Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Ya-ta Boy]

There was mention of this on another thread--something about Koreans not being interested in other people�s culture. It made me stop and think a bit about how much American culture I teach. I decided I don�t teach much, at least not deliberately and as a lesson. I do teach how to read American money, but we don�t dwell on it. I mention that we think our mind is in our head and not in our chest. I mention that we don�t shout �yo-gi-yo!� to get a waitresses� attention. From time to time, there is some reference in the text book that is incomprehensible to the students without some brief explanation. On the whole, I don�t go out of my way to push American culture. I certainly don�t force my students to learn the words to the American national anthem, like a Canadian teacher did with her anthem. I also don�t bring in picture books and maps of America and use them for lessons, as another Canadian teacher did. (In my opinion, that is going way too far.)

Possibly you can imagine my amusement this afternoon when I found out the intramural soccer tournament game had been postponed because the Korean language part of our school is being filmed for a documentary. The language program opened last month and already KBS was here to film the opening ceremony and then came back to film the students in class. (There are about 15 students from various countries�Jordan, Venezuela, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, etc.) Today KBS is back. What are they filming this time? They are filming the students taking their first taekwondo lesson outside on the soccer field. I could see a teacher using taekwondo in class�giving imperatives in Korean (jump, twist, punch). This lesson is in English. But it strikes me as if the school is trying to push Korean culture just a bit too hard. KBS will be here all this week filming the students� lives.

I don�t know when the program will be broadcast.

[Side note: Last spring when the Korean teacher was in the planning stages of the new program, she asked me to go through the text books that are available and select the one I considered the best. I did. She rejected my choice. �It is too colorful and has too many pictures. I think it will distract the students.� ]

Discussion question: How much culture should be taught in a language classroom? Is there such a thing as too much?
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[Juregen]

I basically teach what not to do in certain situations, more of a Western Etiquette.

I even do comparisons between European and American culture.

Sometimes i provoke them by asking them what they know about Western culture.

So yeah, i incorporate it a lot in my classes.

I do believe that at least some basics should be done. That is something i really missed when i was studying Korean. Why do you say it like that, instead of the literal translation, and such ...

Maybe as a sidenote.

I have one group where i do nothing but teach them how people in the West think about things (topics and discussions).
One of them went to Europe for three weeks, and because of previous considerations on how Europeans think, he had far less problems getting around then any other companion he had. He became the guide as it were.

Understanding culture can really help in communication.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

I try to teach as much as possible. If 'dime' is one of our phonics words it's time for a little review of American money. If it's 'cab' then it's time to show how one hails a cab in America versus Korea. If the textbook chapter is about giving advice and one of the situations is someone who's overweight then it's time to make fun of... (one of my co-workers just got back from America and was having great fun doing this the other week).

Anything that (a) may spark the students' interest and attentiveness and (b) provides any sort of integrative motivation has to be a good thing!

[Alyallen]

It's a part of the package, I think. I taught my students today about family members. In Korean, there are different words for your mother's mother and your father's mother. We have it too but it's not a common usage thing. Why? Well, that's when you explain the differences in Korean culture and in my case American/Jamaican culture. I suppose if they asked why don't we use the specific terms for maternal and paternal grandmother I could say "Just because" but what kind of teacher would I be?

Oh...and I teach them that no, touching your teacher without permission is definitely unappropriate. That not using please and thank you can be considered rude. That screaming my name over and over again will not get my attention but will get my annoyance and anger. That making remarks about your Black teacher being from Africa or a spear chucker is inappropriate but that probably just happens in my classroom..

Basically, I teach culture when necessary in a lesson and when necessary to keep me from murdering a student.

[kermo]

It's sometimes relevant and helpful in understand why English is the way it is, as in the case of family names.

I've found myself teaching a lot of it this week, as we're talking about "Greetings." The textbook raises the issue of body language, formal names, business cards, etc. This year, however, I've added a new element. We compare and contrast Korean etiquette, Canadian etiquette, and then we used the internet to look at greetings in Morocco, Senegal and among Maori people too. Students contributed some really interesting tidbits about greetings in other cultures too.

I actually learned a lot in the process. When I do actively teach my culture to Koreans, it's so they can get along comfortably with foreigners they meet here, or to ease the transition if they move to an English-speaking country. I'm not an expert in other countries but I try to add international perspective when I can-- I don't want to be a cultural imperialist.

[Jizzo T. Clown]

I teach it if it comes up but don't make a point of it. My coteachers' own curiosity is usually the springboard for any mini-lesson on culture. Also, with my students I never know what they will or won't find interesting. I thought they'd be interested to know that Korean restaurants in the States are generally pretty expensive, and that Outback isn't a five-star restaurant.

They were more interested in what kinds of Korean food Americans liked. I told them that most people don't like kimchi and that almost no one would eat fish with the head still attached, or put a bone in their soup. One student wondered why Americans don't like kimchi since Koreans like hamburgers.

[crusher_of_heads]

[kermo]

[crusher_of_heads]

[bosintang]

Except for when it was necessary or relevant to the topic, I left the heavy cultural stuff for less experienced teachers who will replace me. It's not like the students aren't going to get swarmed with a gaggle of Canadian teachers.

When I taught anything involving culture, I stayed as objective as I could. Images are objective. Statistics are objective. Weasel words are not ( "Many Canadians think...").

I also always tried to throw in little cultural things from other countries once in awhile, including Canada and Korea, like different foods for example. I think if any cultural learning benefits the learner's English aquisition, it's actually their own culture, with other countries used just as a comparison.


Is there such thing as "too much" culture in a classroom? I think if the students find it engaging and its relevant to the curriculum, then no. If it's irrelevant to the curriculum or benefiting the teachers' agenda more than the students, then yes. In Korea, young, fresh meat are thrown straight from North American colleges and into classrooms with no curriculum and a mental agenda, whether true or false, that "students just want to get used to a white face". It's no surprise that many of them would overload on "cultural" lessons.

[Paji eh Wong]

[genezorm]

the only culture i teach is already in the books...americans love hamburgers and french fries and are all white

and americans love freedom...

[Steve Schertzer]

[ddeubel]

I think that while there are a few cultural differences/particularities that are important for language learners to know about when first learning a language --I think it good to temper one's enthusiasm. Unless the objective is overtly "get to know the teacher", it isn't too effective with lower levels.

If higher, go for it but make it multi cultural and learn about the world. Make it Content based instruction, whole language.

I would ask the converse. How many of us teach using the Korean culture as the cornerstone topic of our language course? Not meaning to speak/use Korean in the classroom but to use their own cultural knowledge as a motivating and cognitive force towards learning.

When I first started teaching EFL/ESL I neglected this and it was to the detriment of my students. Even if the teacher doesn't know much, they still can use the student's own knowledge/world/culture to prompt language production and learning. Celebrities, geography/tourism, folktales, news, history are just a few of the potent topics through which they can learn by.

How many of us use Korean cultural knowledge to good effect?

DD

[Fishead soup]

Download some pictures of public holidays on your computer. You can give a simple description of each

Scan some images of your family back home. This is also good for teaching uncle, aunt, brother in law, nephew, neice.

Once I brought in a big carved pumpkin during Halloween. This was a big hit. I would only do this if you have a permanent English room. It can get really stinky after a few days.