Language and culture in the Spanish classroom

1. Language and culture in the Spanish classroom Nathalie Paris, Penélope Johnson & Lara Escudero Baztán June 2018

2. Four skills Scholars have proposed a fifth skill. Which one is it?

3. Task • Discuss how would you define the concept of CULTURE with the person next to you.

4. Task • Now define the following concepts: • multiculturality • Interculturality • big C Culture • little c culture

5. Multiculturalityv. Interculturality

6. Multiculturality • Despite perhaps being well intentioned, multiculturalism tends to celebrate the exotic nature of ‘the other’, thereby emphasising differences. This approach to culture tends to reinforce the notion of opposing fixed cultures. At the same time, similarities across cultures tend to be implicitly overlooked or ignored. • (Welsh 2011: 38)

7. Interculturality • The teaching of intercultural understanding is based on the cultural relativity of the target culture and one’s background culture. It then becomes possible to critically analyse one’s own background culture. It is also important to identify common, shared experiences, not just differences. By overly focusing on differences, negative stereotypes can be reinforced. A focus on similarities may help students to identify with the ‘otherness’ and therefore promote understanding and empathy. • (Welsh 2011: 41)

8. Definition of Culture • The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief and behaviour. Culture thus defined consists of language, ideas, beliefs, customs, taboos, codes, institutions, tools, techniques, works of art, rituals, ceremonies, and other related components… • (The New Encyclopedia Britannica, Micropaedia p. 784) Does this definition correspond with big C culture, little c culture, or both?

9. Big C Culture v. little c culture • Big C Culture: • As a humanistic concept, culture is the product of a canonical print literacy acquired in school; it is synonymous with a general knowledge of literature and the arts. • Little c Culture: • It includes the native speakers’ ways of behaving, eating, talking, dwelling, their customs, their beliefs and values. • (Kramsch, 2013: 65)

10. Little c culture • Even though everyday cultural practices are as varied as a native speaker’s use of language in everyday life, the focus is on the typical, sometimes stereotypical, behaviors, foods, celebrations and customs of the dominant group or of that group of native speakers that is the most salient to foreign eyes. Striking in this concept of culture is the maintenance of the focus on national characteristics and the lack of historical depth. (Kramsch, 2013: 65-66) We need to teach little c culture as much as big c culture (or even more, specially at the lower levels). However, as there is a tendency to focus on the stereotypical aspects of culture, we need strategies to minimise this. Teaching little c culture helps the students understand big C Culture.

12. http://globalcompetency.wikispaces.com/Iceberg+concept+of+culturehttp://globalcompetency.wikispaces.com/Iceberg+concept+of+culture

13. Activities: • Look at the iceberg concept of culture. In pairs or in small groups… • Discuss the aspects of surface culture which you incorporate into your lessons and how you do it. • Share stories about aspects of shallow culture which you have encountered during your time abroad.

14. Activities: • Look at the iceberg concept of culture. In pairs or in small groups… How could you incorporate aspects of shallow culture into your lessons? How could you incorporate aspects of deep culture into your lessons?

15. http://www.itchyfeetcomic.com/

16. http://www.itchyfeetcomic.com/

17. A way into surface culture: https://www.bili.uk.com/

18. Stereotypes • Activities: • In pairs or in small groups think about Spanish stereotypes. • Now think about British stereotypes

19. Stereotypes Queue in Spain Queue in the UK

21. Let the Germans take note, they consider us lazy but in reality we are practical, show initiative and also creative entrepreneurial skills. This would not have occurred to a German. This is the method of queuing in Cádiz.

22. ‘How to be Spanish’ • https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/guide-how-to-be-spanish-sgf39ttgx Chris Haslam, The Sunday Times, January 21 2018 • http://www.abc.es/espana/abci-abc-respondio-times-burlarse-espanoles-201803271646_noticia.html • Así describe el diario The Timesa los españoles • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enWJzS077bw •  Respuesta de un inglés a la guía sobre los españoles de The Times • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeJ5Z-5gbmE

23. Positive stereotypes, but Unhealthy • The musician James Rhodes about «La merienda» • https://elpais.com/cultura/2018/06/13/actualidad/1528873066_116267.html • «Me pongo a trabajar otra vez y (segunda genialidad) luego llega la merienda de la tarde (como si de una fuente inagotable de alegrías se tratara, resulta que hay más de una). Esto pasa sobre las cinco y media o seis (pero cuidado, antes no puede ser: al día siguiente de mi descubrimiento pregunté, emocionado, si se podía merendar ya a las cuatro y media de la tarde y se me hizo saber que comer antes de las cinco y media de la tarde era propio de glotones)».

24. Stereotypes • How do we stop ourselves and our students from essentialising the target culture and thinking in terms of stereotypes? • Activities: • In pairs or in small groups think about strategies we can use in the classroom to minimise stereotyping the target culture.

25. Stereotypes • Be very careful when generalising; • Avoid over-generalising; • Avoid words like “always”, “all”, “everybody”, “everywhere”; • Use words like “some”, “sometimes”, “many”; • Discuss how ‘othering’ can be negative; • Teach how to identify stereotyping – e.g. in one’s own culture; • Don’t only focus on (cultural) differences; also focus on similarities; • Give students ‘balanced’ images of the Target Culture – e.g. images of rich & poor. • (Welsh 2011:38-39)

26. Rephrase the following sentences to avoid generalisations • Europeans all speak English. • All westerners are wealthy. • In America everybody drives big cars. • In Australia there are kangaroos everywhere. • It’s always raining and cold in England. • Many Europeans speak English. • Some westerners are wealthy • In America some people drive big cars. • In Australia there are a lot of kangaroos. • It’s often raining and cold in England.

27. Deconstructing stereotypes Discuss in groups: Why do you think in Spain we eat so late? Why are the times so different? One of the reasons is because Franco changed the time in order to be the same as the German Axis. • Why do we have ‘la siesta’?

28. 3 things that form part of my cultural identity:

29. Las pipas • Cómo comer pipas • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PotCBf6rKxI Pipas Facundo anuncio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67YMSwX-224 Anuncios de pipas (k Gorda) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TL4wgqCWp0Y Pipas Facundo: Una empresa llena de historia https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XU6RlYiz6qE

30. Las Chapas • https://www.google.co.uk/search?safe=off&tbm=isch&q=chapas+para+jugar+&chips=q:chapas+para+jugar,online_chips:juego&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjj2-_B5NrbAhUCKcAKHeQ8A8MQ4lYIKigC&biw=1280&bih=539&dpr=1.5#imgrc=Y85kDjhepjmYpM:

31. Colacao v Nesquik Cola Cao contra Nesquik: la guerra del cacao en polvo que descubrió Cortés en América • by Julio Martín Alarcón, Alimente, 02 May 2018 • https://www.alimente.elconfidencial.com/consumo/2018-05-02/cola-cao-nesquik-soluble-leche-cacao-grasa-xocolatl_1556105/

32. Colacao v Nesquik Los conquistadores de la monarquía hispánica trajeron a Europa el 'xocolatl' y España es el país donde más cacao soluble se consume actualmente en todo el continente. El segundo en términos de renta per cápita de todo el mundo. A partir de la década de los 50, se convirtió en el tradicional desayuno y la merienda de los niños. Nos gusta, y mucho, verter cacao en polvo en la leche.

33. Colacao v Nesquik Han sido tantos años de convivencia que caló profundamente en la sociedad. En los años 60 era tan importante definirse de los Beatles o los Rolling Stones como de Cola Cao o Nesquik, hasta el punto que en los años siguientes los responsables de 'marketing' lo utilizaron para sus campañas: “Yo soy de Cola Cao”, esgrimía uno de los eslóganes de la marca española. Han pasado cinco décadas y si la dicotomía Beatles-Rolling Stones ha perdurado, la de Cola Cao-Nesquik también. Incluso para quienes ya no lo toman, forma parte de su identidad: el sueño de cualquier marca comercial.

34. Colacao v Nesquik • Example of political incorrect behaviour: • «Yo soy aquel negrito del África tropical…» • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vyup1hs-vDA

35. Colacao v Nesquik

36. Task • In your groups: • Think about two or three similar things that form part of your cultural identity. • Think about activities that you can use in your classroom where you can include these as well as the pipas, chapas or colacao.

37. Other resources and activities

39. Purpose of study

40. Now think of activities where you can use either or both of the above maps.

41. More activities Anuncio Cruzcampo «hecha de Andalucía» https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf3KwoDL33M Anuncio de San Miguel «Donde va triunfa» https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfFQtq3Pwbw

42. More resourcesNon verbal communication • http://www.avueltasconele.com/los-gestos-espanoles-introduccion/

43. Films about regional stereotypes in France, Spain and Italy • Ocho apellidos vascos • Ocho apellidos catalanes • Bienvenu chez les Ch ‘tis • Bienvenuti al Sud

44. Resources • Consejería de educación: https://www.mecd.gob.es/reinounido/portada.html;jsessionid=AABA3C3185244DE8FA87EE6AF394468A • Instituto Cervantes: http://www.cervantes.es/default.htm • redELE: https://www.mecd.gob.es/educacion/mc/redele/portada.html • Todoele - http://www.todoele.net/ • marcoELE - http://marcoele.com/ • El tarro de los idiomas - http://www.eltarrodelosidiomas.com/ • Lapiz de ele - https://www.lapizdeele.com/ • abcdeELE - https://abcdeele.com

45. References • Byram, M. & C. Morgan. (1994). Teaching-and-learning language and-culture. Clevedon: Multilingual Matters • Chiuaru, C (2013) Teaching Culture, avoiding stereotypes, https://prezi.com/yifuwmp61tuc/teaching-culture-avoiding-stereotypes/ • Hymes, D. (1996). Ethnography, linguistics, narrative inequality. Bristol, PA: Taylor and Francis. • Hinkel, Eli (2012) ‘Language learning and language culture in a changing world’, Journal Applied Research on English Language. Volume 1. Issue 2. Page 45 - 56. • Kovács, Gabriella (2017) ‘Culture in Language Teaching’ Acta Universitatis Sapientiae: Philologica, Vol.9(3), pp.73-86. • Kramsch, Claire (2013) Culture in foreign language teaching. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research 1(1): 57–78. •  Merrill Valdes, J (1999) ‘Preface’ in Merrill Valdes, J (ed.) Culture Bound. Cambridge University Press, 10th ed. • McKay, S. & Bokhorst-Heng, W. (2008). International English in its sociolinguistic sontexts: Towards a socially sensitive EIL pedagogy. New York: Routledge. • Scarino, A. (2010). Assessing intercultural capability in learning languages: A renewed understanding of language, culture, learning, and the nature of assessment. Modern Language Journal, 94/2, 324-329. • Welsh, Alastair (2011) Avoiding Stereotyping and Enhancing Intercultural Understanding. TEFLIN Journal, Volume 22, Number 1, 34-44.

46. nathalieparis@nattalingo.co.uk • penelope.johnson@durham.ac.uk • l.m.escudero-baztan@durham.ac.uk • Download the presentation at www.nattalingo.co.uk : https://nattalingo.co.uk/general-blog/language-and-culture-in-the-spanish-classroom-jornadas-de-espanol-june-2018/