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Conceptualizations of Culture, Culture Teaching, and Culture Exploration in Second Language Education

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Conceptualizations of Culture, Culture Teaching, and Culture Exploration in Second Language Education CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF CULTURE, CULTURE TEACHING, AND CULTURE EXPLORATION IN SECOND LANGUAGE EDUCATION by Rourniana Ilieva B.A. , University of Constantine, Algeria, 1984 THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in the Faculty of Education O Rourniana Ilieva 1997 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY April 1997 All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without permission of the author National Lbrary ~iblhh&qu&nationale 1*1 of Canada c du Canada Acquisitions and Acquisitions et Bibliographic Services services bibliographiques 395 Wellington Street 395. rue Wellington O(tawaON KlAW -ON KIAW Canada CaMda Our he Norre retwence The author has granted a non- - L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive licence alloiving the exclusive permettant a la '1 National Library of Canada to Bibliotheque nationale du Canada de reproduce, loan, distribute or sell reproduife, preter, distribuer ou copies of this thesis in mcroform, vendre des copies de cette these sous paper or electromc formats. la fornje de rnicrofiche/film, Be repmduction SF papier ou sur format electronique. The author retains ownershp of the L'auteur conserve la propriete du -' copyright in tlus thesis. Neither the droit d'auteur qui protege cette these. thesis nor substantial extracts fiom it Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels may be priqd or otherwise de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes , reproduced without the author's ou autrement reproduits sans son permission. autorisation. Can APPROVAL - NAME Roumiana llieva DEGREE Master of Arts TITLE Conceptualizations of Culture, Culture Teaching and Culture Exploration in Second Language Education EXAMINING COMMITTEE: Chair Heesoon Bai ~e&n Toohey, Assoc~atePfofessor Senior Supervisor ~&eBeynon, Associate Professor Membev - Professor Fraser University Examiner Date: April 4, 1997 Abstract This study attempts to offer a conceptual, historiographic and critical analysis of the place of culture in second language education. It seeks to provide answers to the following questions: How has "culture" in the anthropological sense of the term been conceptualized in second language education and how have these conceptualizations been translated into directions for classroom practice? An anthropological view of culture as the meanings assigned to objects, events, and relationships and negotiated between culture bearers, forms the theoretical foundation of the study. It is argued that inconsistencies in the conceptualizations of culture of language education theorists who addressed the topic up to the mid 1980s have led to inadequate practices and to the subordinate role of culture teaching in language education. Current critical approaches to culture teaching are examined and provide a background for the author's understanding of the issue. The study introduces the notion "culture exploration" as a way of conceptualizing cultural instruction in the field of adult second language education. It highlights the features of culture exploration: ethnographic participant observation in and outside the classroom, and reflective and critical classroom discussions, focusing on students' "pragmatic" ethnographies, which are organized along the lines of steps of applying Freirean dialogues in adult language classes. In addition, it outlines the author's viewpoint on the goals of culture exploration: gaining awareness of oneself as a cultural being and positioned subject, gaining awareness of the interrelation between language and culture, as well as creating conditions for facilitating students' coping with culture shock and the ambiguity of cross-cultural interactions. It is argued that culture exploration will allow adult second language learners to develop coherent understandings of their cultural experiences in the target community and use that knowledge to act more effectively for their own ends in the context of the target culture. .. lll DEDICATION I dedicate this study to my parents Anka and Ilia, who nurtured my inquisitiveness, as well as to my colleagues at the Institute for Foreign Students in Bulgaria, who fostered an atmosphere of conducting rigorous research to search for ways to improve practices in teaching English to adult learners. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank the members of my supervisory committee, Dr. Kelleen Toohey and Dr. June Beynon, who provided me with succinct direction, wisdom, and encouragement in the process of working on this study. Much gratitude is owed to Dr. Suzanne de Castell and Dr. Celia Haig-Brown who opened before me new frontiers for conducting research. Thanks to Kathryn Alexander for offering her emotional support in the initial stages of this research, and to Dr. Diane Dagenais for taking the time to be my external examiner. Finally, I am grateful to my husband Dimitar Dirnitrov who believed in me and encouraged me in innumerable ways to complete this thesis. Table of Contents Approval .. Abstract lll Dedication Acknowledgments Chapter One - Introduction Purpose of the Study Background Theoretical Foundations Overview of the Study Chapter Two - Culture in Anthropology Origins of the Concept of Culture Developments in Anthropological Theory Classic Evolutionary Theory Historical Particularism and Cultural Relativism Functionalism and Structural Functionalism Culture and Personality Broader Theorizing on Culture as a Concept Culture and Behaviour Ideational Theories of Culture Contemporary Anthropology Culture as a Contested Reality Summary Anthropological Culture and Culture Teaching in the Language Classroom Chapter Three - Setting the Stage for Ambiguities in Culture Teaching Historical Perspectives 30 The Humanistic Approach to Culture 30 The Concept of Culture Teaching in Germany 3 2 Culture Teaching Terminology 33 Post World War I1 Developments 34 Anthropological Influences 34 Lado's Focus on Comparisons between Cultures 35 Language as Culture Enters the Scene 36 Brooks' Conceptualizations of Culture and Culture Teaching 38 Definitions of Culture 38 The Profile of a Culture 39 Topics for Culture Teaching 40 Culture Teaching as Presentation of Cultural "Facts" 4 1 Patterns of Behaviour or Cultural Meanings 42 Nostrand's Conceptualization of Culture and Culture Teaching 43 The Emergent Model The Culture Subsystem Culture Themes Goals of Culture Teaching Conclusion Chapter Four - Teaching Culture as a Separate Skill in the Language Classroom Seelye's Conceptualization of Culture and Culture Teaching A Broad View of Culture Seelye as a Functionalist Goals of Culture Teaching Culture Assimilators, Capsules, and Clusters River's Approach to Culture Culture Teaching and Intercultural Communication Theory Stern's Cultural Syllabus Culture and Systematic Information The Different Perspectives on a Target Culture The Place of Culture in Language A Deliberate Approach to a Target Culture Conclusion Chapter Five - Integration of Language and Culture in the Classroom The Interrelationship between Language and Culture Theory of Linguistic Relativity Other Views on the LanguageICulture Connection Communicative Competence and Language Teaching Advances in Sociolinguistics The Concept of "Communicative Competence" The Communicative Approach Communicative Competence and Cultural Competence Byram and Ethnography in Language Education Toward the Integration of Language and Culture Teaching Cultural Studies Ethnographic Fieldwork in Culture Teaching Problematizing Some of Byram's Conceptualizations Cultural Knowledge Byram's Conceptualization of Cultural Meaning Kramsch and the "Third Place" in Culture Learning Culture as Conflict Teaching the Boundary through Dialogue Double-Voicedness and Critical Language Pedagogy The Third Place - Being on the Fence An Approach to Cross-Cultural Understanding Chapter Six - Culture Exploration in the Adult Second Language Classroom Introduction Culture Teaching or Culture Exploration? Legacy of the Term "Culture Teaching" Current Culture Instruction Theorizing The Predicament of Culture vii The Nature of Learning 98 Ethnography in Culture Exploration 99 Geertz's Conceptualization of Culture 100 Ethnography and Participant Observation 101 Goals of Participant Observation in Culture Exploration 102 Critical Dialogue in the Classroom 105 Problem Posing 105 Steps in Applying Problem Posing in the Classroom 107 Steps and Goals of the Critical Dialogue in Culture Exploration 107 Coping with Ambiguity 112 Adult Language Students and Culture Exploration 113 Summary of the Approach 113 Role of the Teacher 114 Why Incorporate Culture Exploration in Language Education? 115 Chapter Seven - Conclusion Summary of the Study Recommendations for Further Research The Author's Assumptions Revisited List of References 125 ... ~ Vlll Chapter One Introduction Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to offer a conceptual, historiographic and critical analysis of the place of culture in second language education. It seeks to provide answers to the following questions: What is meant by "culture" and how has culture teaching been addressed in the works of second language education theorists? More specifically, the questions which will guide this analysis are: How has "culture" in the anthropological sense of the term been conceptualized in second language education and how have these conceptualizations been translated into directions for classroom practice? The study will also present the author's view of the place of culture in language classrooms. It introduces the notion "culture exploration"
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