Page 27 - ELG2505 May Issue 494

FEATURE

“dead” languages of Ancient Greek and advanced students,
Latin. This definition of culture essentially we rarely think of
determined the nature of courses in living Shakespeare, and for
modern languages that were set up in the good reason. On the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries in new other hand, many
universities worldwide. In many cases it still teachers, notably
does, and there remain to this day thousands those with a degree in
of universities in which a degree in “English” English, still tend to
is essentially still a degree in English see culture primarily
Literature, a course in which students may in terms of literature,
well learn a lot about Shakespeare, Dickens, and overuse literary
or Walt Whitman, but next to nothing about extracts for reading
the underlying culture of contemporary and listening in their
Britain, the United States, or the English classrooms. This is
speaking world. a shame, given that
This is not to suggest that Shakespeare, reading and listening
Dickens and Whitman are somehow activities provide
irrelevant to the teaching of English in the students with the best
twenty-first century. They are not; they are possible opportunity to explore multiple literary works, or newspaper and magazine
part and parcel of the vast corpus of culture branches of the culture of the English- articles of which there is a plethoric choice
that underlies the English language we read speaking world far beyond the field of on the Internet; but there lies the problem.
and listen to today. Taylor Swift, the most literature. Literary texts are often selected not for their
influential among contemporary singer/ Indeed, teachers who do not include cultural relevance, but for their portrayal
songwriters, has often professed her love of enough varied cultural content in their of human life, or because they come from
Shakespeare; and in a recent article (2024), teaching may be hindering their students’ popular classics like Pride and Prejudice,
Sydney University professor of English Liam progress in English. Among the four or The Great Gatsby. As for newspaper
Semler wrote “There is nothing to lose and concluding recommendations made in a and magazine articles, these are all too
plenty to gain in teaching Swift’s Midnights recent article on Why English lessons plateau often characterised by cultural references
and Shakespeare’s Sonnets together. There’s in L2, J. V. Torres underscored the need to that are presumed to be understood by
no dumbing-down involved.” “provide cultural context” to help students the publication’s own original local target
get a deeper understanding of what they audience (which was not EFL students), but
Culture is so much more than just are reading or listening to, stressing that will be either missed, or of limited interest,
literature “language is deeply tied to culture”. Even if to language learners in another country
The fact is that Shakespeare and Taylor to many teachers, this will be self-evident, for perhaps halfway across the globe.... Unless
Swift are both part of English “culture”, a others, it is not. the teacher both understands the cultural
vast tapestry woven not just from literature, subtleties, such as humour, local references,
but from multiple and varied threads. In Culture and reading in the curriculum or understatement, getting the most out of
addition to literature, culture encompasses In many countries, the importance of culture a literary extract or newspaper article can
not just all the other arts including music and is clearly recognised by curriculum boards, be a time-consuming and challenging task.
cinema, but also “institutions” (governance, and a requirement to explore the cultural For students below B2 level, the task is
society, etc.), history, heritage, national background to English underscores the choice even harder.
preoccupations, lifestyles, politics, attitudes, of reading texts in local secondary school On the bright side, among the plethoric
values, thought, the impact of iconic figures coursebooks; but this is not always the case, choice of resources on the Internet, today’s
on the world around them, and more. The far from it. There is no prescribed literary or teachers can have access to an immense
culture behind the English language comes cultural reading list nor content for any of choice of “authentic” texts, culturally relevant
with an international core but multiple the major English certification exams, CPE, resources and other documents that can be
national or regional variants – British culture, TOEFL or IELTS. Furthermore, the choice of used to inject a healthy dose of “culture” into
American culture, Australian culture, and texts featured in English coursebooks is often their reading and listening classes. It’s just a
many others. far from optimal in terms of cultural relevance matter of finding them.
When it comes to language classes in - and sometimes completely irrelevant, or
schools and colleges, or in the general more relevant to the learner’s own culture REFERENCES
context of TESOL, teachers are not generally than to the culture of the English-speaking n Allen, Frederick E. A New International
required to teach “culture”, nor even to countries. Business Language: Globish. in Forbes Magazine,
teach literature. What teachers are expected With intermediate and advanced learners, July 2012.
to teach are the four core skills of language the passive skills of reading and listening n Seemler, Liam. Should Taylor Swift be taught
and communication, which are reading, are the two most important language skills alongside Shakespeare? in The Conversation, 2024.
listening, writing and speaking. “Culture” to develop, since progress in the active n Torres, J.V. Why English learners “plateau” in L2.
comes into the teaching process as a means language skills of writing and speaking is 2024 on iwtle.com. September 2024.
to an end, not for its own sake, and excerpts largely dependent on acquiring new models,
from works of literature are often believed new understanding, and new examples Andrew Rossiter is the
to represent the best examples of use of through the passive skills. Providing students founder of Linguapress.com,
language on which the reading part of the with the best reading and listening texts, a repository of culturally relevant
syllabus can be based... which in some cases which at the same time have good cultural graded reading resources. He is
they may well be. content, can thus lead to better teaching, the author of A Background
With the possible exception of the writers and better results. to English (intermediate level) and A
of the King James version of the Bible, So how does a teacher select the most Background to the USA (advanced level),
nobody ever had more lasting influence on appropriate texts? From B2 level upwards,
the English language and on literature than many general English teachers’ first instinct, and Reading practice for IELTS & TOEFL,
Shakespeare; but when, as teachers, we look apart from following a coursebook, is to a culturally based reader, available from
for interesting texts to use with our more look for “authentic texts” - extracts from Amazon, Blackwell’s and good bookstores.
editorial@elgazette.com 27