account that some habits or traditions might be contextually rude, humiliating, or can be seen as unusual by some students depending on their origins. For example, it might concern some specific vocabulary or behavioral pattern of the target culture which learners can find inappropriate, like going to parties and drinking Tequila for Muslim students. Therefore, educators have to get forewarned about cultural and mentality diversity in order to overcome the cultural shock. Before demanding learners to forsake their prejudging habits and stereotypes, teachers must circumvent their misconceptions and prejudicial thinking. They should find out about other cultures and unravel the foundation on which they base their conclusions and point of views on other people and cultures. It is only then that they can facilitate the development of intercultural
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