Aiming for an understanding of the 'other' in foreign language teaching points to the educational dimension of foreign language learning. Helping learners achieve intercultural sensitivity, establishing a willingness to understand, creating an open-minded attitude towards their own and the target cultures, taking their feelings and perceptions into account: in all these ways foreign language teaching can contribute to the personal growth of the learners and pave the way for lifelong intercultural learning. Yet in the classroom teaching attitudes and feelings are always connected with some topic or situation. Cultural awareness needs information and discussion to grow. This brings me to the second aspect, that of knowledge.
The problem of material selection is a very serious one for English Language Teaching. For a start there are quite a number of different Englishes spoken in our present world, then there are many different English-speaking cultures to choose from. What should school children be taught about this array of English-based or English— using cultures? Is it necessary for them to be familiar with, e.g. the geography of Britain, American pop culture or the history of Australia? Or should we restrict our teaching to the everyday life in one of these countries? We may find answers to these questions when we put the acquisition of knowledge about the target cultures into the general context of teaching for intercultural competence by using English.
A foreign language learner will be able to arrive at a more balanced view of the target culture if she or he knows something about it. However, receiving information in a foreign language class is no guarantee for developing cultural awareness, empathy and a willingness to understand. There seems to be no straightforward causal relationship between knowledge and attitude. Pupils with low scores in ethnocentricity are typically those who know a lot about the target country, but who are also interested in subjects like geography and history. The reverse is also true: markedly ethnocentric ideas come from pupils with little interest in and little knowledge about the target culture.
There is another point to consider in connection with factual knowledge when aiming for intercultural understanding. It is, as a rule, greatly helped along by going back to basic human experiences. This might be a point where attitude and knowledge — both about one's own and the target culture — can profitably intersect. Taking basic human experiences, cultural kernels, as the starting point, we may be able to develop thematic units for intercultural learning within foreign language teaching. In English language classrooms cultural kernel topics would have a dual purpose: on the one hand, they could provide information on the target cultures; on the other hand, they could motivate the learners to look at their own culture too. Decisions as to what target cultures to include, whether to contrast Germany and Britain, for instance, or whether to adopt an international stance, are dependent on the age group, the location and, perhaps, the type of school.
The main purpose of any general foreign language course is to enable the learners to communicate in this new language. And here lies a second very important function of knowledge about the target cultures: it is also strategic knowledge. It helps learners to grasp something about the other culture and to become aware of their own cultural values and practices; it also helps them to survive better, i.e. with fewer misunderstandings and breakdowns, in cross-cultural communication.
The study of intercultural communication deals with the effects which cultural diversity has on interpersonal contact. Knowledge about other cultures and cultural awareness are often seen as subservient to the general aim of intercultural communication. Applied linguists are working on a general theory of intercultural communication. Consequently, many focus on that type of intercultural communication which is not culture-specific, but occurs in all kinds of cross-cultural interaction. It is evident that for this type of communicative skill, knowledge about a certain target culture is not essential. What is important is an insight into the culture-dependent nature of communicative styles and behaviors. A number of strategic skills need also be acquired if the intercultural communicator wants to identify and correct misunderstandings, or if she has only a very basic foreign language repertoire to draw on.
In my view there are a number of drawbacks to a general English language course at schools which concentrate on communicative training based on cultural awareness. Let me pick out two. The first problem is that of content. Twenty years of communicative language teaching have shown that it is not enough just to talk, one must talk about something. Children are naturally curious about their peers in other countries. They want to learn something about the target countries.
The second problem concerns the learners' language performance. If we try and make communicating in the foreign language a conscious process of choosing words and phrases not only on the basis of their grammatical and lexical accuracy and communicative appropriateness, but also on the basis of their cultural connotations, we raise the barrier for speaking. The timid and the sensitive especially will be even more afraid to say something for fear of being wrong, if they have to monitor not only grammar and vocabulary but also, cultural adequacy. Any foreign language teaching before the individual personality becomes more stable, must weigh the gains in cultural awareness against the losses of spontaneity and willingness to speak. A lot will depend on the actual realization of intercultural aims at the different levels.
Teachers are the mediators of the foreign cultures, they are also the best models their pupils have of successful and confident intercultural communicators. The teacher's functions do not lie solely in the dispersion of linguistic knowledge and the training of skills: teachers are also vital for creating motivation for their subject. The teacher's personal involvement with other cultures can greatly stimulate the learners' interest. The younger the learners, the more important the teacher.
Teaching English for intercultural competence in the areas of attitude, knowledge and skill outlined in this paper requires teachers who can bring the foreign culture into the classroom. That does not mean that a teacher needs to have an encyclopedic knowledge of all English language cultures plus his own; neither does it mean that teachers of English have to be bilingual. But it does imply that an English teacher remains curious and willing to learn about English speaking cultures, that he or she has embarked on this lifelong road of discovery and is willing to let the learners share some of this experience. If teaching the English language for intercultural competence is meaningful for the teacher on a professional as well as on a personal level, then it may become meaningful for some of her pupils as well. It is the task of foreign language teacher training, mainly at the universities, to establish courses of study where the students are prepared for this kind of English language teaching. Intercultural aspects and their didactic application deserve to be given room in teacher training if we want the next generation to learn English in a wider intercultural context.
Answer the following questions:
1. What are the two perspectives of foreign language teaching through culture?
2. How does “meeting the other” occur in the English language classroom?
3. How does the problem of material selection tell on the learners’ progress in learning English?
4. What are the main drawbacks of an English language course?
5. What is the role of a foreign language today?
3. Teaching English at university level
S. Ter-Minasova
When I am asked by my British colleagues: "Is it true that teaching English in Russia has become a most important educational problem?" I answer: "No, it is not". It is not an educational problem any longer. It is a most important social problem.
English-speaking people do not fully realize the significance of teaching English to foreigners for the simple reason that they are the lucky owners of the language which has become the most important means of international communication.
They get this generous gift from their English-speaking parents and acquire the knowledge of their mother tongue effortlessly while millions of foreigners spend years trying to master the language which they desperately need for their work. That is where the social aspect comes in.
English is learnt in Russia not for fun, not as a luxury or as prestigious evidence of culture, education and the social rank of parents, not even so much as a means to open a new world. It is all that, but that is not the main thing.
The knowledge of English has become an objective social need because for millions of people the English language is now a tool of their trade. Businessmen, tradesmen, engineers, scientists and scholars all over the world must know English because it is the international means of exchange of information and experience.
Russian people have always been keen on studying foreign languages in general and the English language in particular, especially after the Second World War. Nowadays, with iron curtains being lifted, doors to other countries opened, travelling by private invitation allowed, partnerships in trade, business and science encouraged, the ever-increasing thirst for the English language is turning into a demand to be taught it as soon as possible.
Technical problems and barriers of distance separating peoples do not exist any longer because scientists worked hard and did their bit. Politicians - at long last — are beginning to do their duty and break down the political barriers of bureaucracy, formalism, mutual mistrust and old feuds.
As these serious and difficult obstacles are being overcome, a new barrier appeared - the language barrier. Foreign language teachers have 'found themselves in the focus of public attention. It is their turn to do their duty.
Under such circumstances, teachers of English become, on the one hand, more important and, on the other, more vulnerable. This is because they cannot fully satisfy this ever-increasing cry for help.
Universities crown the system of education in all European countries therefore it is the university teachers of foreign languages who must find the solution to this urgent social and educational problem. We are now in the centre of public attention.
The situation with foreign language teaching in Russian Universities is in some ways different from that of many European countries. In Russia, students in all specialities have foreign languages on the curriculum as an obligatory subject for three to four years out of the average five years of the full course. Thus, our students not only want to learn foreign languages, but also have to learn them because students of any subject, any discipline must learn a foreign language as part of their syllabus.
At the beginning of the university course of foreign language teaching it is necessary to formulate its actual and realistic aims and tasks. Students must know from the start what variety of the foreign language, and to what extent, they are going to master it.
Many people get bitterly disappointed and lose interest in foreign language studies because they were not duly informed that it is not possible (if you are not a genius, but these are scarce) in the limited period of learning - 2- 4 hours per week for 2-3 years -to master a foreign language, to acquire all the various skills: reading special literature, newspapers, fiction, writing scientific papers, understanding the lyrics of songs, everyday speech, etc.
The tasks of foreign language teaching must be formulated from the beginning. In Moscow University these tasks are very humble: to teach students a foreign language for special purposes, i.e. as an actual means of communication among specialists of different countries, meaning both - oral and written kinds of communication. In other words, foreign language teaching is oriented towards mastering skills for professional communication, and teaching language for special purposes (LSP).
Another important aspect to be taken into consideration is distinguishing between passive, aimed at recognition (reading, comprehension) and active, aimed at production (speaking, writing) forms of language use. The distinction is essential because these two forms require different means and methods of teaching and - most importantly — different teaching materials.
Teaching methods must be learner-oriented. In other words, foreign language teaching is concerned, first and foremost, with satisfying the real needs of the students and not with revealing the knowledge of the teacher. The intensive and efficient teaching of grammar, vocabulary, translation, etc. must be scientifically grounded and concentrate only on those items which students actually need for the purposes specified at the beginning of the university course.
This is an important statement which in theory is universally accepted but in practice is hardly ever followed.
For instance, teaching grammar is a very essential part of foreign language teaching. However, very often grammar is taught par excellence, in its full splendour, regardless of the actual aims of teaching, of the actual skills to be acquired. Paradoxically, teachers concentrate their (and the students') efforts on those complicated and cumbersome grammar structures which are hardly ever used. The difference between seeing a difficult grammatical form in the text and actually using it is often disregarded and different grammar points are taught with equal enthusiasm. Teaching communication for special purposes must be based on the previous Linguistic analysis of special texts resulting in recommendations for teaching those grammar forms and structures which are most characteristic of these texts. Another urgent problem is a good grammar book. Most textbooks repeat the same definitions which are colourless and difficult to understand because they are "universal", i.e. written regardless of the nationality of the learner. Grammar books must take into account on the one hand the peculiarities of the "LSP" in question, and, on the other, the characteristic features of the grammar of the student's mother tongue. I need hardly say that what is difficult about the English language for Russians may be easy for Italians and vice versa.
This concerns Grammar books and Grammar commentaries, explanations and exercises in all kinds of foreign language courses.
The problem of teaching vocabulary may seem to be, theoretically speaking, easier. LSP teaching implies teaching the vocabulary of a special text. However, there are no easy points as far as living human languages are concerned. Indeed, the vocabulary of a special text consists of three strata, three layers: general words, scientific words, and terms. Basic general words must have been learnt before the University. Terms are the gist, the essence of the speciality and are usually better known by students than by 'teachers. The emphasis, consequently, is on the scientific vocabulary which is, as it were, the skeleton of every special text. However, the general vocabulary is never taught properly at school and has to be acquired at the University level, especially now that the demand for so-called colloquial language has become so great since the prospects of direct, live contacts with foreigners have become so real. This is one more problem to think about.
A very important point in any language course is the actual words to be studied, the topics to be discussed and learnt, the thematic choice of language to be activated.
The educational experience of a language course is determined, first and foremost, by the thematic and situational value of the layer of language to be studied. And the most important parameter here is again the need of a student: how much will the student need these words, will he or she have many opportunities to use them, how high is this bit of vocabulary on the student's list of priorities?
From this point of view many topics seem doubtful as far as Russian students of foreign languages are concerned. That is why the majority of foreign language teaching materials — audio, video, etc. courses are of very limited value for our students. For instance, the inevitable "Hotel registration" situation, which opens so many courses of foreign languages. To a Russian learner of a foreign language this situation is extremely distant and unrealistic. Even if in our most rosy dreams we imagine that 1 out of our 1000 students will go to a foreign, say English-speaking country, it is, probably, 1 out of 100,000 who will ever have to check in a hotel by himself.