TE+407+Presentations+-+Cultures

= = =**Breaking it Down: Culture in the Classroom**=

“The human mind, once stretched to a new idea, never returns to its former dimensions.” –//The Autocrat of the Breakfast Table.//

What is Culture?
 * The interaction between PERSPECTIVES (e.g. meanings, attitudes, values, ideas), PRODUCTS (e.g. books, tools, foods, laws, music, games), and PRACTICES (i.e. patterns of social interactions) of a given group of people
 * “Big C” culture is formal --> social, political, and economic institutions, historical figures, literature, fine arts, sciences
 * “Little c” culture is daily life --> housing, clothing, food tools, transportation, and other behaviors

Avoiding Cultural Misunderstandings
 * Assumptions are a result of insufficient knowledge or education
 * Students should be educated to have a sensitivity and an understanding of cultures different than their own … the “what-s” and the “why-s”

Teaching Similarities and Differences
 * Teachers should not just teach about how we are similar, but put importance on how we are different as well
 * Students should be able to analyze different products, practices, and perspectives than those of their own culture
 * Students should be able to tie these cultural differences in with the language differences in their L2

The Specific Role of Second Language Study
 * Second language study is the ONLY area in which students have the potential to meaningfully engage with members of other cultures
 * We cannot teach a language without contextualizing it … without teaching them about the context of the language … which is the culture of the people who speak the language

Standards
 * 2.1 --> Understand the relationship between PERSPECTIVES AND PRACTICES
 * 2.2 --> Understand the relationship between PERSPECTIVES AND PRODUCTS