INTERCULTURAL LEARNING THROUGH BLOG EXCHANGES IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES

INTERCULTURAL LEARNING THROUGH
BLOG EXCHANGES
IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE CLASSES

Nguyen Thi Hong Nhat


Contents
1
2
3

The Role of Culture in Language
Learning and Teaching
Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching Culture

A case study


The Role of Culture in Language Teaching
and Learning

“The
“Theneed
needfor
forcultural
culturalliteracy
literacyin
inELT
ELT
arises

arisesmainly
mainlyfrom
fromthe
thefact
factthat,
that,most
most
language
languagelearners,
learners,not
notexposed
exposedto
to
culture
cultureelements
elementsof
ofthe
thesociety
societyin
in
question,
question,seem
seemto
toencounter
encounter
significant
significanthardship
hardshipin
incommunicating
communicating

meaning
meaningto
tonative
nativespeaker.”
speaker.”
(Bada,
(Bada,2000)
2000)


The Role of Culture in Language Teaching
and Learning

Dictates
who talks to whom, what/ how the
communication proceeds

Culture Communication:
Inseparable

Determine
how people encode messages

(Samovar, Porter, & Jain, 1981)


The Role of Culture in Language
Teaching
and
Learning

Item No.
Item
Responses
%
Chi-Square
1

Effects of the
Yes culture
100 class
0.000

Did this course
contribute
to any of your
language skills?

Item No.

Item

2

To which skill did the
course contribute
most?

No

Responses

0

Frequency

%

Reading

10

26.3

Writing

2

Listening

10

26.3

Speaking

16

42.6

ChiSquare

0.015

5.3

( Bilal Genc & Erdogan Bada, 2005)


Contents
1

The Role of Culture in Language
Learning and Teaching

2

Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching Culture

3

A Case Study


Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching
Culture

1
1

Overcrowded Curriculum

2
2

Fear of Not Knowing Enough

3
3

Lack of Adequate Training

4
4

How to Measure Cross-Cultural
Awareness


2.

Blogs as a tool for language learning and teaching



Definition: Blog is “an online journal that an individual can
continuously update with his or her own words, ideas, and
thoughts.” (Campbell, 2003. p.1)



Blogs have potentials to be a valuable tool because of:

 easy-to-use accessibility (Campbell, 2003)
 space for learners’ voice, awareness of audience
(Leverett, 2006; Ward, 2004)
 high learners’ autonomy (Hanson-Smith & Egbert, 1999)
 effective
teacher–student communication and peer
interaction (Arslan & Sahin-Kizil, 2010; Dippold, 2009)


3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

3.1
3.2

Design of the study

Data collection and data analysis


Research questions


Research design
Participants: 40 intermediate-level EFL students in a
cultural class and 10 Fulbright American teaching
fellows.
American people
American history

Public holiday

Custom and tradition


Instruments and data analysis

n
st tio
P o es
qu

ks
s
a
ret- aires
g
n
P
i
it
Wr st(i1o2n)n
e
Qu

( 4)

ng
i
k
ar

m
eer ws)
h
aecrvtis (6
e
TInt ee
sh

ir s

1 2 3

na

ieys
isasra
nde
itniog
aflrenc
Le
R

RESEARCH
QUESTIONS


Results: Vietnamese students’ intercultural
competence improvement through blog exchanges

Characteristics of blogging


Elements enable students to establish successful
intercultural relationships with their partners via
blogging


Teaching Culture: Strategies and
Techniques
Posters,
Posters,pictures,
pictures,
maps,
maps,signs,
signs,and
and realia
realia
Assigning
Assigningstudents
students
foreign
foreignnames
names
Building
Building and
and maintaining
maintaining
Authentic
Authenticsocial

socialcultural
culturalnetwork
network

CULTURE
CULTURE
ISLAND:
ISLAND:MAKE
MAKE
STUDENTS
STUDENTSBE
BE
WET
WET IN
IN THE
THE
WATER
WATER OF
OF
CULTURE
CULTURE


Teachers’ Difficulties in Teaching
Culture: Suggested Solutions
Curriculum

Teach culture,
grammar,
vocabulary in

an integrative
fashion, not
serial one.

Fear
Of Not Knowing
Enough

Teachers’ role
is not to
impart facts
but to help
students
attain the
skills that are
necessary to
make sense
out of the
facts

Lack
Of Adequate
Training

Ever learning

Measurement

Create a
framework

with a list of
activities such
as writing
reflection,
writing diary,
presentation


Bibliography
 Huges, G. M. (1984). An Argument for Cultural
Analysis in the Second Language
 Finnocchario M. (1964), English as a second
language: From theory to practice. New York:
Simon and Schuster
 Lafayette, R.C. (1978), Teaching Culture:
Strategies and Techniques, Virginia: Arlington.
 Bada, E. (2000) Culture in ELT, Chukurova
University Journal of Social Sciences (6),100110.
 Henrichsen, L. E. 1998. Understanding Culture
and Helping Students Understand Culture.
(Web document)