Contextos pedaggicos e conceitos de cultura no ensino de lnguas estrangeiras

Joanne Busnardo

Some years ago...

Importance of including cultural aspects to teach FL. Criticism of imported materials: critical teachers and appropriate materials Based: Cultural studies and critical reading taking into account cultural frames for interpretation Criticism of the communicativist vision on the grounds that it is based only on functionalism (poor and limited) -> difficulties to engage students with the language: the discursive subject, active and critical could not appear

Some years ago...

Criticism of imported products and values, critical stance of teachers towards hegemonic powers Where the author situates herself: A place where students learn a hegemonic language (English) in a non-inmersion context. For her, the concept of culture to base our teaching on should take into consideration the pedagogical context where we work The learning of Portuguese: not a hegemonic language yet, but also a place where power relations are asymmetrical

Two objectives
To reflect on some concepts of culture that underlie the teaching of language/culture in several contexts To defend, above all, in contexts characterized by asymmetrical power relations, a vision of culture for teaching that allows to have a position that she calls critical dialogism She seeks for a concept of culture that supports the development of intercultural speakers in the classroom.

The sociolinguistic view of culture< the notiof of communicative competence

The concept of communicative competence by Hymes (anthropology) was appropriated by applied linguists and changed its essence. The relationship between language and culture that underlies the term CC in applied linguistics makes a reduction and simplification of the initial Hymsiam term. Therefore, in the classroom culture is reduced to some conventionalized communicative or speech events, and sometimes connected with register or dialect varieties. Example: saying goodbye in north American English and in Brazilian Portuguese The teaching of culture is reduced to the teaching of sociolinguistic norms and conventions, which aims at making learners native speakers, and this can bea n obstacle for the learner causing frustration It is important to learn to use the conventions in a purposeful creative way. Culture is reduced to static norms of face, politeness, register and dialectal variation

Post-modern reactions: culture as verb

Street (1993): culture is a verb, Force from multiculturalism in different regions Homogenous culture in only one culture -> at stake The fixed is subsituted by the dynamic National culture is questioned and identities are multiple: ethnic, gender, religion, profession, etc. Those who do not agree with this are accused of cultural essentialism. Thefore, from this perspective, to understand a culture when learning a foreign language implies to be aware of this multiple view of culture that has substituted the notion of national culture.

Post-modern reactions: students as ethnographers

Dynamic concept of culture: from Europe Inmersion is considered an important way of learning, students exchange programs These students have ideal situations to observe the others using etnhnographic eyes, even a special course was elaborated. Students are encouraged to observe certain types of people and report on the findings: the student becomes an anthropologist

Two ways of dealing with CC

To redefine it: including an intercultural component To abandon it. Can we become bilingual without becoming bi-cultural?

Looking for a third place: discourse, culture and the classroom

Context on no-inmersion: - the ethnographic approach limited - The only contact with the language is through the teacher (either NS or NNs) in the classroom - Teacher hardest job: a rich context for language development in the classroom - Useful tool> bring back the concept of communicative competence. How?

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
The objective of teaching is not native speakerism. The learner should develop the various components of communicative competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discursive and strategic but he has to be choose to use what he wants. One way to develop IC is by using interviews, analysing them, to understand how discourse works

INTERCULTURAL COMPETENCE
In order to get to critical dialogism students should develop discourse awareness. The learner should develop the various components of communicative competence: grammatical, sociolinguistic, discursive and strategic but he has to be choose to use what he wants. Useful teaching strategy: comparison and contrast of discourses. Examples. What is the third place? (pp. 138-9).