A Research Work Ways Of Integrating Language And Culture In The Communicative Approach

A Research Work
Wa s of I teg ati g
Language and Culture in the
Co u i ati e App oa h
Conducted by:
MOEZ GHRAIRI

of 28 Moez Ghrairi 2013
Contents
INTRODUCTION
I – The Socio-Cultural Dimension of Language Teaching:
1.Teaching in the Boundaries of a Cultural Context
2.Hindrances for an Effective Language Teaching
II – The Cultural Aspect in Language Teaching:
1.Cultural Awareness in Language Teaching
2.Impact of Cultural Variation on Language
III – Integrative Method in Teaching Language and Culture:
1.Necessity of Integration
2.Strategies for Integrating Language and Culture
IV – Culture in the Classroom:
1.Overcoming Cultural Problems in the Language Class
2. Mu h a Do A out I teg atio
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTION
Sociolinguists have been deeply engrossed to prove that language – a mere
verbal behavior facilitating communication – is but part of culture and yet an
essential apparatus for the cultural functioning of a whole society. In fact, they
have made it evident that language learning requires a three-fold competence:
linguistic, communicative and cultural. This required cultural competence can be
farther elaborated through a close analysis of the cultural needs of a language
learner. The language learner – who is therefore a language user – needs certain
knowledge of some cultural aspects in order to communicate effectively. Thus,
cultural knowledge works in favor of communication as a whole for language –
the means of communication – certainly occurs within the boundaries of a socio-
cultural context and is in fact culturally loaded.
In second language acquisition theory, the psychological contact with the
target culture is seen so much important and of a great effect for proper second
language development. Taking this into consideration, it becomes clear that the
integration of the cultural dimensions in the language teaching process remains
essential in order to perform an effective learning. A second language teacher
then is called upon to be aware of the fact that a perspective of how language and
culture affect one another in the human mind is highly required. In fact, a
considerable knowledge of cultural differences, specific traits of several cultures
and also some insight on how to use all of this in the classroom are also needed.
Being one of the very many bases of the communicative approach,
teaching language in context provokes necessarily the idea of integrating
language and culture while teaching a second language. Communicatively
speaking, it is rather inevitable for the teacher of a second language to consider
the cultural load of language for it is admitted that while teaching a language,
culture prevails surely as it is the container of that language. The communicative
approach – hence the notion of communication – also advocates principles such
as authenticity and appropriateness which are also cultural bound and much
dependent on the cultural aspect of language. Methods and strategies then

should be applied in the language class in order to reach to an effective teaching
of language. It is much important on the part of language teachers to integrate
language and culture i.e. to seriously consider the cultural competence as part of
the language learning process. Integration of both competences appear thus vital
and of great use to achieve language learning.

THE SOCIO-CULTURAL DIMENSION OF
LANGUAGE TEACHING
1. Teaching in the Boundaries of a Cultural Context:
It is i tuall u i e sal that e e i di idual’s life, attitudes, creeds,
religion and most of his / her world view are to a certain extent shaped by
the impact of his / her own environment on many aspects of his / her life.
Language, as being one of the aspects of life, is widely influenced by the
socio-cultural environment it happens to be present within. Many of the
socio-cultural patterns, customs and ways of thinking are expressed
through language. Culture-specific world views are reflected in language
which is then undoubtedly culture dependent. For an individual to learn a
language other than his, it is essential to consider the cultural dimension of
the target language. In fact, the cultural instruction is vital to any depth of
understanding a certain language.
The second language learner is himself the universal individual who is
influenced by his socio-cultural context which is fashioned by prevailing
tenets. Once exposed to a new language, the learner is necessarily exposed
to a new culture and thus a new socio-cultural context. The study of a
second language then makes that one culture – the lea e ’s ultu al
identity – is placed in juxtaposition with another – the target language
ultu al o te t. The lea e ’s o ultu al o epts a d attitudes e o e
confronted with new ones specifically related to the new language he is in
contact with. The language learner goes through the experience of
a ui i g a e la guage a d a e ultu e O iousl , la guage lea i g
and thus language teaching processes are mainly dependent on the socio-
cultural context of the target language. The language learner is fashioned
by the already mentioned prevailing tenets either consciously or
subconsciously. However, consciousness of the cultural boundaries of the
language learning process is essential for the second language teacher.

On the part of second language teachers, it is much important to
consider seriously the fact that teaching a second language recalls surely
the teaching of it within its socio-cultural boundaries. As language is the
outcome of specific social and cultural circumstances, teachers can never
neglect the interaction between the linguistic and the cultural competences
of learners. While encompassing the motive of the venerable English
grammar, for instance, the teacher is to consider that the current view of
the place of culture in the whole process of learning is far more
sophisticated. The cultural aspect is both deeper and broader in scope.
Given the complexity and the sophistication of the socio-cultural aspect
second language teaching, a very precise selection of cultural concepts
presented to the learner should be established. It has been proved by a
number of researchers that a more effective teaching of language is
reached when the language is presented within a socio-cultural context and
a favorable environment both peculiar to it. The aimed effective teaching
would surely result into an effective learning. As for the English learners,
the instructor is to consider him/herself as more than a teacher of
grammatical structural particularities of the English language. Learners
must inevitably learn more than mere linguistic particularities of language.
They are to learn something of the English they hear in & out – of school
environment; in playgrounds, malls, hospitals, or on television. They are to
learn whatever social and cultural characteristics of the English society in
order to get it clear in their minds that the English community has certain
reactions in certain situations and such practices on given occasions.
2. Hindrances for an Effective Language Teaching:
Difficulties encountered by the language learners as well as teachers
are of great variety. The language teaching process can be hindered by
infinity of obstacles especially when teaching takes place in an environment
other than that of the target language. One serious problem originates
from the fact that the learners of a second language come from a society
where the patterns of living and much of what is socially accepted or not

differs in many respect from those of the target language. Non-English
speaking learners, for instance, are often taken as passengers through
language lessons. A discovery of the English social patterns occurs the
o ta t ith the la guage. The lea e s’ ea tio to this o ta t a e
that of anger, frustration, fright, curiosity repulsion or even total confusion.
The encounter occasioned by the study of another language may provoke a
strong reaction for the learner and is faced with two unknowns
simultaneously the target language and the target culture. Such a
predicament, in fact, may be very threatening and the threat is removed,
language learning may be blocked.
One hindrance for the language teaching process advanced by
researchers and sociolinguists is that of the social distance. The concept of
social distance has emerged as an affective construct to give explanatory
power to the place of culture learning in second language acquisition. Social
distance refers to the cognitive and affective proximity of two cultures
which come into contact within the individual. Distance is obviously used in
an abstract sense to denote dissimilarity between the two already
mentioned cultures. Language illustrates indeed difference between
cultures and thus between learners.
It is then the responsibility of the foreign or second language
instructor to recognize the trauma learners experience when confronted to
new socio-cultural notions and values through language for it holds many of
the social and cultural particularities of its context.
O e o ious i flue e of la guage a d ultu e o the lea e ’s
thought and learning is suited to the environment in which they are used.
Instructors are to assist bringing learners through this trauma to the point
that culture becomes an aid to language learning rather than a hindrance.

THE CULTURAL ASPECT IN LANGUAGE
TEACHING
1. Cultural Awareness in Language Teaching:
Most teacher-training programs for foreign and second language
instructors recognize the need for supplying their prospective language
teachers with a background in culture and provide courses – under a
variety of titles – on culture since it affects the language learner, the
language instructor and therefore the language curriculum. Coinciding with
the aims and the learning goals of the communicative approach, students
are expected to increase their awareness of the culture characteristic of the
language under study. This broadened awareness may touch on all aspects
of ultu e: the people’s a s of life as ell as the geog aphi , histo i al,
economical, artistic and scientific aspects of the target society. The student
who is aware of some aspects of the American history, for instance, would
be able to identify people like Washington and Lincoln. He would be able
thus to reach a better comprehension of the language since he would be
put in a context that facilitates the task for him. These bits of knowledge
constitute the general background of members of the target culture, and
the students who share this knowledge demonstrate an increased
awareness of the parameters of that culture and then the patterns of the
language.
Cultural awareness can be tested by instructors in order to measure
the e te t of stude ts’ o p ehe sio of the ta get la guage. The tests of
cultural awareness are generally built around items measuring cultural
knowledge. Instructors can opt for this kind of tests to achieve a more
effective teaching. Yet, cultural awareness tests are typically administrated
in pairs: pre-tests and post-tests. The pre-tests establish the base line or
poi t of depa tu e: ho g eat is the stude t’s ultu al a a e ess efo e
entering a foreign language class? This would enable the instructor to
establish a given pattern for intervening on the cultural knowledge of the

learner. The post-test, however, allows the instructor to determine the
degree of progress that the students have made in this field and out of
linguistic considerations. Indeed, the most successful language learners are
those a le to take o the i d test of the speake s of the ta get
language. It is also so much important for the language learner to be aware
of himself as a cultural being, a product of his own environment and aware
of his cultural bases before being exposed to a second culture. Thereafter,
the learner is to be guided to recognition of the cultural base of his own
attitudes a d eha io a d e o es ead to o side othe s’ i a o e
favorable light and then language learning as well as culture learning would
occur perfectly.
Cultural awareness on the part of the student is highly recommended
for achieving a successful language learning process. Yet, reaching this goal
is not the entire responsibility of the learner alone. Language instructors
share the responsibility for they are to guide the students and help them
achieve a cultural awareness. Instructors guide students through
enlightening some of the cultural aspects of language for language meaning
is obscured without some recognition of cultural values. It is essential then
for language learning to occur effectively that a certain degree of cultural
awareness occurs in the mind of the learners. Second language instructors
are highly recommended to help achieve the cultural awareness for it
would, to a certain degree, facilitate the task of learning and
comprehending a second language.
2. Impact of Cultural Variation on Language Teaching:
Culture is a deeply ingrained part of the very fiber of our being, but
language is the most visible and available expression of that culture. So, a
pe so ’s o ld ie , self ide tit , his s ste s of thi ki g, a ti g, feeli g
and communicating are disrupted by a change from one culture to another.
On bases of its own cultural environment, each society accumulates rules
and perspectives according to which concrete statements are interpreted –
abstractly or not – and which are valid among communication partners
through common usage. Different societies are of greatly differing socio-

economic and cultural structures. The intercultural differences play a
significant role when members of the one culture learn the language of the
other. One illustration of intercultural differences of a linguistic nature is
that of welcoming. A German, for example, does not need to acquire a new
social experience when he has to welcome an acquaintance in English. This
is generally due to the cultural proximity between both societies. However,
it would not be so far for a Tunisian. The Tunisian social experience of
welcoming someone in Arabic entails a given litany of expressions which
ight easil de a d so ethi g like a ua te of a hou ’s ti e. The
el o i g p o ess i E glish has sh u k to the sho t e p essio of: Hello!
Ho a e ou?. The Tu isian, however, must develop a whole ritual in his
mother tongue to communicate the same intention. The Tunisian will have
to learn then not only a short language formula but even more important,
that the initial greeting is of little consequence to an English speaker: what
is more important is what is said next. The same is true of other everyday
language actions such as congratulating someone, saying goodbye,
excusing oneself, and expressing anger or happiness.
In a foreign language class, the variety of cultures results in a
miscellany of values, attitudes and reactions in contrast to the more solid
cultural block of the class of students studying a foreign language in their
own linguistic environment. Indeed, cultural instruction is so important
even for a student of foreign language in his own environment. It is still
essential to any depth for understanding of language, the motivation and
the interest of the learning process.
Second language learning in the native culture varies in the severity
of acculturation experienced by the learner, depending upon the cultural
and sociopolitical status of the language and the motivations or the
aspirations of the learner. Cultural variation represents then more a field of
difficulty for the teachers of foreign languages since a learner from another
culture may be put off by the lack of eloquence and feels that some
important information has been omitted. A certain degree of tension or
distance between the two cultures, however, may be fruitful at a particular
stage of the language learning process.

INTEGRATIVE METHOD IN TEACHING
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
1. Necessity of integration:
Language is not simply a form system of sounds, words, and syntactical
structures; language also reaches into the domain of human interaction, which for
its own part follows certain rules. Every native speaker assimilates individual
social experiences characteristic of his own culture. These experiences inhere in
applied ways that obtain their communicative characteristics through integration
of the linguistic and the cultural dimensions of the learning process.
The integration sought is that combination of the linguistic matters and the
socio-cultural charge in the teaching process. A big variety of raw cultural data
such as interviews, pictures, television commercials and magazine ads is to be
considered by the language instructor. When the second language learner comes
to understand the behavior of the speakers of the target language and
comprehend the cultural aspects of that behavior, the task of adding the linguistic
knowledge becomes simpler. The learner who is exposed to a combined language
learning finds it far easier to learn through the acceptance of the speakers of the
language and through increased knowledge of what the language means, as well
as what it says.
Integrating language and culture remains necessary in the sense that it is
inevitable. Language is the outcome of socio- cultural and linguistic interactions
that occur necessarily in given temporal and special contexts. Hence, the
relationship between what is cultural and what remains linguistic demonstrates
greatly the integrative aspect of the language teaching process. In fact, language
learning occurs more effectively when the cultural aspect is given consideration in
the whole process. A language instructor is most of the time seeking to be
appropriate to the target culture. This fetched appropriacy affects deeply the
language teaching process since it constitutes a basic element to achieve learning.

Appropriacy itself as achieved when an instructor presents the linguistic data
within a context appropriate to the target language and thus to the target culture.
Another basic element for a successful language teaching process is that of
authenticity. Being authentic is so much related to being appropriate and far
considering the socio-cultural context. The linguistic data presented to the
learners is to be indicative of the culture it exists in. authentic material, i.e.
dependent on the target culture, will represent an area of facility for the learner
to comprehend and memorize the language and learn effectively.
Contextualization, appropriacy and authenticity are then means of
integrating cultural and linguistic aspects. The validity of integration is more
proved when it is accepted that communication is but an actualization of socio-
cultural items through a linguistic behavior based simultaneously on strategies of
conformity and transgression of social norms. When the learner is provided with
scenarios of extreme poverty and without bases in the target culture it is rather a
de-motivating and a deceiving matter for him and it would hinder considerably his
learning process. Moreover, when instructors neglect the cultural aspect of
language, they are in fact depriving the learner from the knowledge he needs to
comprehend linguistic items and to have a more tangible knowledge closer to
reality. Added to all this the fact that by putting culture aside when teaching a
language, instructors deprive themselves from an occasion of working on a
comparative analysis of both the mother and the target cultures and also that of
exploiting the cultural knowledge of the learner within his own linguistic
environment. Neglecting the cultural side of the language teaching process may in
fact deprive language, and thus communication from its humanistic dimension.
The accentuation of the practical side of language would make it more profitable
for the language learner. Evidently, the cultural implicit aspect of language recalls
elements of everyday life which are essential to communication. Those elements
represent the very essence of the communicative approach of language learning
in the sense that much emphasis is put on the development of the communicative
capacities at the expense of the perfectness of mere linguistic utterances.

2. Strategies for Integrating Language and Culture:
The integration of the linguistic and the cultural aspects of language
necessitate the auctioning of a certain number of techniques and strategies
for achieving this parallel. One primary technique is that of acculturation
which a whole process is in fact. Acculturation apparently means different
things to different people. However, defining it would result in the
adoption of the assumption that it is the adaptation of the learner to a
culture other than his own. The adaptation procedure is to be facilitated by
the teacher who is to involve various aspects of the socio-cultural
dimension in his teaching procedures. The teacher is to help the students
realize, for instance, the understanding of how a British queue works.
Getting learners acquainted with a variety of social practices, value and
attitudes of the target language is the very essence of the acculturation
process directed by the teacher.
Another strategy for the promoting of integration is the culture
shock. It has been proved that shocking learners and thus defeating them
provokes a fruitful memorization of language. However, it is highly
recommended to administrate careful does of culture shock in foreign
language classrooms for as it may be a totally positive experience for the
learner, it may also turn into a hindrance to the learning process. Herein
teachers can play a therapeutic role in helping learners to benefit from the
experience of being exposed to a new culture and go through a culture
shock. If the learner is aided in this process by sensitive and perceptive
teachers, he can perhaps more smoothly pass through the different stages
of the language learning process and thereby increase his chances of
success in both second language and second culture learning. Teachers
should not expect the learner to deny the anger, the frustration and
language the confusion he feels. Those are feeling which may promote the
language process. A teacher can enable the learner to understand the
source of his anger and frustration, to express those feelings, and then

gradually to emerge from those depths to a very powerful and personal
from of learning.
As far as language teaching material is concerned, a bourgeoning
number of texts designed to the teaching of culture to the non-native
speakers of English have been provided. These texts are of a diversity of
approaches, contents, techniques and especially quality. Texts have been
designated as appropriate to particular age group, level of proficiency and
type of students. The teacher who selects or is assigned a cultural text for
class, however, does not have the whole problem of the cultural
component solved. The teacher at this point more than ever needs the
background from which to draw to determine methods and techniques of
presentation, concepts and values to be stresses, and areas requiring tact
or extensive explication for certain learners. He is also to be aware of the
fact that sometimes he is to omit or compress details from the printed
material. Most vital of all however, is to know how to make of the material
available an interesting and a non-judgmental material. For a while it is
essential to include culture in the teaching of language, it is equally
essential to avoid << chauvinism>> in teaching it, or, at the other end of the
spectrum, negativism. To create an authentic atmosphere for the language
learners, teachers are to propose aids relevant to the learning process. A
variety of aids in fact is available for them. Visuals, recorded materials and
also video materials are most of the time very useful aids for effective
language learning. Presenting concrete notions and socio-cultural images
would be of a great help for the learner who would have their task of
learning so much facilitated by the mentioned means.
There are numerous expert language teachers and teacher trainers
who have written extensively about the many strategies that have proven
successful for the integration of language and culture in the teaching of
foreign languages. Hereunder is a list- not necessarily exhaustive- of the

deemed most practical strategies for the integration of language and
culture.
a) Comparison method: The teacher begins each discussion period
with period with a presentation of one or more items of the
ta get ultu e that a e disti tl diffe e t f o the stude t’s
culture. The use of the language would revolve around a cultural
item that the learner would find much different from his own and
thus compare it in his thoughts. This in-mind comparison is to be
exteriorized through language by the help of the teacher.
b) Culture assimilators: This strategy has been developed by social
psychologists and socio-linguists for facilitating adjustment to a
foreign culture and learning a foreign language. The culture
assimilator consists in a brief description of a critical incident of
cross cultural linguistic use that would probably be misunderstood
by the students. After the description of the incident, the student
are presented with four possible explanations from which they
are asked to seek further information that would lead them to the
correct conclusion.
C) Culture capsule: This technique is somewhat similar to culture
assimilator, but cannot be assigned as a silent reading exercise.
The teacher gives a brief presentation showing one essential
difference between an American and a foreign custom. It is
accompanied by visuals which illustrate the difference, and a set
of questions to stimulate class discussion.
D) Drama: It is a technique especially useful for directly involving
students in cross cultural misunderstanding by having selected
members act out in a series of short scenes a misinterpretation of
something that happens in the target culture. The cause of the

problem is usually clarifies in the final scene. Hereby, students are
to perform a highly communicative act as they are to use the
language in focus to act on a cross cultural variation.
E) Audiomotor unit: Primarily designed as a mere listening
exercise, this method employees a carefully constructed list of
oral commands to which students responds. Those commands are
arranged in an order that will cause students to act out a cultural
experience.
F) New papers and magazines: Many aspects of culture displayed
in the linguistic performance of a given people are not usually
found in a text book. Yet, they are highly present in newspapers
and magazines. The teacher asks students to compare a certain
item in the foreign newspaper with its equivalent in their
newspapers. Good cultural insight can readily be found in
headlines, advertisements, editorial, sports pages, etc. The humor
found on the cultural aspects of the language.
G) Projected media: Films, filmstrips and slides provide cultural
insight as well as providing a welcome variety of classroom
activities. Excellent filmstrips on culturally related subjects are
available commercially, and slides that teachers have collected
can be worked on as first-hand presentation cultural
presentations.
H) The culture island: The teacher maintains a classroom
ambience that is essentially a culture island through the use of
posters, pictures, maps a frequently changing bulletin board, all of
which are designed with the purpose of attracting student
attention, eliciting questions and comments. The special
framework influences the teaching atmosphere and established
cultural boundaries.

Ways and methods employed by teachers for the sake of an efficient
language learning process are of a great variety. However, the gap between all
that is theoretical and the tangible realization of it remains threatening.
Classroom reality differs greatly from one place to another and from one period
of time to another. Teachers are to consider that a selective procedure is to be
followed. Methods which may prove to be efficient for a certain group in a certain
place may also be irrelevant for another group in another place. Selection then
may be very much fruitful for the teacher as well as for the learners.

CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM
1- Overcoming cultural problems in the language class
Most of the time, theories are made and broken in the classroom, for it is here that are
found to be true or false, productive or useless, practical or fit only for the ivory tower.
Out of theories come approaches, methods, and techniques to be field-tested for
validity in the classroom. The cultural component does not present an exception to all of
this. Hence, good techniques for teaching culture are not easy to find and to be shared.
After one has determined what values and behavior patterns need to be taught, one
must determine how it may be most effectively done.
Language programs are not all able to devote enough time or specialized instruction to
the subject, but include it in reading material, listening and speaking exercises and
writing topics. In foreign language classes, there clearly needs to be a combination of
culture with other language aspects. Since one must read, speak, or write about
something, and listen to something, why should not that something have a cultural
content? Learners may listen to a passage that reveals a cultural facet of the society
which speaks to target language, then read a selection on the same facet, talk about it in
a discussion group, and write about it either in class or as a home assignment, thus
learning culture while learning language. In fact, it is virtually impossible to teach a
language without teaching cultural content, although it is not, unfortunately, impossible
to attempt to superimpose the native culture onto the target language, particularly
when the teacher is of the same linguistic and cultural background as the student. Such
an imposition of a given culture on a certain language must result in a gross misfit. It
becomes an impasse and highly influencing trap it a non-calculated or misplaced
strategy is employed for the combination of the cultural and the linguistic sides of
communication. However, it is essential for the teacher to relate language to culture if a
oo di ate s ste is to esult f o the lea e ’s effo ts. Tea he s ust e i te ested i
the teaching of culture because they have to teach it. Teaching language without
teaching the culture in which it operates may be useless for it would very much
resemble to teaching useless linguistic symbols or symbols to which learner attribute
wrong meanings.
So many issues raise and overlap when dealing with the ways of overcoming hindrances
of a cultural nature in foreign language classes. Should teachers devote a part of every
lesson to formal presentations of cultural aspects of the target culture? If not, how is

the teacher to import information that will be useful to his students? As many experts
claim, an approximation between the different levels of language learning and the
knowledge of culture should be achieved. For just as accuracy in phonology is best
acquired as an incidental by-product of the learning of actual conversation, and as
syntax and morphology are best learned by imitation and practice, knowledge of culture
is best imparted as an obligation to the whole process of language learning. Many
language teachers opt for the beginning of their classes with a five to ten minute
presentation of a subject with cultural aspects and which has not been previously
announced.
The content of this simple but highly effective device may be a topic that settles
identity, similarity, or difference in comparable patterns of culture. Consequently,
learners are to be provided with cultural data in order to fulfill the learning task.
However, one area of difficulty is when learners fail to synchronize linguistic and cultural
development for he may have acquired a sufficient number of the functions of the
target language without really acquiring correct forms learning to occur since learners
may step out of a primary period if excitement and euphoria to more and more cultural
diffe e es . The i t usio felt a ea h the lea e ’s o i age of self a d se u it .
Mark Clarke (1976) likened the second language learning and thus second culture
learning to Schizophrenia he e, so ial e ou te s e o e i he e tl th eate i g, a d
defe se e ha is s a e e plo ed to edu e the t au a This ould idel e
illustrated through the observation of a language learners encounter with texts in
foreign language. Whenever the student tries to comprehend and thus understand a
text or compose one him, or to settle conflicting argumentation, he will experience the
new social functions displayed thereby. Many texts are revealing of the standards and
rules according to which the target culture functions. Manifestations of a foreign
language represent some sort of second reality, which confronts the sphere of the
lea e ’s o ete e pe ie es.
In acquiring a modern European language student from the third world have to accept,
in contrast to their own cultural experiences, the close bond between most of the
interactions. Tradition-oriented cultures of foreign language learners create in them a
determined conception of the word that differs from that created by a foreign culture.
This conception differs from that it has a transcendental character and tends to be of
eternal validity. The difference in concepts shows to be a hindrance for the
development of language in the learner. Added to it the notion of Abstraction in modern
European languages such as the English language. Concrete elements in the English

language are of a diminishing relevance. Yet the communicative structure of third-
world languages is determined to high degree by religion, status and familiarizes the
students with rules and aspects of interaction in foreign language. If the teacher expects
the learner to be capable of mattering the communicative aspect of a foreign language,
he is to consider the necessity of the familiarizing of students with notion such as
abstraction.
2) < Much ado about > Integration.
Over the years, teachers have had to improvise, to follow the process of trial and
error, in the effort to find effective means of making their students culturally aware, if
not unreservedly accepting, of the culture of the people whose language the are
attempting to master. Today, there is help for the language teacher in embarking on this
quest. The ingenuity and creative talent of many second and foreign language teachers
have resulted in a wide variety of paths to follow in accomplishing the teaching of a
target culture. Techniques, materials, approaches, methods, concepts, all to be found
along the paths and are eminently adaptable to any language classroom. A few of these
paths are to be described hereafter.
The following list of topics- by no means exhaustive- may be considered as items
for such a technical use in the language classroom. The following items are the ones
considered to be so much culture bound and thus so much vital to the effective
language learning process. These topics are to be given great consideration if an
effective learning is aimed.
Greeting, friendly exchange, far wells: How do friends meet, converse briefly, take
their leave? What are the perennial topics of small talk? How are strangers introduced?
This topic is most of the time presented through conversational material, dialogues and
listening material that matches with such situations.
Level of Speech The teacher is to consider the ways age , provenance, social status,
degree of formality, interpersonal, relations and personality are reflected in the
standard or traditional speech in the target language. In fact, listening to an authentic
material and reflecting on it by the learner may help him a lot to consider those items in
target culture.

Intonation patterns Apart from selection, order, and from of words themselves,
overtones of cadence, interrogation, command, and surprise are born exclusively by the
dynamics of pronunciation. A sentence like < have it done for me! > may be pronounced
in such a way that it is interpreted as a simple request, an ironical statement or an order
depending on intonation.
Folklore and Festivals The myths, stories, tradition, legends, customs and beliefs
of the target culture are to be presented to the learner in such a way that he gets
accustomed to them and ready to comprehend them and thus comprehend the
language. Also, some information about days of the calendar officially designated as
national festivals and manner celebrating would be helpful for a foreign language
learner.
Telephone Well determined phrases and procedures conventionally used in
telephone conversations and ways of using a phone box are of a great relevance to a
communicative knowledge of the target language.
Appointments A presentation of how appointments are made and what the usual
meeting places are may help understand and memorize language as well as social
behavior. A teacher of English, for example, may focus herein on the importance of
punctuality of English people and their ways of making appointments.
Radio and television programs As o e of the e ases of toda ’s so ieties, some
insights of the general use of radio and television and the types of programs offered,
especially for young people are highly helpful for learning.
Letter writing and mailing Learners are to be given explanations and samples of
how letters customarily begin and end, what degree of formality are to be used and
even where to find a letter box. This knowledge of the ways and purposes of letter
writing and mailing remain useful for a language learner to achieve a situational
recognition of target culture practices.
Cafes, bars and restaurants Some information on the variability of those places
and where they are found is essential. The learner may also be helped to consider

differences in naming such places or in considering them. The most useful example may
be that of <pubs> in Britain.
The above mentioned culture dependent topics may be extended to a larger list fr it has
been proved that every social or cultural practice in one linguistic environment differs
either g eatl o supe fi iall f o o e ultu e to a othe . That’s a a tea he is
sometimes called upon to experiment with putting himself in the place of the learner.
The teacher then becomes more aware of the difficulties caused by cultural variation
and the remedies to surmount any obstacles for the language learning process to occur
effectively. Being aware of the remedies does not really solve the problem of cultural
variation and intervening on the language learning process in fact. The teacher is to
establish a whole procedure for first identifying the areas of difficulty and then finding
methods and strategies to reduce them. The identification phase consists of stages
which sometimes overlap:
- a e ie of the tea he s’ o e pe ie e as a fo eig la guage learner.
- Informal conversations with students and other teachers
- Preparation of a checklist for interviews with learners of a foreign language.
- Further interviews
- Preparation of a schedule of problems
- Administration of a cultural distance questionnaire
- Administration of a questionnaire an social and linguistic behavior.
I te ie i g lea e s, ad i ist atio of uestio ai e a d a e ie of o e’s o e pe ie e as
a foreign language learner would help a lot teachers to identify areas of socio-cultural
difficulties for the learner. Remains then the tackling with the already identified problems in a
rather convenient and effective way. For after the phase of identification the teacher is to
establish for him and for the benefit of the learners remedies aiming at reducing the difficulties
and facilitating the task for learning as well as that of teaching. One useful method that has
already been mentioned is that of proceeding between their own cultural environment and
that of the target language. The teacher is to display some cultural aspects that are carried by
the language and engage a discussion essentially based on differences.
One example for the application of such a technique has been taken from the 9th
year Basic
Edu ation pupil’s ook (P.P.1 -17)
17).
Summer hill school is in suffolk, Southern England. It has 70 pupils aged five to. There are no class tests for the children and they can
play as much as they like. Generally the youngest children in the school attend all the classes but children between 10 and 12 do not. When
they are 16, most children take an exam, the GCSE, the national examination in England.

….. The pupils a d the tea he s eet e e “atu da . The de ide the s hool ules togethe . “u e hill is a f ee s hool ut there are about
9 ules …. he so e pupils do ot espe t the ules, the othe pupils eet a d de ide ho to pu ish the .
For students to have a better comprehension of such a text, a brief presentation of the
English educational system and the characteristics that distinguish it from the Tunisian
educational context would be of great help. When confronted with the realities
displayed in the text the Tunisian learner experiences a strong reaction of astonishment
and surprise. First , the learner is surprised by the number of students in a school (70),
which is much far from his own reality . Also, the absence of tests would the learner and
create a reaction of denying that reality and more, not believing it. As for the meeting
between students and teachers, it should be stated in advance for the students that
such meeting are part of educational traditions in England. The evident reaction of the
student is that of being shocked. The teacher is then to reduce this shock by preparing
the students and presenting the thing before the confrontation occurs.
Another example of texts that lends itself to be culturally considered is one found on
the page 9 of the stude t’s ook < o u i ate i E glish> le el . The te t goes as
follows:
The pub is a place where you can take your time. In a city or country it is a refuge a man may enter, drink tree or four pints
of beer , debate the state of nation and the world with other drinker and the barmaid and play darts. Darts playing of course is a
atio al spo t a d the e a e e thusiasts ho lai it has o e de otees the te is o golf ….
The text is to a very far degree culturally loaded. <pubs> and practices of the sort are
strange to the Tunisian context. A Tunisian learner of English is not familiar with the
typically English tradition of going to pubs and playing darts. TO deal then with a text of
the sort, the teacher is to make a approximation between both cultures. He is to start by
st i i g a d o ki g o the lea e ’s al ead a uired knowledge about the social
practices and to find equivalents of such practices in the Tunisian society. Brainstorming
the students about places of entertainment and meeting friends and trying to make a
approximation of what is present in Tunisia and that in England would be of great use. A
pre-reading discussion would be fruitful and would make it easier for the students to
find out about pubs and their social roles, darts, game and drinking traditions of the
English people. A more fruitful understanding of the language and the cultural practices
is to occur.
More other samples of culturally loaded material is included in textbooks presented to
Tunisian students but most culture loaded is <Communicate in English, Level 4>. This

textbook illustrates the profit that can be gained from cultural aspects in language
teaching procedures. The notion of the American dream, The American institutions,
Education in the USA, social mobility and more other characteristics of the American
society make up the topics of the English Language classes. As teacher go through
culture dependent topics a mixture of reactions is to be noted. Learners may show texts
like the ones on page 91 of the above mentioned text book:
The common pattern of organization, referred to as the 6-3-3 plan includes elementary school in grade 1 through 6, junior high
school in grades 7 through 9 and senior high school in grade 10 through 12. The older 98-4 plan, however , in which grades 1
through 8 were elementary school and 9 through 12 the high s hool , o ti ues i a lo alities ….
Confronted with such a description of the American educational systems is to some
extend experiences as an area of confusion by many students. This confusion is to be
positively used by the teacher for he can play on the feeling of confusion to make the
students realize that the educational system there differs in many perspectives from
theirs. The teacher is to explain, illustrate and emphasize the variety.
Other extracts from the text book < communicate in English level 4> may be
representative of the necessity of integrating language and culture in language classes.
Literary texts included in the mentioned text books are greatly revealing of the necessity
of the adoption of an integrative way to teacher them effectively. Hereunder is a text
that figu es o page 9 a d hi h s e t a ted f o “he ood A de so ’s, THE EGG.
My father was, I am sure, intended by nature to be a cheerful, kindly man. Until he was thirty- four old he worked as a farm-
ha d fo a a a ed Tho as Butte o th hose pla e la ea the to of Di ell, Ohio. …. .
I to , he d a k se e al glasses of ee a d stood a out i Be Head’s saloo o ded o “atu da e e i gs ith isiti g farm-
ha ds ….. .
The cultural charges of this highly apparent. Teachers are to consider the cultural
specificities displayed in the text. They are in fact to help the students- always by means
of discussing, asking questions, juxtaposing the lea e ’s ultu e a d that of the ta get
language-recognize the cultural load through the language used. Lexical items, for
instance, can be much helpful. Focusing on the word < saloon> the teacher can engage a
whole discussion about the characteristics of such places and their equivalents- if there
a e a i the lea e ’s ultu al o te t. Resea he s ha e esta lished, i fa t , a list of
cultural aspects to consider when using literary texts with students of a foreign language
. Here are some of the elements listed:

a- Objects or products that exist one society , but not in another
b- Proverbs, idioms, formulaic expressions which embody cultural values.
c- Social structures, roles and relationships.
d- Customs, rituals, traditions or festivals.
e- Beliefs, values and superstitions.
f- Institutions
g- Taboos
h- Metaphorical and connotative meanings.
i- Humors
In any teaching situation then, there are obviously some literary texts which are likely to
present fewer cultural difficulties than others. For example, a text in English by a writer of a
similar cultural background to the group of students studying the text may be more culturally
a essi le tha a te t itte a autho f o a ultu e fa e o ed f o the stude t’s o .
Here by flourishes the notion of authenticity and its role to make text more revealing of the
target culture and thus more easily accessible for learners.

Conclusion
Those who interact with members of a different culture know that knowledge of the
sounds, the grammar, and the vocabulary of the foreign tongue is indispensable when it
comes to sharing information. But being able to read and speak another language does
not guarantee that understanding will necessarily take place. Worlds in themselves are
too limited a dimensions of non-verbal o u i atio . It is ultu e’s ole i this se se
that has been so misunderstood and so inadequately presented in the language
classrooms. Once the necessary distinctions about its effects on language learning
procedures are made, its usefulness and worth to the students are only too apparent.
The focal point of the presentation of culture within foreign language classes should be
the view of life as seen from within the new speech community. The teacher , by means
of the incidental discussions suggested earlier, by means of behavior traits as speaker
and hearer that are authentic and typical in the target community, by establishing in the
classroom a cultural island made up of both material and non-material elements, and
especially by identifying and commenting upon references that are culturally significant,
may convey to his students the concepts which make language learning invaluable and
a e at the sa e ti e a o pa ied a othe i po ta t lea i g’s. He e,
communication of British culture, for exa ple , to o e’s stude ts is i fa t ope i g thei
mind to a new culture, broadening their horizons, and at the same time making them
less ethnocentric .
With this new emphasis in second language study, that of training
students to understand and interpret the culture, and to function in that
new environment, the burden placed upon language instructors has greatly
increased. Since we cannot expect an instructor to be at the same time a
linguist, a psychologist, a cultural anthropologist or a historian, it can be at
least suggested that a basic course in cultural change and universals and
their teaching within a foreign language class would be of most use to the
second language teacher. The significance of such course is to familiarize
the instructor with the application of certain measures and techniques to
achieve a bi-dimensional teaching of a second language.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
JOYCE MERRILL VALDE“ Culture Bound : Bridging the ultural
gap in language teaching. 1982, Cambridge Press
HERBERT LANDAR Language and Culture 1 , O ford
University Press
ANN “AWARBI. Tea hing Modern Languages 1 , London
University Press
MARTIN MONTGOMERY An Introdu tion to Language and
“o iet 1 , Routledge London and New York

A Research Work Ways Of Integrating Language And Culture In The Communicative Approach

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to A Research Work Ways Of Integrating Language And Culture In The Communicative Approach

Similar to A Research Work Ways Of Integrating Language And Culture In The Communicative Approach (20)

More from Renee Lewis

More from Renee Lewis (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

A Research Work Ways Of Integrating Language And Culture In The Communicative Approach