Teaching culture through its components

Bolat Rauan, Baibatyrova A.A
Student of L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian National University, Kazakhstan
Senior teacher, L.N. Gumilyov Eurasian national University, Kazakhstan

Abstract

This article examines the importance of learning culture and its methods in EFL classrooms. No one can deny that culture is an integral part of language. In addition, a good knowledge of grammar, phonetics and syntax related to the English language does not give students an understanding of aspects of the daily life of people from English-speaking countries. While studying a foreign language, students must learn to be aware of an unfamiliar world. It is unrealistic to achieve the ability to cross-cultural communication without knowing your world, language and culture.

Culture is a collection of human knowledge, beliefs and behaviors that we adopt and then pass on to future generations. Culture is the most important socializing factor that regulates various spheres of human interaction - from everyday communication to the activities of the global economic system. In addition, the culture of teaching is very important because most students cannot explain other countries where English is spoken. Therefore, when it comes to learning English and native speakers, it is necessary to clarify who exactly should be a model of language behavior for students. Because native speakers are not only English, but also residents of the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, etc. Which model is best suited for our language learning conditions? What model would be acceptable for our students? When a language is being studied for international communication, listeners should have an idea of the different types of spoken English that exist both by native speakers and by people who use English for communication purposes but are not native speakers.

The relevance of this work is determined by the need for in-depth study of culture in practical aspects, in particular, the use of culture for the development of communication skills. In such situations, cultural factors seem to be one of the main causes of this problematic issue. When teachers effectively teach a culture, language learners may be able to fully understand other cultures and become more tolerant, as well as avoid cultural shocks later in their real life.

The research work is aimed at establishing an educational culture and awareness of the benefits of culture in the classroom; they determine which problems you should consider when studying culture and its solutions.
Keywords: culture, methods, EFL students, teaching foreign language.

1. Introduction

The main condition for teaching culture depends on the language, which is the main means of obtaining information here. Language is one of the main elements of culture, and therefore it is necessary to mention the basics of culture, its meaning and some difficulties that you may encounter.
This article examines the difficulties of studying culture and useful methods of various authors that relate to awareness of culture in teaching English, the importance of studying culture and its role in our daily lives.

2. The Goals of teaching culture

2.1. The role of culture in teaching a language

To begin, the term culture will be defined in order to have a clear understanding of the key point of this research. As a result, various authors' perspectives and methods for teaching culture will be presented.

The concept of a connection between culture and language dates back to the 18th century, but it was not until the end of the last century that it was studied in depth. Some authors who carry out research on culture and culture teaching argue that culture and language are inexorably tied. "A speech is a portion of a culture, as well as culture is a portion of a language," says Brown (2007, p.189), emphasizing the intertwined relationship between language and culture. According to Kramsch, "language is a system of signs that is seen as having cultural value in and of itself." According to Mitchell and Miles (2014), "language and culture are not separable, but are acquired together, with each supporting the development of the other". Baker (2015) explained that learning a foreign language develops the necessary skills (speaking, listening, writing, and reading) and adds a fifth skill called intercultural awareness.

Cross-cultural communication can be defined as the possession and process of accomplishing a foreign language communicative activity in modern foreign language teaching methodology. Considering that the primary goal of teaching foreign languages is to provide access to communication with representatives of other cultures in the most diverse state possible, the issue of incorporating a sociocultural component into the process of teaching a foreign language becomes especially pertinent. The similarity or difference of cultures influences communicants' mutual understanding while individuals compare themselves and "ours," going to lead to the well-known formula "us and them."

When teaching a foreign language, students should be taught to comprehend a world that is unaware to them. It is impossible to develop intercultural communicative competence unless you understand their world, language, and culture. To find a place for another language in society and culture, one must not only understand the local language in question, but also the culture of the people who speak that language.

There are two approaches to teaching foreign languages from the a cultural standpoint. The first is an external perspective, which necessitates a concern of the English language's global role as the main language of international communication. On the other hand, teaching English as a foreign language is part of global education, which implies a reflection of global problems, such as information about the environment, language rights, and so on. The second approach is internal, focusing on the interaction of language learning and cultural learning. Naturally, learning a foreign language entails learning about culture. Both language teachers and people involved in the field of teacher training should be aware of these relationships, which should be reflected in the progrпm for teaching a foreign language, in our case English, and teaching methods. There is no doubt that the role that English plays in today's world has an impact on the nature of learning English as a foreign language. The study of a language and the study of the culture of the country of the language being studied are closely connected. Accordingly, the study of language involves the study of culture. We also consider it necessary to note that a deep study of another culture is possible only through the study of the language of the native speakers of this culture. Teaching language as a specialty in general, and teaching speech communication in particular, should be built with this provision in mind.

Finally, culture is essential to the growth of intercultural communication. Students must be adaptable when engaging in new creative activities, learning new information technologies, and attempting to avoid as well as resolving conflicts in personal and intercultural communication. Teaching a culture allows students to learn about the country in which they are reading literary texts in their native language. They aid in the transmission of knowledge, skills, and abilities to students. Such information piques students' interest in learning a foreign language, teaches them to set goals, and improves the learning process's effectiveness.

2.2 The components of culture

Despite the apparent clarity and simplicity of approaches to the definition of the concept "culture" in foreign language teaching, the content of teaching culture to has yet to be defined. Teaching students about someone's cultures is frequently limited to introducing them to some national traditions, individual works of art, outstanding scientists, tourist attractions, folklore examples, and so on. At the same time, other components remain unknown and unassimilated, which are required for a more complete orientation in a non-native cultural context, more adequate communication of cultural characteristics, and the implementation of mediator (intermediary) functions in intercultural communication.

Cultural awareness content can be conditionally divided into the following components:

— elements of culture (artifacts, monuments, ethnography);
— manifestations of culture (episdoes, cases, events);
— indicators of culture (habits, tastes, preferences)
— cultural facts (values, norms, stereotypes);
— dimensions of culture (collectivism–individualism, spontaneity - punctuality, femininity - masculinity).

The elements of culture: students can form a holistic view of the external attributes of another culturally in society by studying the elements of culture. This is the most traditional component of teaching another country's culture. Authentic folk costumes or products of creativity, household items, pottery and culinary products, national dishes, popular holidays, and so on are examples of cultural elements. The traditional pudding, for example, is a part of British culture.

Manifestations of culture are especially important for intercultural knowledge because "noticeable features of culture" contained in reports of participants in foreign trips, including "correspondence trips" via the Internet, take the lead in training content. Students' findings can be both objective and subjective, but they are all the result of mastering visual cognition strategies from another culture, which is important for teaching a different culture in an English educational program. Perhaps the most important task in visually introducing students to cultural manifestations is to teach them to confirm or refute stereotypes. Cultural manifestations are especially important for intercultural knowledge because "noticeable cultural features" contained in reports of participants in foreign trips, including "correspondence trips" via the Internet, take the lead in training content. The findings of students can be objective or subjective, but they are all the result of mastering visual cognition strategies from another culture, which is important when teaching a different culture in an English educational program. The ability to confirm or refute stereotypes is perhaps the most important task in visually introducing students to cultural manifestations.

Culture indicators function as implicit signals that we have met representatives of a culture that is not our own. Indicators of culture are frequently seen in the way people and their representatives live. Knowledge of cultural indicators is required to differentiate between "one's own" and "alien," recognize characteristics of unusual behavior, and adapt to a new cultural environment. The avoidance of discussing certain topics, such as family income, religious affiliation, existing diseases, personal details, and so on, is an indicator of British culture. A visit by men to pubs in the evening, particularly on Friday nights, can also be considered an indicator of British culture. A traditional Sunday visit to Anglican or other Protestant churches is a vanishing indicator of British culture. The desire of children already in their late teens to live separately from their parents is an indicator of Western culture as a whole, though this aspect of modern life is changing.

Culture facts are an even less obvious component of the content of teaching other people's cultures, because they are not always outwardly noticeable, but are stubbornly repeated and necessarily present in the collective mentality of cultural characteristics. Cultural facts include stoic behavior as a British culture value, an intolerant attitude toward ambiguity and lies as an American culture value, repentance as a Russian Orthodox culture value, and etc. Religion and beliefs, common superstitions and revered traditions, collective beliefs about the benefits or harms of a particular food, and shared views on ways to maintain health are examples of cultural facts. Cultural bearers do not usually demonstrate the facts of their cultural way of life to representatives of other communities, but they do not conceal them either.

Culture's dimensions are its deepest component, characterizing the most common cultural features that manifest themselves in people's lives with all possible exceptions. Russian culture, for example, is typically defined by its "feminine" dimension, with typical her poetry, dreaminess and aspiration for the future, song, openness, sincerity, and imagery. The masculine dimension of Western culture is characterized by decisiveness, activity, offensiveness, use of force, will, and pragmatism. Feminine mentality is typical of a collective culture, whereas many Western countries belong to individual cultures that emphasize a person's independence from society and the right to privacy in his personal life.

To summarize, culture is an important part of the content of teaching English in today's socioeconomic situation. This necessitates not only the development of teaching methods, but also the testing of various components of students' cultural knowledge. Furthermore, the culture-logical approach to teaching foreign languages naturally draws attention to the issue of researching the methodological culture of pedagogical activity. All of this is natural, because language has always evolved and functioned within the context of culture, both natural and educational. Today, everyone recognizes the connection between content learning and knowledge application on the one hand, and the cultural context of learning and life on the other.

REFERENCE LIST
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5. Wout de Jong, 1996. Open Frontiers. Teaching in an Intercultural Context. Oxford Heinemann.
6. Baker, W. (2012). From cultural awareness to intercultural awareness: Culture in ELT. ELT journal, 66(1), pp. 62-70.

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