Culture in the Classroom

                

Learning about Culture

Can we ever fully understand and empathize with another culture? Within the confines of a classroom it is often difficult to teach and expose students to different cultures. Even with the exposure of different texts and examples culture may not be fully understood. It is the educators as well as the students’ responsibility to engage in multiple discourses in regards to cultural diversity. With this said, it is first important to recognize how we acquire culture, and what culture truly means.

According to Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning, culture is a “historically transmitted sermonic network constructed by humans which allows them to develop, communicate and perpetuate their knowledge beliefs and attitudes about the world” (30). Common cultural attitudes create a common ground in which there is a predisposed understanding to a person’s idea. People may share a common lexicon which makes it less complex and effortful to communicate.  This also makes metaphors, a common learning tool, easier to assimilate and understand. A mental representation of a word may be different across culture. For example, when you think of the word “bread” what comes to mind? A slice of bread, a loaf, a sliced open roll? All of these mental representations can be seen as difference in cultural values. Though, how we obtain individual values is determined on our past experiences. So, how can a teacher, with students with many different backgrounds and cultures assimilate then all into a respectful and communal understanding with one another?
Presented in Winrergerst's text, Exploring Culture, are six tips to help both students and teachers with the concept of culture. "1. Have students articulate their own definition of culture, 2. Raise culture to a conscious level, 3. Point out the hidden aspects of culture 4. Point out how cultures may value the same thing differently, 5. Help students understand how culture works, 6. Build awareness about the stress caused by cultural adjustment" (Winrergerst 2). One of the first and most difficult aspects of learning about culture is mentally displacing ourselves out of our own culture. If this is achieved it is easier to examine our own environment and then begin to compare and contrast it to others.  If it is true that a person can fully understand the complexities of culture, exercises such as the one listed above is a good way to begin that process within the confines of a classroom.