UNIT 1- TASK 2 INTERVIEW

LANGUAGE AND CULTURE

TUTOR:

ASTRID YANIRA LEMOS

PRESENTED BY :

GUSTAVO ALBERTO GRANADOS DELGADO

COLLABORATIVE GROUP: 551036_16

UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL ABIERTA Y A DISTANCIA (UNAD)

ESCUELA DE CIENCIAS DE LA EDUCACION

LICENCIATURA EN INGLES COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA

Medellín, Colombia

2020.
Make the transcription of the video interview with the following information:

• Topic of the interview Language and Culture

• Date and time, it was performed on June 23rd , 2020 at 9: 30 p.m.

• Place where it was performed Virtual interview by Meets

• Interviewed name: Laura Aguirre.

• Profession: English Teacher.

• Courses in charge: English Courses: A1, A2 and B2

Interview.

Interviewer: Hello Everybody, my names is Gustavo Granados. I´m here with Laura Aguirre,

she owns a bachelor’s degree in education, she also has a specialization in education and

pedagogy, and she is currently working with students from 9th and 10th grade at Government

schools. How are you Laura?

Laura Aguirre: Hello, how are you? I´m fine thank you.

I: Laura, the topic of this interview is how language and culture are related, so my first question

to you would be: what do you think is the relationship between language and culture?

LA: Ok, for me, there wouldn´t be no language without the culture where is developed. I think

that language and culture work “hand by hand” I mean, both support and sustain each other to

enable the relationship that exists in societies in general.

I: What is the influence of culture in the process of foreign languages processes?

LA: Ok, I think that culture has a great influence on foreign languages processes, I mean, it

allows knowing and identifying element of each place that are related with people´s behaviors,

for that reason it would have to speak about intercultural processes. So we have knowledge but

we have to relate it with the new language.

I: Which cultural expressions do you know countries have trough languages?

LA: Countries have different expressions they manifest. We can identify religion, society, food.

It´s very difficult to me to talk about a specific expression, but countries have many expressions.

I: Probably music could be one of those expressions¡

LA: Yes, food, cinema.

I: Why do you think is important to have an oral tradition in a country?

LA: Ok, the oral tradition is the main conservation way a country has to save their culture. It

gives the opportunity to people of sharing their tradition generation by generation, also there are

cultures where traditions are given by singing, dancing, theater. It´s part of the oral traditions.

I: What do you think? Do we teach using culture or we teach using language?

LA: It´s a difficult question for me. I think that in reality…I believe we teach culture through

language. For this reason we keep in our language, cultural elements that we are not able to move

away or make them outside.

I: So, what do you think is better, to teach language by using culture or to teach culture by using

language?

LA: We must combine both because we can obtain knowledge from that. Each one is difficult, I

think is related with the teaching process, with the schools. I don´t know, it´s difficult.
I: When you teach Laura: do you take into account cultural strategies that you use in class? Can

you give me some examples if you use them?

LA: Yes, I do. For me is important that students know elements, mainly Anglo-Saxon elements.

Considering that my students are “low income” ones and that the school is giving opportunity to

open their minds. Therefore, I teach through music, history, characters, cinema. I try to related

them to the culture.

I: Well Laura Thank you very much for your time.

LA: You´re welcome.

Write a significant reflection about the answers of the interviewed

Through the development of this interview, and understanding that the teacher interviewed works

in a state school, I can significantly conclude that the preparation of foreign language teachers in

relation to the need to teach the language through culture and vice versa , is an unsuitable

preparation.

I found it interesting, the concept of the teacher on the economic situation of her students, since it

allows to have a clearer picture of what is the situation of students whose income is very low, it is

clear then, that English teachers in the State schools are not capable of teaching culture through

the foreign language, since the implementation of the curricular programs are more aimed at

teaching grammatical structures and vocabulary than trying to teach it through real

communicative contexts in where the culture of the society in which it is taught involves this

process.
I can conclude that the teacher understands that language teaching must be related to culture,

however I found her idea very sad about relating the teaching of English only and exclusively to

an Anglo-Saxon culture. This is not bad in terms of the origin of language, but I consider that the

real communicative context must be immersed in the teaching process, since it is in this way that

students can internalize the new concepts. If students can relate the new language to their daily

life, the process does not become mechanical.

It is also important to affirm that the processes of teaching culture in state schools have only been

confined to the teaching of the social sciences, and the latter have not been able to adapt to the

curricula of teaching foreign languages. They have been working as areas independent of each

other, but not as interdisciplinary areas that could contribute significantly to the generation of

long-term knowledge of students.