The number one problem to be solved in order to improve the teaching of culture is unquestionably that of how to provide the cultural information needed. Many teachers, through no fault of their own, are simply not equipped to teach culture. In this chapter, the missing element is the content. The goals, definitions, organization, and techniques are all listed. Given this information, teachers can incorporate teaching-learning activities geared to ward the culture objectives into their classes, if they know what to teach. What do teen-agers in the second culture do on Saturday evening? What do they wear? What is expected, permitted, frowned upon, and prohibited? What do they like? What do they dislike? What concerns them? What do they read? What do they watch on TV? Teachers who have not spent a considerable amount of time in the second-language community probably do not know. Local native speakers either may not be aware of the answers to these questions, or they may have been away from the country so long that conditions have changed.
Even those teachers who have visited or studied abroad may have overlooked many basic customs among the people. Kalivoda (1974a) suggests that without previous preparation and direction in planning what to look for, the visitor may gain relatively few insights into the second culture during a stay in the second-language community. Guidelines need to be provided, and powers of observation must be sharpened in order to achieve maximum benefit from the study-abroad experience.
Second-language teachers need assistance in overcoming their lack of knowledge about the second culture. First, in the study of sociocultural systems they need help from experts who can identify for them the basic characteristics of the second culture. Second, they need help from commercial publishers who can produce materials containing much of the information they need to know. And third, they need help from the colleges and universities who can provide the training they need to overcome their lack of
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expertise in culture. Certainly, students of culture, publishers, and college and university professors are aware of these needs, and steps are being taken in some areas to alleviate the problem. The Department of Foreign-Language Education at the University of Minnesota, for example, has conducted "work- ins" in which second-language teachers develop culturally authentic materials and share the results with other members of the group. (The reader who is interested in either participating in such a work-in or in acquiring some of the materials developed can write to the address given in the Selected References. Other recently published works containing cultural information are also listed in the Selected References.)
Another major problem is how to devise ways and means of presenting culture in such a manner that the students can comprehend and relate to the information. Learning experts say that students must be able to relate to course content. Ftow can a student in an affluent suburb of a major city relate to the campesino of Latin America or a student in a rather isolated farming community relate to European apartment dwellers? Culture content must be presented at a level and in a manner to which the students can attach some relationship between the information and their own background experiences. Accomplishing this task is far from simple. It is this need for relatability and comprehension that underscores the advantage of visuals and dramatization in teaching culture. In no other aspect of the second-language class are visuals and demonstrations so useful. The teacher can explain that people in other cultures often hold their knives and forks in a different manner, but only a visual or a demonstration can really get the point across promptly and completely.
Another problem is that of finding time in the class period to include culture. The first point regarding this problem is that many of the techniques developed by teachers take relatively little class time. The second point is that even if they do take more time than the teacher might desire, the ends justify the means in this case. Culture is such an important component of the language and vice versa that separating them is just not practical. Undoubtedly, more time can be spent on culture without seriously weakening the students' language skills.