1.

Culture underlies every human being’s emotion and cognition; governments,

politics, and policies are equally powerful influences our behaviour; and
finally, our educational institutions are products of culture and policy, and
indeed are often microcosms of one’s socio-political milieu.
Discuss TWO (2) importance aspects of culture in learning a second language
and THREE (3) guidelines on accounting for culture issues in your classroom.

"One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every
door along the way." Said Frank Smith. In the modern age, learning a second
language is already very common, especially in English. Learning a second
language has brought us many benefits, including improving our career
options, boosting our self-esteem, and improving our first language. When we
learn a second language, we pay more attention to the language of listening,
writing, speaking, and reading. However, this is not enough for truly mastering
the second language. Understanding the culture of the language is very
important for learning a second language.

First of all, the importance of understanding culture in learning a second

language is developing communication abilities. Intercultural communication
involves individuals of different cultures who have dissimilar orientations and
interpretations of the values of life. (Dinamika Ilmu, 2015, p.3) When we use a
second language to communicate with others without being familiar with the
second language culture, it causes misinterpretation and breakdowns in
language communication, or it can result in errors and misunderstandings.
When we are engaging in cultural communication, cultural understanding,
social behavior, and emotional reactions are required. Therefore, the culture
of learning a second language can not only improve our communication skills
and the effectiveness of communication but also assist the learner in
developing confidence in using language and interacting in communication. In
addition, understanding culture in learning a second language can enhance
awareness of how language is used in intercultural communication.
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Understanding culture is similar to having a context that helps us to give each

new term the appropriate meaning. The more we understand the socio-
cultural context, the easier it will be to participate and pick up new terms,
idioms, and methods of speaking. There are several social behaviors that
others find weird, such as in Manglish, an informal form of Malaysian English
when a person speaks “lah” in a sentence, which means to add variety to
words and to indicate quite varied meanings depending on how they are
delivered. ……….. English is spoken in their own political and cultural context
…………. . (Dinamika Ilmu, 2015, p.4) Each language is spoken in its own
political and cultural context; therefore, we need to understand the culture of
language when we are learning a second language because it can enhance
awareness of how language is used in intercultural communication.

In class, we will meet many students who come from different races, have
different backgrounds and beliefs, and belong to different cultures. Therefore,
this makes cultural issues very easy to occur in the classroom. As educators,
we have the responsibility to create an accounting culture in the classroom.
There are three guidelines on accounting for accounting cultural issues in our
classroom. The first guideline is educators should show an interest in
students’ ethnic backgrounds. Educators can encourage students to learn
about their cultural backgrounds and share that information with their
classmates to build a trusting relationship. For instance, educators can create
a link for students to introduce their ethnic culture to each other, learning how
to pronounce student names correctly and expressing an interest in the
etymology of unique and diverse names. It's worth noting that this exercise
encourages students to recognize that their own ideas and customs are part
of their culture, which is an important step toward creating a truly culturally
responsive classroom. Next, the second guideline is maintaining a high level
of awareness of issues about language. Students who are not natural English
speakers often feel ostracised, lost, and forced to abandon their native
language in favor of English in traditional courses. Diversity of language is
celebrated in a culturally responsive classroom, and instructional materials
offered to non-native speakers are adjusted to their level of English fluency.
Materials in the student's primary language should be available, and the
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student should be encouraged to learn English. Furthermore, the third

guideline is educators should play well the role of facilitators. In a culturally
diverse classroom, the teacher serves as a facilitator rather than an instructor.
Giving students surveys about what they find interesting or significant gives
them a sense of control over what they study and a higher sense of internal
motivation and connection to the material. Allowing students to bring in and
present their own reading material to the class allows them to participate with
and share tales, thoughts, and ideas relevant to their cultural and societal
perspectives. In the classroom, only if students have a certain degree of
freedom, they will be more willing to share about their religion, culture, and
background. In this way, students can better understand each other, and
cultural problems in the classroom will be reduced.

In conclusion, learning a second language can bring us many benefits. When

we learn a second language, in addition to mastering listening, writing,
reading, and speaking, we also need to be familiar with the culture of the
language. This will help improve our communication skills and enhance our
awareness of how language is used in intercultural communication. In
education, cultural issues are inevitable, because both students and
educators come from different cultures and backgrounds. Therefore,
educators need to play a good role by implementing these three principles on
accounting for cultural issues in their classroom, including showing interest in
students’ ethnic backgrounds, maintaining a high level of awareness to issues
about language, and playing well the role of facilitator.

(25 marks)
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2. The process of continuing to develop your professional expertise as a teacher

is sometimes difficult to manage alone. The challenges of teaching in a
rapidly changing profession almost necessitate collaboration with other
teachers in order to stay on the cutting edge (Murphey & Sato, 2005).
Suggest FIVE (5) forms of collaboration or teachers’ learning from each other
that have worked for others and that may work for you.

In the 21st century, especially at the time of the growth of online learning,
educators are facing various difficulties. They need to overcome the
difficulties caused by online learning while strengthening their professional
skills as a teacher. For educators, it is very difficult to manage these matters
alone. Therefore, teacher collaboration is appeared to be important for
teachers. Teacher collaboration refers to teachers collaborating with a
common goal in mind for the benefit of all students. Through teacher
collaboration, teachers can create relationships based on trust and empathy
when they rely on one another for help. These regular interactions are crucial
for the development of long-term professional and mentoring ties. Teachers
that feel supported are better able to provide the same support to their
students. Furthermore, when the teacher collaborates with other teachers, it
will effectively help to improve the teachers' professional skills that they need.

Many forms of teacher collaboration are helpful for others and us as a

teacher. The first form of teacher collaboration is peer coaching. Peer
coaching is a private procedure in which two or more co-workers collaborate
to reflect on present practices, grow, develop, and build new skills, share
ideas, teach one another, perform classroom research, or address workplace
difficulties. As collaborators, the observer and the teacher collaborate on a
reciprocal communication process on the actual teaching-learning process as
witnessed in the classroom. Instead of being summative, feedback is
characterized as formative. It is given and received as knowledge for
improving one's future teaching, not as data for calculating one's teaching
abilities. Peer coaching is especially beneficial if we want to focus on a
specific component of our teaching. For instance, as a teacher, if we have
been concerned about the way we speak to the students, a peer observer
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may give us some feedback which is helpful for our improvements. Peer
coaching is a win-win situation for teachers and observers. From the
observers’ side, they can learn from the teacher's teaching method. From the
teachers’ side, they can improve themselves based on the feedback given by
observers. H. Douglas Brown, Heekyeong Lee (2015, p. 561) defines and
elaborate as follows:
Peer coaching can offer a personalized opportunity for growth (Dove
&Honigsfeld, 2010). Both sides of the team benefit …………….. areas of
strength and weakness. The second form of teachers’ collaboration is team
teaching. The most common type in team teaching is both teachers
collaborating to prepare classes and teach students. In this type of team
teaching, one teacher is actively teaching, the other assists provide individual
assistance as needed, or observes. Through the teaching method, students
regard their teachers as peers. It also allows students to express questions
and receive help during a lesson. This is especially beneficial for students
who have difficulty with working memory.

In addition, the third type of teachers’ collaboration is presenting at a

professional conference. A professional conference is a wonderful place to
practice giving a presentation at a teacher's professional gathering., and
teachers are forced to prepare and provide a high-quality lecture topic with
professional interest. In professional meetings, teachers have a good
opportunity to share their educational ideas and thoughts with colleagues or
professionals through speeches. Through this kind of speech, many
colleagues or people who are very professional, the evaluation, criticism, or
appreciation that they give will help to improve the professional ability and
teaching quality you need as a teacher. Furthermore, joining a professional
association of teachers can be a form of teachers’ collaboration. Teachers'
organizations can be found in every country and almost every "corner of the
globe." Participating in such an organization is the ideal way to stay current
with our field, connect with others in our field, and benefit from the stimulation
and education of our colleagues. Almost all of these organizations hold local
or national conferences regularly, and “there is perhaps no single experience
with more potential for educating and refreshing a professional than an
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international . . . conference” (Crandall & Miller, 2014, p. 633). There is so

much to gain from these invigorating events, regardless of how skilled or
inexperienced you are as a teacher. Actively participating in this type of
activity is not only interesting but also helps to improve our professional skills
and educational quality.

Next, collaboration can take the form of gatherings of teachers in your school
or neighborhood, or city (Murphey & Sato, 2005). Teachers can organize a
teacher agenda regularly, which can be formal or informal. Empathetic
support will be easily available on the agenda. It's critical to have periods
when a group of teachers gets together to discuss a variety of topics,
including student behavior issues, teaching techniques, curricular issues, and
even administrative bureaucracy challenges. When teachers converse with
each other, there is almost always a sense of shared purpose and, as a
result, a lift in morale. This is very important. When teachers are motivated,
they will be more attentive to teaching students and improve their own
teaching methods.

In conclusion, teachers’ collaboration with each other is vital because it can

embed professional development, improve teachers’ motivation, improve
teaching quality and efficiency, and others. Teachers’ collaboration can be
implemented in different forms, including peer coaching, team teaching,
presenting at a professional conference, joining a professional association of
teachers, and participating in teachers’ agenda. Therefore, teachers should
practice teacher collaboration to improve themselves.
(25 marks)

END OF SUMMATIVE REVIEW ASSIGNMENT QUESTION

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References

1. Brown, H. D., & Lee, H. (n.d.). Teaching by principles : an interactive

approach to language pedagogy. 668.
2. Soomro, S. A., Kazemian, B., & Mahar, I. H. (2015). The Importance of
Culture in Second and Foreign Language Learning. SSRN Electronic Journal.
https://doi.org/10.2139/SSRN.2656713