The Role of Local Culture and Context in English Language Teaching
The Role of Local Culture and Context in English Language Teaching
-Mabindra Regmi
The Relation between Language and Culture
The structuralists portrayed language as an entity that could be segmented and through learning these segments, the totality would also be learnt. This method has been tested, challenged and in many cases discarded in the world of linguistics. The conception, propagation and inevitable discontinuation of ever new methods has prompted Sowden to express “there has indeed been methodological fatigue, leading many to the pragmatic conclusion that informed eclecticism offers the best approach for the future.” (Sowden, 2007, p. 304). Perhaps, eclecticism is the right trend while implementing ELT methods. One of the factors that should be considered, however, is that there seems to be a deep connection between language and culture unlike the belief of the structuralists.
The concept of language teaching now is that of concentration in what the learners learn or want to learn rather that what is to be taught. As the classrooms get more learner-centered, it can be assumed that the attitude and the initiatives from the learners’ side will be more prominent. Since a person is shaped by ones culture and local setting, we can assume that the importance of cultural context in language teaching will grow as learning becomes more learner centered.
It is in conjunction with this shift of emphasis away from teaching and towards learning, that there has appeared a growing awareness of the role played by culture in the classroom.
(Sowden C, 2007, p. 304)
It is not only the learners that come with their own culture in the classroom, the teachers also bring their own culture. This is particularly true if the language teacher is not from the locality. Sowden warns the teacher “to be aware not only of the cultures of their students and their environment, but also of the cultures that they themselves bring to the classroom” (Sowden, 2007, p.305).
Thus, it can
-Mabindra Regmi
The Relation between Language and Culture
The structuralists portrayed language as an entity that could be segmented and through learning these segments, the totality would also be learnt. This method has been tested, challenged and in many cases discarded in the world of linguistics. The conception, propagation and inevitable discontinuation of ever new methods has prompted Sowden to express “there has indeed been methodological fatigue, leading many to the pragmatic conclusion that informed eclecticism offers the best approach for the future.” (Sowden, 2007, p. 304). Perhaps, eclecticism is the right trend while implementing ELT methods. One of the factors that should be considered, however, is that there seems to be a deep connection between language and culture unlike the belief of the structuralists.
The concept of language teaching now is that of concentration in what the learners learn or want to learn rather that what is to be taught. As the classrooms get more learner-centered, it can be assumed that the attitude and the initiatives from the learners’ side will be more prominent. Since a person is shaped by ones culture and local setting, we can assume that the importance of cultural context in language teaching will grow as learning becomes more learner centered.
It is in conjunction with this shift of emphasis away from teaching and towards learning, that there has appeared a growing awareness of the role played by culture in the classroom.
(Sowden C, 2007, p. 304)
It is not only the learners that come with their own culture in the classroom, the teachers also bring their own culture. This is particularly true if the language teacher is not from the locality. Sowden warns the teacher “to be aware not only of the cultures of their students and their environment, but also of the cultures that they themselves bring to the classroom” (Sowden, 2007, p.305).
Thus, it can