Continuing ideas from last week, this week we'll look more closely at what it means to consider English as an EIL. Also, we'll look at a very practical, easy, and kid-friendly approach to including culture in the classroom.
1. First, please read McKay's Teaching English as an International Language.
2. Next, read this article about Moran's Cultural Knowings Framework.
Blog Question 1: Briefly reflect on your own classrooms. Have you been including EIL ideas either consciously or subconsciously? If so, how? If you have not, how could you include some EIL ideas? Or, if you reject the idea of EIL, why do you feel that way?
Blog Question 2: What part of your own culture could you teach following Moran's framework? Briefly explain how would you do it?
Blog Question 1
ReplyDeleteIn my advanced reading class, we read novels – and almost all of them would be considered to be from the Target culture and International Target Culture. One book I’ll reflect on here was a story based on the life of a Sudanese Lost Boy displaced in the civil war. Now – the book was actually written by a Korean author – so as I type this, I wonder how ‘authentic’ it really was…however, the content of the story was factual and my students found it very interesting. When preparing to teach this – I did a lot of background research into the war – and into the experiences of the Lost Boys. When I last taught this book in a one-on-one class, I found my student to be really interested in the daily life of children in Sudan – so we looked up information and images on Sudanese villages, schools etc. With this and the other books we’ve covered, I try my best to read up on the history and culture of the countries depicted to make sure I can answer questions. If students bring up something I can’t answer – we usually look things up together – or I research it on my own and answer next class. I’d say my students enjoy learning about other cultures that are ‘foreign’ to them – and they definitely enjoy books whose characters are their age – they enjoy comparing their lives.
Blog Question 2:
One thing I have done before (at my Director’s request) was to have a ‘tea party’ with my students and their mothers. The idea of a tea party is quite British – but that being said – it’s one of the traditions SA has retained since we were colonized. ‘High Tea’ is very common in SA – and is also something ‘posh’ people like to do.
Here is the sequence I used as per Moran’s model:
For Knowing About – I presented a short history (yes…there is a history) with some interesting facts. We also tasted some different teas (English Breakfast, Earl Grey, South African Rooibos…). We talked about the different foods you would see – and we actually went to a department store and decided what kind of food we thought would be appropriate for our tea party. We even talked about some of the kinds of topics people talk about – what would be appropriate etc.
For Knowing Why – we talked about the values behind tea parties like the social values – and even the status behind some of them. We also talked about occasions when people would have tea parties (birthdays, baby showers etc.)
For Knowing Oneself – we compared tea and coffee culture in SA and Korea. We talked about tea and how it was potentially viewed in a different way between SA and Korea (green tea, health etc.)
For Knowing How – we looked at some photos, and we did actually have a tea party. We baked, learned ‘how to make a pot of tea’ (yes – there is a suggested way…) we learned about table settings (very 1950s of us – but every SA girl knows…). We invited the mums and some other guests and had a tea party.
After the tea party – the girls reflected on whether they thought it was fun, and whether they thought their mothers would be likely to have another one – and why, or why not.
Brevity...always escaping me ;)
Delete1. I now realize that have actually been consciously teaching EIL (somewhat) by Smith's definition. Specifically regarding his assertion that "learners of an international language do not need to internalize the cultural norms of native speakers of that language". With regards to Western holidays, I find them silly and I consciously choose not to teach about them. This is because of my own personal bias, and not because I maintain a EIL philosophy, per say. I don't think it's necessary to teach my students about Halloween, Santa Clause or the Easter bunny. However the kindergarten holds Halloween and Christmas parties every year, so the management definitely believes that it's important for the kids to learn about these Western cultural norms. I tip-toe around it, and pay as little attention as possible at those times of year.
ReplyDeleteI do however engage with the students during Korean holiday times like solnal and chuseok. I ask them what they do with their family, what they eat, and so on. That coincides with Smith's other assertion that "the educational goal of an international language is to enable learners to communicate their ideas and culture to others"
2.I think a very simple but important thing about my culture I can and should and do teach my kids is about basic politeness. How to ask for help, saying please and thank you, saying excuse me, and saying sorry, holding open a door, letting others go first. I think it's an age-appropriate thing to teach my students. I don't think 6 year olds need to learn about handshakes.
Canadians tend to be notoriously "polite". While a lot of us foreigners tend to become frustrated in Korea with Koreans lack of saying "excuse me" when bumping into another, or pushing infront of a line, or not holding the door. So teaching about my culture's manners can help develop my students' sociolinguistic competence.
Here are my answers to the blog questions.
ReplyDeleteBlog Question 1:
I have not yet really included EIL ideas in my own classroom. I would say that if I have a say in the selection of the textbook or learning materials to be used in my classroom, I would like to use those which include source culture as well as international target culture.
This would provide students with opportunities to reflect on their own culture as well as international target cultures represented in these materials. I agree with Sandra McKay in that we should go beyond just providing students with facts. They should instead have opportunities to critically think about cultural content presented trying to understand their own culture with respect to these other cultures and acknowledge how English is being used by people in different countries worldwide in communicating with “others” while realizing that knowing about other cultures does not mean that they have to accept these other cultures.
Blog Question 2:
I would love to teach my students about personal space and how in Western cultures we have very different ideas of personal space.
Following Moran’s framework, here is how I could teach my students about personal space:
Knowing About – Presentation of definition of personal space and the fact that Western cultures value larger personal spaces through a listening in which two expatriates are talking to each other on Seoul Metro.
Knowing How – Demonstration of smaller and larger personal spaces through role-plays.
Knowing Why – Discussion about the values behind larger personal spaces for Western cultures and smaller personal spaces for Korean culture. What are some possible explanations for this?
Knowing Oneself – Discussion about students’ thoughts and feelings about larger personal spaces. What are some things they could do/would like to do in this regard? What have they learned through this lesson?
Lawrence...Dee Dee... you guys are killing me on this - hahaha -politeness...personal space - and I chose the day my boss asked me to teach 'tea parties' (honestly because we'd been to tea together here - and had planned on doing it in London when we randomly would have been there at the same time...)
DeleteI suppose she wanted me to teach something 'posh' (she's a bit like that...) but I must say - the girls had a great time talking about coffee culture in Korea...that and I've probably managed to create two Stepford Wife potentials :(
Amy... I really enjoyed reading about your "tea party" at work. Your hagwon seems to be always engaging students in communicative tasks, which are stimulating as well. :)
ReplyDelete1.) I have been teaching mostly EIL since the beginning. Our textbooks are written with this focus. The style of English is American, but the cultural sections are not confined to just the Anglo-American world, but talk about other European, Asian and African cultures. For example, there was a section on the first day of school, and how different cultures treat it. The countries highlighted were Korea, the US and Germany. Another example is that a reading section deals with a boy from Kenya: What is his favorite food, favorite sport, his school, where he is from and other such details. Korean holidays are talked about using English. A chapter in the 6th Grade textbook is overt: "How do you say this in Korean?" This chapter is full of cultural things.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, I still don't see how a language can be divorced from its culture. Or if that is even a good thing if it were possible.
2.) A cultural point I could teach is the use of honorifics in English. I have attempted to explain their use in the past, but it was always treated as an aside (something that came up in the larger lesson). The use of Mr., Mrs., and Ms. and when to use them.
-Knowing About: A PPT presentation on Western Honorifics (What are they? Differences?) with examples.
-Knowing How: Get the students to practice introducing themselves to each other using the appropriate honorifics. Change it up by having some of the girls in the class be married and have to use the Mrs. title.
-Knowing Why: What is the purpose of these titles? Where do they come from? A discussion task where the students have to come up with reasons why THEY think it is important.
-Knowing Oneself: How do Koreans address each other and how does it compare with the Western way? This point can be done in concert with the Knowing Why activity, as the students will be forced to come to an answer on their own.
Blog 1
ReplyDeleteI’ve never included EIL material in my classroom, but I feel that my style of teaching is very EIL-esque, in regards to the students becoming bilingual instead of bicultural. I do not agree with teachers imposing their own culture and beliefs: that the learners of the L2 have to internalize the cultural norms of the native speakers. In Korea I’ve noticed that some English schools make the students choose an English name. However, at my school they get to decide for themselves if they want to have an English name or not. Some students really enjoy this process of picking an English name. I’ve kind of viewed this as stripping the student of their cultural identity (the making part), however recently I have been wondering if giving the students an English name for class could function as a kind of schema activation. That when they hear the English name it triggers an ‘English Mode’, making them more susceptible for SLA. Just a thought…
Blog 2
I would teach my kids about the extreme sports culture, since it’s such a new concept to Korea.
Knowing About:
Watch some videos to show the progression of the sports. From the beginning, when people had a negative view of the individuals, to the present where they are now professional making millions doing what they love. Have the students read some interviews of professionals about the progression of the sports and their acceptance into the Olympics. Also, have the students look at the styles of clothing that is associated with this sub-culture.
Knowing How:
I would have the students practice some of the lingo and style of greetings and good-byes that are accustom to this sub-culture. Knowing how and when they should use certain phrases.
Knowing Why:
Have the students reflect on the reasons why at the beginning there was such a negative opinion of the individuals doing these sports and why they think it has become what it is today? If they were in the shoes of one of the pioneers back in the day, how would they have handled the negativity? Would they have quit?
Knowing Oneself:
The students will look at the views of their culture towards these sports/sub-culture. Do they think that it will follow the same history it did in the TC?
2. I was trying to think about what I could teach about my culture, and I eventually thought about food. North Americans eat different foods during the different meal times. The following is how I would teach, according to Moran’s model:
ReplyDeleteKnowing How – I could show them photos or video clips of different food from different meal times and ask them questions about them regarding what they are eating, if they think there is a different eating manner, and I could possibly have them act out how a typical Korean family would act and then we could compare it to a video clip of a North American family. Or maybe we could read about different cultures and discuss.
Knowing About – We could talk about how people eat different foods and they could act different when eating with other people. We could talk about the table set up and maybe who is responsible for cooking, cleaning, etc.
Knowing Why – We could talk about why the two different countries have different eating manners, and eating techniques.
Knowing Oneself – I could have them do a writing assignment where they write about their own family and how they eat and what they do during meal times. They could then compare it to a culture that we discussed in class. If the writing assignment is too difficult, we could create a discussion in class and have students speak individually.
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteIn my classroom I do tend to rely on the book as well. While it doesn't say what culture it is focusing on, it is based on a version of English I would describe as Standard American English. There is not a single other accent in the whole book. The book also keeps the cultures very separated. Korean culture is talked about throughout the book, with an emphasis on talking about Koreans and Korean culture.
Like Jeff I am forced to rely on my book and use it to teach most of my lessons. I do feel it would be more beneficial to use more international culture in my lessons. For instance, my family has more cultural backgrounds mixing together than most. I have a Mexican sister in law and a Japanese sister in law. Many Koreans when presented with this are very shocked by the amount of "otherness" I have in my family and how I am able to normally interact with people of other cultures. As talked about before, Koreans need a chance to practice being okay with otherness and my classroom is a good a place to start as any.
Question 2:
Culture point to teach: Tipping and Restaurants
Knowing About:
-Student would learn different types of special restaurants in America (steak houses, diners, breakfast houses)
-What kind of food is served in each.
- When most Americans would chose one or the other
Knowing How:
- Practice seating themselves and making eye contact with waiter to signal readiness.
- How to order the food you want. (steak houses need more time, diners are all at once)
- When to leave a tip and how much.
Knowing Why:
- Learn how much servers are paid
- understand the values behind not calling over the waiter.
- reasons why calling over may be seen as rude
Knowing Oneself:
- how do you call someone over in a restaurant
- how do they feel about tipping a server personally
- similarities between Korea and American dining.
Question 1: My classroom textbook doesn't directly address other cultures at all. I borrowed a textbook so I could do my EFL textbook evaluation. Aside from the implied races of the people in the book, culture is pretty much ignored. I bring up culture when we talk about different topics, but my classroom is pretty streamlined for time.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2: I used a book last year when I had more time and freedom. I posted it on Google Plus. The book is called Ugly Korean, Ugly American, which is why I picked it up in the first place. The title alone creates discussion. Although the book is pretty old by now (1995), a lot of the cultural practices are still around today. If I were to use Moran's method to introduce the topics:
Knowing about:
-Student would read different cultural practices by Americans and Koreans. I would want to use ones that were opposite. So I would have them read that Americans get upset if someone cuts in line. Then they would read about how Koreans don't have to cue for the bus.
Knowing How: I would give them several situations where someone might be offended by different behaviors. We would discuss different ways to explain or apologize...depending on where the student was located when the event happened.
Knowing Why:
We could look at the underlying reasons for such behaviors
Ex. Korea is quite crowded while America generally has open spaces.
Knowing oneself:
I would have the students act out different situations and reflect on how the other culture made them feel. Do they understand why people get offended? How can we live in other cultures or with people from other cultures more harmoniously?
Question 1:
ReplyDeleteWhen I taught at Suncheon National University I never consciously taught EIL or English/Canadian culture. In the university classes I followed the textbook target language and my pair/group activities were usually based on situations in Korea so that the students could relate to the target language better.
Even in my LC (language center) classes I tended to focus on discussing topics (that the students choose) in a Korea context more often or I personalized them for the students.
In my current job at the teacher training center I usually teach public speaking, debate and writing meth (which is writing lesson ideas for the classroom). Culture might be part of a lesson or a speech topic but I do not consciously teach it.
Now, outside of the class at my institute I do impart culture to the Korean teachers. As they have overseas training I often tell them common idioms or expressions, talk about where they are going and when they have gone to my hometown (Vancouver, Canada) I gave them a detailed Vancouver Culture/Tourism Guidebook (over 30 pages) that I made myself.
Even though I have been in Korea over ten years all the teachers (especially those who have lived or traveled in Canada) say that I am still very Canadian.
And I should also point out that because of my unique monk like character (I am vegetarian, bald, not married, love animals, and I try very hard to not get angry) my students do learn a bit about "culture as a difference" and that not all cultures are "monolithic" (McKay). I do not fit the stereotype of a Korean or Canadian middle aged guy.
Lastly, I must say that most of the idioms/collocations in my Speaking Skills class are native based. Some might not be used in EIL but since my students go to North America I feel that a more Canadian/USA base for English is more helpful for them.
Question 2:
Canadian Culture and Moran's Framework
Knowing About
-brainstorm what my students know about Canadian culture and manners using a question such as:
What do you think are common Canadian public manners?
-I could also ask follow-up questions such as:
What have you seen Canadians do in public places? Please describe how we behave in public situations.
Knowing How
-I could put them into pairs and ask questions such as:
How do Canadians line-up for buses? How do Canadians speak to each other on the street? What are appropriate public manners?
Then they can share their answers in groups or with the class (depending on class size).
Knowing Why
-stay in groups and answer the questions:
What are possible explanations for this behaviour? How does this compare with your own culture?
-put it into point form or onto a handout provided by the instructor that will be placed onto the whiteboard/wall
Knowing Oneself
-for the final part I would I get them to write an individual reflection
-each student would walk around the classroom and read what was written for Knowing Why by the other groups
-then each person would write a few paragraph answering the following questions:
What are some differences and similarities?
What do you feel about the differences and similarities?
What have you learned?
-this final product would be handed in to the instructor OR read in pairs or groups