English Language Teaching Materials and

Learners’ Cultural Identity

Dr. Baleghizadeh

Associated professor of TEFL in SBU

ABSTRACT

Culture Identity English Language Teaching

(ELT) MaterialsLocalization

globally-produced versus nationally-produced materials

generally reflect Western culture and ideology

act as a weapon against cultural and ideological

invasion of global ESL textbooks

Definition of culture and ideology

Three different versions of localization Strong version

Weak version

Moderate version more suitable for EFL

learning contexts

Teaching materials are a vital component of almost all language program

Cunningsworth (1995) roles of course books:

A resource for presentation material (spoken and written);

A source of activities for learner practice and communicative interaction

A reference source for learners on grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, etc.;

A source of stimulation and ideas for classroom language activities;

A syllabus (where they reflect learning objectives which have already been determined);

A resource for self-directed learning or self-access work;

A support for less experienced teachers who have yet to gain in confidence.

effective course books

are at the service of teachers and learners, not their masters.

textbooks, handouts, worksheets, or videotapes

Materials

Nationally produced and

locally used

Internationally produced and globally used

•They maintain high quality, •They provide a variety of learning/teaching resources •They are visually appealing

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

Advantages:

Disadvantages:

•They are generic and do not meet the needs of any specific group of learners•They allow very little room for personalization•They contain culturally sensitive or unfamiliar issues•Their ideological content marginalizes L native L

•They are directly relevant to students’ needs, learning experiences, and local concerns •They result in developing expertise •They bring about reputation for institutions •They are flexible

•They may not motivate students•They may do not develop pragma-linguistic skills•Producing local materials is a demanding job that needs highly skilled teachers •Time consuming

Chastain (1988) Language and culture are inseparably bound; therefore, complete comprehension during

any type of intercultural communication depends upon the participants’ awareness of

the social and cultural significance of the words and expressions employed.

Culture and language learning

The way people live A blueprint that guides the behavior of people in a community

Matsumoto (2000) Culture is dynamic system of rules, explicit and implicit, established by groups in orderto ensure their survival, involving attitudes, values, beliefs, norms, and behaviors,shared by a group but harbored differently by each specific unit within the group,communicated across generations, relatively stable but with the potential to changeacross time.

Stern (1992) Before World War I involved the study of history, geography and institutions of thecountry whose language was the object of learning.

After World War II concept of culture included dominantly way of life or life style

Culture vs. cultureGreat achievements The way of life

aesthetic sense sociological sense semantic sense Pragmatic sense

Culture with capital C,

the media, cinema,

arts, music, and

literature

culture with small c, nature

of family, home life,

interpersonal relations,

material conditions, work

and leisure

The conceptual system

embodied in the language.

e.g., food, clothes,

institutions, names

The background

knowledge, social skills,

and pragma-linguistic

skills

Necessary to the learners’ achievement of a measure of communicative competence

Foster international understanding- deep understanding of one’s own culture- facilitate learners’ visits to foreign countries- integrate

language course in an interdisciplinary curriculum- motivate learners

The issue of learners’ cultural identity is relatively unexplored in EFL settings

Adaskou, Britten, and Fahsi (1990)

Interview with Moroccan EFL teachers

Compare motivation cultural norms

Ideology and English language teaching

English language imperialism strongly affects

theories, methods of teaching English, and

instructional materials

The global expansion of English in the twentieth century

English as a lingua franca Imperialism Neo-colonialism

Imperialism holds that the dominance of English is asserted and maintained by the establishment and continuous reconstitution of structural and cultural inequalities between English and other languages.

Neo-colonialism is glorification of the English language through attempts which dates back to 19th century.

homogenizes the periphery (less developed countries) by the center (powerful western countries).

There is the bizarre claim that English has more words than any other language and therefore is a better medium for expression or thought than any other language.

Attempts in promotion of E linguistic imperialism- Makarere conference- Held in Uganda- 1962- 5 ELT tenets

Localization of ELT materials

• Heavily relies on source culture materials that reflects the learners’ own culture.

• Native characters, settings, illustrations. • Ls see culturally familiar people who are

exactly like themselves but speak English.

Example: The national EFL textbooks in Iran.

Advantage: not only reinforces the learners’ cultural identity but also enables them to talk about their country and its people to visitors from other countries.

Disadvantages: students do not find it motivating- learners will not be equipped with pragma-linguistic skills - no room for students to learn about other cultures

Depending on the depth and degree of using local culture elements three versions of localization

Strong version Week version Moderate version

• It does not involve production of national materials but adaptation of available global textbooks (adding, deleting, modifying, simplifying, reordering)

Advantages: more cost effective-more reliable as they are written by native English speakers.

Disadvantages: adapting materials is a demanding job that requires highly skilled teachers. It is a burden on busy teachers. Allowing no room for production of home-made materials

• Heavily draws on viewing English as an international language.

• Lays emphasis on both learning about one’s culture as well as other cultures.

• Like the strong version, national textbooks are produced.

• Reliance on both source culture materials and international target culture materials.

• Based on foreignized characters, settings and illustrations

Example: the ILI English Series published by Iran language Institute

Expanding and extendingAbridging and subtracting

Thank

you