Mod 7 Discussion: Language and Learning

In the attached article, Integrating Culture into Language Learning, what impact does culture, and knowledge of culture have on the learners?
According to the researcher explored in the article, culture and language are integrally linked in that language competence is a reflection of the knowledge the language user possesses about the culture where that language is spoken. In other words, one cannot be competent in a language unless one also has knowledge and awareness of the culture and the cultural norms of the society where that language is spoken. If a language learner has limited knowledge of the culture that uses the language, then the learner will have limited success in learning that language. Having students enroll in intercultural courses was one approach the article mentioned to help build both student awareness and then knowledge of the culture of the language they wished to learn. In this context, to quote from the article: “ Cultural competence involves ‘the acquisition of resources to deal with interlocutors of diverse ethnic backgrounds’ and ‘an awareness of cultural diversity and an ability to recognize and accept differences and manage them successfully” (Barraja-Rohan, 1999, p. 143).’"

Share a topic that might be used to help inspire interest in another culture and foster cultural understanding.

One thing a teacher can do to foster a sense of cultural understanding is to organize a cultural exchange event of some kind; or perhaps take the students on field trip to a local cultural festival.

What other useful resource/article would you recommend related to multicultural education?
In an effort to promote more openness about culture learning the classroom, I would recommend teachers review the following titles pulled from the reference page of the article: 1) Promoting openness toward culture learning: Ethnographic interviews for students of Spanish. The Modern Language Journal, 86(3), 318-331, by E. B. Blair; and 2) Teaching culture as an integrated part of language teaching: An introduction. In A. J. Liddicoat & C. Crozet (Eds.), Teaching language, teaching culture (pp. 1-22). Clayton: Applied Linguistics Association of Australia.