Tema 4.

- VALORACIÓN DEL CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS COMO

INSTRUMENTO DE COMUNICACIÓN ENTRE LAS PERSONAS Y LOS PUEBLOS.

- INTERÉS POR LA DIVERSIDAD LINGÜÍSTICA A TRAVÉS DEL CONOCIMIENTO DE

UNA NUEVA LENGUA Y SU CULTURA.

A language is the expression of a whole culture; it is a way of understanding the world and

organising the relationships among people. Hence, learning a foreign language means learning

both a linguistic code and cultural elements. Foreign language teaching must introduce

students to the most outstanding social and cultural aspects of a country and help them to

develop attitudes of tolerance and respect because, as stated by Crystal, if a student

perceives a country or culture to be unpleasant for whatever reason, the negative attitude is

likely to influence language learning achievement.

Based on this view, the present essay aims to study the relevance of teaching a foreign

language as an instrument of communication and the increasing interest in language

diversity. For this purpose, I will divide the topic into two main sections. In the first part, I

will discuss the way foreign languages can act as a barrier to international communication.

In order to do so, I will explain briefly the main current languages that exist in the world.

Then I will point out different methods that have been proposed to reduce the linguistic

barrier and I will argue why learning foreign languages is necessary. In the second part, I will

underline the interest in language diversity by getting to know a new language and its

culture and I will suggest how to develop our students´ sociocultural competence.

We deal with an essential topic since effective communication in a foreign language is more

than elaborating grammatically correct sentences; it also involves the appreciation and respect

of its speakers and their culture. In other words, we cannot go about fostering Communicative

Competence, which is the main aim of FL teaching, without paying attention to the

sociocultural competence. In this regards, according to Canale and Swain the CC can be

divided into five subcompetences, one of which is the Sociocultural competence. This can be

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defined as a certain awareness of the social and cultural context in which the FL is used. In

addition, The FL Curriculum for Primary Education established in the Decree 2014 passed

on June 16th emphasizes the significance of this topic by including in its objectives the value

of the foreign language and languages in general as a vehicle of communication and

understanding among people with diverse origins and cultures.

FIRST

After having presented the sociocultural competence and its main role in teaching English as

a FL, I will start to develop the first part of this topic by explaining briefly the current

languages that exist nowadays by classifying them into three categories:

Firstly, there are the Indo-European languages which seem to descend from a common

linguistic trunk whose influence expanded from India to Europe. The Indo-European family is

divided into twelve branches, being the most important on the one hand The Germanic Branch

which includes languages such as English, German or Dutch and on the other hand, The Italic

Branch which includes languages such as Spanish, French or Romanian, all of which are derived

from Latin. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that the existence of a common linguistic

trunk makes it easier for children to learn foreign languages, since they can apply the

knowledge of their mother tongue to the learning of languages that have similar features, for

instance, the fact that the Spanish language and the Romanian language have similarities in

many aspects like grammar and vocabulary, makes it easier for a Romanian child to learn the

Spanish language.

Secondly, there are other linguistic trunks nowadays, like Caucasian or Semitic.

Finally, there are other languages such as Japanese, Korean or Malayan which do not have

similarities with other languages.

Next I will consider the way in which foreign languages can act as a barrier to

international communication.

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 According to David Crystal, language is the main means by which people communicate,

although, ironically, it also constitutes the main barrier . The fact that so many languages exist

prevents people from understanding each other. We quickly notice this barrier when

travelling, in international political relationships and in business.

There have been many attempts in order to get around this linguistic barrier. Let me go on

examining in detail some of the most important ways of getting around this linguistic

barrier:

1) One of them is increasing the number and availability of translating and

interpreting services. The most usual way to overcome a linguistic barrier is to

find someone who translates or interprets it. The aim of translation is to provide

semantic equivalence between source and target language . However, there are

many problems when it comes to interpret or translate because exact equivalence

is impossible and there is always a loss of information. There are also technical

problems if we use translation in a large scale, as it can result very expensive.

2) Developing an auxiliary language that everyone will understand, such as

Esperanto is another option. An ideal artificial language should fulfil the

following criteria, among others: it must be easy to learn, it should be applicable

to mother tongues, it should enable the user to apply it for a rich range of

functions, it should be standardized, it should be neutral and it should enable its

users to think more logically. However, one cannot be persuaded to learn it if no

one else knows it.

3) A third possibility is to develop an existing language that everyone will

understand. Today, many people consider that the only realistic way of breaking

the linguistic barrier is to use an existing language as a world lingua franca. We

understand lingua franca as a language that is used for communication between

different groups of people, each speakers of a different language . History

demonstrates that there have been precedents in the idea of using a common

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 language to communicate and exchange ideas. In the Middle Ages and The

Renaissance, Latin was used as the main medium of communication in Western

Europe. From the 18th Century onwards, French was the language that was used in

international diplomacy, and at the beginning of the 20 th Century, German was the

language in which scientists wrote. Nowadays, the absolute protagonist as a lingua

franca in any field is English. The political, economic and military power of the

United Kingdom initially and now of the United States of America contribute

significantly towards the role of English as a lingua franca.

The main problem we find with a lingua franca such as English is that the fact that it

is spoken in so many parts of the world makes it suffer from significant variations and

it is hard to keep it standardised. Also a world language like this may affect the status

of minority languages such as Swedish or Danish and the identity of those nations.

4) Finally, there is the option of providing increasing motivation and opportunities

to learn foreign languages. This seems to be the most realistic way to break the

linguistic barrier. In addition, the success to a unified Europe depends on the

European citizens´ success to speak a common language. Thus, organizations such

as The Council of Europe have adopted recommendations to the governments of

member states to ensure that all sections of their population have access to

effective means of acquiring knowledge in one or more foreign languages.

Considering languages as a means of communication implies that the teacher informs

students of the advantages of being fluent in a common language, in a world where so many

languages exist and it also implies using a communicative methodology in which the student

understands the scope (opportunities) of mastering another language.

The necessity of learning foreign languages is questioned by many people who are reluctant

to learn a second language. However, there are some answers to defend the opposite idea and

protect the need to teach and learn foreign languages. According to the Committee of

Ministers of the Council of Europe, FLT must be increased and diversified and if possible,

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children must learn more than one language. There are several reasons why learning foreign

languages is necessary and should be promoted at school:

 First, it can be said that foreign language learning is no longer a luxury but a need in

a plurilingual world like ours. The path towards a united Europe demands citizens to

communicate and interact with each other. Learning a foreign language in Europe is a

criterion of responsible international membership.

 Second, learning a FL promotes understanding, tolerance and respect for the

cultural identity, rights and values of others. Language learning broadens our minds,

because we find other ways of thinking about things.

 Third, foreign language teaching has an essential role in preparing our students to

cope with an ever-changing environment. They may overcome their insecurity and

develop their confidence as they face up to social and personal demands, which are

not usually encountered in a Spanish context.

 Fourth, the students general Communicative Competence is improved by the

incorporation of other linguistic codes, such as a foreign language.

 Fifth, children are better prepared to learn a language than adults at an auditory

and phonological level, because their brain has a natural capacity that diminishes as

the years go by.

 Sixth, when communicating, children´s spontaneity comes in handy when learning a

second language because, generally, they have less inhibiting factors.

 Finally, it could be said that foreign language learning is the only way to fully

appreciate one´s own language.

As we can see, some of the most important reasons why we should learn a FL have to do with

international communication, but this has to do not only with knowing the linguistic aspects of

the language, but also with knowing about the culture in which the language is a vehicle for.

SECOND

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 Now that we are aware of the way a FL can act as a barrier for international communication

and why learning a FL is necessary in a plurilingual world like ours, let me go on developing the

second part of this topic, that is, the interest in linguistic diversity by getting to know a

new language and its culture. For this purpose, I will explain “what culture is” and “why it

should be taught” when learning a FL. Next, I will propose how to incorporate culture in the

EFL classroom and how to develop students´ cultural awareness. Finally, I will give some

practical considerations.

Let me start answering the first question “what culture is”. Culture can be defined as a

whole of knowledge, lifestyles and customs of a concrete society in an historical moment . It

has been widely recognised that culture and language are interrelated and that language is

used as the main medium by means of which culture is expressed. Therefore, culture and

communication are inseparable: culture dictates how communication proceeds, establishes the

relationships between the participants and also helps to determine how people encode

messages and the conditions and circumstances under which various messages may or may not

be sent, noticed or interpreted.

Let me go on answering the second question “why culture should be taught”. In order to

do so, I will highlight the main goals when teaching culture to Primary students:

 To be aware of the existence of different culturally-conditioned behaviours .

 To develop an understanding that social variables, such as the age, sex, social

class and so on influence the ways in which people speak and behave.

 To be aware of conventional behaviour in common situations in the target culture.

 To increase awareness of cultural connotations of words and phrases in the

target language.

 To avoid stereotypes in the target language.

 To stimulate students´ intellectual curiosity about the target language , and to

encourage empathy towards its people.

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Methods and Approaches for teaching a foreign language have greatly changed in the last

decades, and the sociocultural factor has been a key factor in this evolution hand in hand

with the Communicative Approach. The first methods were centred in the study of

grammatical rules, avoiding the study of social and cultural rules and norms or the

importance of the language within a specific context. As a result of the role of language as

a social practice, new ways of looking at the teaching of language and culture have

been suggested. Let me go on describing them:

 Establishing a sphere of “interculturality”. Understanding a foreign culture implies

putting that culture in relation with one´s own culture . To teach culture in the

foreign language classroom it is necessary to reflect upon both the English and the

Spanish culture.

 Teaching culture as an interpersonal process. The conception of language as a social

practice implies that meaning depends not only on its linguistic context, but also on

the socio-cultural background.

 Teaching culture as difference. It is important to teach that differences related to

a nationality do not only depend on the culture, but on some other factors as well,

such as the age, sex, regional accent or social class.

 Crossing disciplinary boundaries. The teaching of English language as well as its

culture has to be linked with other disciplines such as anthropology and sociology and

not only with grammar.

However, the development of cultural awareness is not an easy task. In order to

facilitate it, the teacher should give the students regular opportunities to: come into

contact with native speakers in the students´ country (English club) and abroad (Project

Lingua); work with authentic materials and Realia from the countries of the target

language. In this regard, J. Peck states that “from the first day, teachers are expected

to bring in the class posters, pictures and other realia in order to help students develop a

‘mental image’ of the target culture”; discussing similarities and differences between the

students´ culture and British or American culture; teach them how to solve cultural

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problem in specific situations, for instance, in a restaurant and of course encourage them

to use verbal and non-verbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions,

typical from the target culture.

These procedures will make our students more aware of cultural differences and

similarities. However, how can we teach culture to Spanish foreign language students?

How can we stimulate their curiosity about the target culture? Perhaps one of the best

ways of doing so is by exploring culture-based activities.

The main aim of culture-based activities is to increase students´ awareness and to

develop their curiosity towards the target culture and their own, helping them to make

comparisons among cultures. These comparisons will enrich our students own culture and

will make them aware of the diversity among cultures. This diversity should then be

understood and respected.

Regarding the topics which these activities should cover, it could be remarked that in

Primary Education, the teacher will deal with information and knowledge which is close to

the children´s world, so that they become interested in the new culture. Pupils will often

learn a range of details about the target culture, especially everyday life, songs, rhymes,

stories, special festivals and celebrations. In addition to these aspects of daily life, certain

geographical or historical aspects may appear naturally in text books and other materials.

Some of the aspects that we can work with in the classroom are: ( + las actividades del

topic 5 sólo enunciadas, no explicadas )

Firstly, among relevant social aspects to teach our students we may find courtesy

formulas, also called formulaic language and their use in each situation such as Hi/hello;

Goodbye/Bye-bye, Thank you/please; education aspects such as British or American

schools, uniforms and schoolsubjects; Food and drink in those countries such as English

breakfast and their different eating hours; Housing for instance the fact that in Britain

most people live in houses rather than in flats; Money and the familiarization with British

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and American money and with the value of sterling pounds and dollars in euros and the

variety of names among which we may highlight Anglo-Saxon names such as Kim or Patrick.

Some activities to work with social aspects in the English classroom may include performing

making contact with real people, for instance older pupils can be encouraged to interview

native speakers, writing to pen friends and performing role-plays.

Secondly, among relevant cultural aspects to teach our students we may find Festivals

such as the Bonfire Night or Thanksgiving; Music such as rock n´roll songs or blues;

Monuments such as Big Ben or the Statue of Liberty; History and Literature such as

Henry the VII and his wives or the great writer William Shakespeare; Sport and the fact

that most of them are English borrowings like football, golf and tennis and also typical

British sports which are less popular in Spain such as cricket. Some activities to work with

cultural aspects in the English classroom may include using Realia; watching Films, television

shows, or looking to web sites, photographs , magazines; learning and singing songs, rhymes,

telling stories ; learning Proverbs, elaborating projects; celebrating British or American

festivals in class, like Halloween, Christmas; taking quizzes on Anglo-Saxon culture; and

working on recipes, which are useful to practise food and drink, and are also connected

with celebrations.

Lastly, among relevant geographical aspects to teach our students we may find the Main

English speaking countries: using maps students can locate the main countries where

English is official language such as Great Britain, the USA, Canada or Australia; Main cities

and capitals such as London, New York or Sidney; Interesting facts about the British

weather and its influence on landscapes and lifestyles; and Population or how different

cultures, races and religions coexist. Some activities to work with geographical aspects in

the English classroom may include using Maps, so that students can locate the main

countries where English is an official language, as well as important cities; also becoming

familiar with flags, so that students can relate nationalities and countries with their flag,

making puzzles of Great Britain or the USA by cutting its parts into pieces so that

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 students can join them later and also different types of listenings, for instance, listening

to a weather forecast while completing a map.

As Abraham J.Peck states “Beginning foreign language students want to feel, touch,

smell and see the foreign peoples and not just hear their language” . The focus in the

language classroom should be on cultural experience rather than on cultural awareness.

Conclusion

Learning a FL is a necessity in a society that tends to remove language barriers and

promotes international relationships at cultural, social, professional and political levels.

Learning a FL means learning both a linguistic code and cultural elements. Therefore, FLT

must introduce students to the social and cultural aspects of a country and help them to

develop attitudes of tolerance and respect. It is not by chance that within the general

objectives for the area of Foreign Languages on the stage of Primary Education

established ,by the in The Royal Decree 126/2014 passed on February 28h,we find the

following Objective: to value the FL and languages in general as a vehicle of communication and

understanding among people with diverse origins and cultures and as a learning tool of

different contents.

In this topic we have explained why children must learn foreign languages at school. Then we

have focused on the main languages that exist today, considering the possibility of creating

a lingua franca to improve understanding about people from different countries. Then we

have concentrated on the teaching of the English language in a way that contributes to the

appreciation of its cultural features.

In order to develop this topic the following bibliography has been used:

 BREWSTER, J. et al. (2003): The Primary English Teacher’s Guide.

Penguin English.

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 HARMER, J. (2003): The Practice of English Language Teaching.

Longman.

 LARSEN-FREEMAN, D. (2003): Techniques and Principles in Language

Teaching. Oxford University Press.

 VARELA, R. et al. (2003): All About Teaching English. Centro de

Estudios Ramón Areces.

 Organic Law of Improvement on Education 8/2013 (LOMCE) passed

on December 9th
 Royal Decree 126/2014 passed on February 28h which establishes
the minimum requirements of Primary Education nationwide.
 Decree 2016 passed on July 21th which establishes the curriculum
in Primary Education and the evaluation in The Autonomous
Community of Castilla y Leon.
 Decree EDU/593/2018 passed on May 31th which establishes the
attention to diversity in The Autonomous Community of Castilla y
Leon.
 Decree EDU / 1330/2009 passed on June 19th, which established
the teaching of the second foreign language in the third cycle of
primary education, in schools supported by public funds in the
Autonomous Community of Castilla y León.

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