Unit 8

Advanced Didactics of the English Language

The Role of Culture in the

EFL Primary School
Classroom
 Table of contents
Scheme 3

Key Ideas 4
8.1. Introduction and objectives 4
8.2. Englishes 5
8.3. Languages and Culture 8
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8.4. Interculturalism 10
8.5. How to promote intercultural competence in the
EFL primary school classroom 12
8.6. References 14

In Depth 15

Test 177
 Scheme
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Unit 8. Scheme
 Key Ideas

8.1. Introduction and objectives

Learning a language goes beyond grammatical structures and vocabulary. It implies

learning another culture and another way of categorising the universe. The world is
full of different cultures and different languages and these are now more in contact
than ever thanks to technology. The Internet has meant an apparently endless source
of contacts with people and cultures which would not be easy to connect even by the
end of the 20th century. This leads us to the problem of confronting intercultural
misunderstanding, especially when the fear of unknown is over common sense and
respect. As teachers dealing with children, we need to emphasize intercultural
respect from the beginning. You are teaching a mass language, but the cultural
component of English is not just one. As a language spoken either as a first or as an
additional language in many parts of the planet, we need to understand this cultural
diversity, so we can reflect it in teaching. This unit and the next ones are specially
addressed to enrich the knowledge of English teachers-to-be about the language
itself and the culture around it.

In this unit, we will discuss about English expansion and its influence in our knowledge
of other cultures. The main aims of this unit are:

 Reflecting upon the process of expansion of English language.

 Observing how English is now part of many different cultures.
 Understanding the concept of interculturalism.
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 Promoting intercultural communicative competence in our teaching.

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 8.2. Englishes

“English language is nobody’s special property. It is the property of the imagination:

it is the property of language itself”, the poet Derek Walcott stated in 1968. By
teaching English to our students, we are giving them a good tool to move around the
world. However, we must never forget that the importance given to English will never
mean that it is a superior language, but just a language which is spoken by many
people. From the first moment we start teaching English, our students should be
aware that all languages are equally important both in linguistic and cultural terms.
This is something we need to keep doing during primary school years, when children
become more aware of the prejudices in the society there are living. It does not
matter whether a language is spoken by one thousand or one billion people, as it
always represents the culture out of which it emerges.

Before dealing the cultural role of English language, we need to reflect upon its
history and evolution. English language has gone through an intense process of
modification since the first Old English (OE) words were spoken. English language,
together with the rest of European languages (except, Basque, which is more
ancient), belongs to the Indo-European linguistic branch. The first OE texts have
nothing to do with the Present Day English (PDE) we know (table 1):

Extracts from Beowulf

Old English
Hwæt! Wé Gárdena in géardagum
þéodcyninga þrym gefrúnon·
hú ðá æþelingas ellen fremedon.
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Present Day English
Listen! We --of the Spear-Danes in the
days of yore,
of those clan-kings--heard of their glory.

Table 1. Extract from the famous Old English poem Beowulf, translated by Benjamin Slade (2012).

The English language had existed about four hundred years before it began to be
called “English”, around the 5th century, when a number of Germanic tribes arrive in
Britain and combined their dialects (Seargeant, 2012, p. 1). This primitive English or

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 OE was declined as it was the case of Latin, but with its particular characteristics. The
language evolved and simplified with the passing of time, becoming more analytic
than synthetic. There was also a change in the alphabet, as OE kept elements from
the runic alphabet used by the Anglo-Saxons (figure 1).

Figure 1. The Anglo-Saxon runes or futhorc alphabet and its pronunciation (Þæt Eald-Ænglisce Blog,
2011)

Once it was well stablished, it was not by far the only spoken language in the island.
According the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (9th century), the inhabitants of these lands
spoke: English, Brito-Welsh, Scottish, Pictish and Latin (Seargeant, 2012, p. 1). After
the Norman invasion of 1066, many nobles from England moved to Scotland, where
the English language, although heavily influenced by Scottish, spread and later
continued its voyage to Ireland with them in the 12th century (Crystal, 2003, p. 30).
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The influence of all these languages is notorious in the English language, but specially
that of Latin, which was considered as the language of science and religion for many
centuries. English learnt how to evolve and adapt to the new circumstances affecting
it and continued its spreading throughout the world. By the end of the 16 th century,
there were between five and seven million English speakers in the world, almost all

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 in the British Isles and at the beginning of the reign of Elizabeth II (1952) this number
increased to 250 million, most of them living outside the British Isles (Crystal, 2003,
p. 30). Nowadays, English is spoken by around 2 billion people, considering native
speakers, second language speakers and speakers of English as a foreign language.

The expansion of English is not due to the fact that its grammar is easy, or it is a simple
language. Phonologically speaking, languages such as Spanish (which is one of the
most spoken languages in the world) is far simpler. The real reason for the expansion
of the English language is convenience: English was in the right place at the right
time. As Crystal (2003, p. 120-122) explains:

 In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the language of the leading colonial nation:
Britain. Therefore, it was exported worldwide.
 In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was the language of the leader of the industrial
revolution: Britain. Therefore, the language of capitalism.
 In the late 19th and the early 20th centuries, it was the language of the leading
economic power: the USA. Therefore, the language business and international
affairs needed.
 In the late 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries, it was the language of
electronic revolution, which was mainly born in the USA. Therefore, computers
speak English.

In a world where English presents such a wide variety of accents, loans from other
languages and words which are specific from the culture where that English is spoken,
the question of what English is correct arises. Even though we are used to learning
British English or American English, the world of Englishes goes far beyond these two
possibilities. If we think about just the English spoken in the British Isles, the richness
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of accents can be more numerous than expected. The English spoken in the north of
England is quite different from the one from the south, the English spoken by the
Gaelic speaking population is enriched also by allophonic variation and vocabulary
from the other language. Now, to this equation add the fact that English teachers in
Spain are not native speakers. The question which derives from these facts is: what

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 English should I teach to my students? Any, as long it is correct. It is important for a
teacher having a good command of the language s/he is teaching, and this starts by
a correct pronunciation. It does not matter whether we are using Irish English or
Australian English but be sure you offer your students correct examples regarding
phonology and grammar. Remember primary school children are still in the perfect
age for language acquisition, so if the input you offer them is meaningful and correct
in linguistic terms, they will take it an example for their outputs. Whenever possible,
be sure your students understand that English is spoken differently in other parts, but
do not overwhelm them with too many possibilities, as they may be confusing. Using
maps and videos of different countries speaking English will show them some of this
variety.

8.3. Languages and Culture

Regarding practicality, English is a very useful language and can open a world of
cultural contacts. As a consequence, English maintains a good status worldwide, and
it is the first foreign language taught in non-English-speaking countries. However, the
advance of English in the world has set the alarm for many languages and cultures.
This takes us to the concept of language death, in this case, by English. It is important
that our students, no matter how young they are, be aware of the importance of
keeping diversity alive. Cultural and linguistic diversity enriches our world. Having a
lingua franca or sort of does not imply the disappearance of other languages, but it
sometimes does. When a language dies, the culture attached to it declines and fades
away in time if not recorded.
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The Council of Europe (2014) favours linguistic diversity against linguistic

homogenization:

Europe is multilingual, and all its languages are equally valuable modes of
communication and expressions of identity; the right to use and to learn
one’s language(s) is protected in Council of Europe Conventions.

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 The need of such a statement, urges us to reflect upon the prestige some parts of the
society give to English. English has affected the languages which were spoken before
its arrival. It is the case of Celtic languages in the British Isles or the native languages
of North America, Australia and parts of Africa (Crystal, 2003, p. 20). Therefore, even
being teachers of English, we need to promote language diversity from our
classroom. Learning English is very valuable nowadays but that does not mean
forgetting about other languages.

Nowadays society is hyperconnected, so we need to be aware of other cultures early

in life. Help your students see English as a tool to promote intercultural
communicative competence (ICC) (Byram, 1997), which involves both linguistic and
cultural knowledge (figure 2).

Figure 2. Competences within intercultural communicative competence (adapted from Byram,

1997).

Having intercultural communicative competence implies:

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 Being able to interact with people from another country and culture in a foreign
language.
 Being able to negotiate a mode of communication and interaction which is
satisfactory to oneself and the others.

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
  Being able to act as a mediator between people of different cultural origins.

According to Byram (1997, p. 71), ICC is acquired in the classroom, fieldwork and
independent learning. Be sure, then, you provide your students with sufficient
preparation in the classroom, providing suitable contact with the language and the
different cultures associated to it. Learning English is more than knowing a language
which is useful for future jobs opportunities. The presence of English in so many
countries also implies another advantage apart from linguistic communication: being
able to get in touch with cultures which originated in other languages. This is what
English is nowadays, nobody’s property, everybody’s language.

8.4. Interculturalism

One of the main subjects of study in cultural studies is how we react against and
towards differences. Since the process of raising intercultural awareness is not a
simple one, its description and justification cannot be less complex. It is important
being aware of some general concepts about intercultural teaching to apply them in
a better way in the primary school FL classroom. Bennet (1993) talks about the
Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS) based on the relation
between the individual’s cognitive development and the individual’s attitudes
towards the foreign culture. This model details six different stages divided into
ethnocentric and ethnorelative ones. Ethnocentric stages are based on the idea of
using one’s culture as a measuring stick to judge, assess and confront cultural
conflicts whereas ethnorelative stages are just the opposite and therefore, they
involve people adopting a more open and tolerant attitude towards any differences.
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It is important to point out that not all of us would pass through the same stages and
during the same period of time.

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
  Ethnocentric stages:
• Denial. In this first stage, people describe others using stereotypes. They know
very little about the other culture and cannot deal with the cultural differences
in an appropriate way since they are not able to distinguish the complexity
inherent in those differences and what it involves. People at this stage tend to
oversimplify and underestimate others.
• Defence. In this stage, people are more able to deal with cultural difference,
but they are still not able to think positively about it. They attach positive
stereotypes to themselves and negative stereotypes to others. They denigrate
others to fight against what they consider threatening.
• Minimization. This stage, although much more advanced than the
aforementioned, also describes situations in which people tend to oversimplify
cultural differences. People at this stage accept the more superficial cultural
differences but tend to consider that, beyond those, all of us would aspire and
long for the same things in life since in essence we all are the same.
 Ethnorelative stages:
• Acceptance. It can be considered as the first step for intercultural integration.
People at this stage accept differences, are tolerant and know that there are
different ways to behave depending on different cultural patterns or frame of
reference. However, they are still not able to act when they face a cultural
conflict. Therefore, they are not fully adapted since they can understand the
possible problems that might arise but, as it does not imply that they can easily
adopt a cultural perspective different from their own, they may feel paralysed
and blocked when that happens.
• Adaptation. People at this stage have a wide range of behaviours and can adapt
to different situations and adopt others’ perspectives in order to avoid cultural
conflicts.
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• Integration. People at this stage see themselves as interculturalist. They can

easily reconcile the conflicting cultural frames they have internalized.

Interculturalism should be understood as a potential goal of foreign language

teaching. It is a process of communication and interaction among people and groups

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 where neither of the cultural groups is considered as more important than the other.
The purpose of intercultural education is to create a degree of understanding of other
cultures and establish ways of communication as free of prejudices and stereotypes
as possible with the members of these communities.

8.5. How to promote intercultural competence in

the EFL primary school classroom

Primary school children have been already in contact with, let us call it, the outside
world. Pre-school children are free from prejudices. The human being is born
without being class-conscious and, for little children, everybody has the same rights
and opportunities. It is not until they get in touch with older people when they realise
not everybody is treated the same. The adult world has been perverted by
discrimination and xenophobia and, even when some people try to be politically
correct and show an open mind towards diversity, they, unconsciously, keep using
stereotypes and labels as a result of what they have been observing in their lives. In
contrast with pre-schoolers, our pupils have some experience of how people are
treated or mistreated depending on language, race and origin. However, it is not late.
Intercultural understanding is a transversal issue which will be worked with all the
other teachers.

When we approach intercultural respect from the English classroom, there is an

enormous world to explore. As we have seen in the previous sections, English is
spoken in many different countries with their own cultural identity. This implies that,
thanks to English, we can get in contact in many other ways of perceiving reality. As
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a consequence, we have an almost never-ending source of teaching resources just

using cultural material. In the next units, we will go through the passionate world of
customs and traditions of some English-speaking countries that will show you the
huge amount of resources you can use in your classroom to conduct your students

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 through the path of intercultural communicative competence using English as a
vehicular language.

Apart from dealing explicitly with the cultural characteristics of the English-speaking
countries, Moeller and Nugent (2014) propose some activities to promote
intercultural communicative competence which can be adapted to the primary
school classroom:

 Online exchange. Students use the foreign language as a medium of

communication with students who, at the same time, are learning their language.
Both enrich from this linguistic interchange at the same time they learn about
cultural issues present in the live of children who speak the FL.
 Attitude exploration with OSEE tool. Offer your students a video of a tradition
from an English-speaking country and guide them to apply the OSEE created by
Deardorff and Deardorff (2000) to help learners analyse their attitudes towards
others at the beginning of the intercultural process. OSEE stands for:
• O: observe what is happening.
• S: state objectively what is happening.
• E: explore different explanations for what is happening.
• E: evaluate which explanation is the most likely one.
 Documenting transformation collectively. Ask your students about what they
know a given topic (the USA flag, a can of baked beans, Sidney) as a way of
preparing them for intercultural knowledge. Bring them interesting facts about the
topic, videos and authentic materials for them to appreciate the real
characteristics related to them to broaden their perception of the world.
 Values in proverbs. Through the study of proverbs, students can begin to uncover
the cultural values expressed in language. Offer them a proverb and think about
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the meaning and the equivalent in their L1.

 Artifact exploration. Show them elements which differ from their culture: typical
food in parties, musical instruments, games and other things they can touch. Ask
them to talk about what they are for or when they are used.

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 8.6. References

Bennett, M. J. (1993) Towards a Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity. In

Paige, R. M. (ed.) Education for the Intercultural Experience (21-71). Yarmouth:
Intercultural Press.

Byram, M. (1997). Teaching and Assessing Intercultural Communicative Competence.

Clevedon: Multilingual Matters.

Council of Europe (2014). Linguistic Diversity to Plurilingual Education. Guide for the
Development of Language Education Policies in Europe. Strasbourg: Council Europe.

Crystal, D. (2003) English as a Global Language. Cambridge: CUP.

Moeller, A. K. and Nugent, K. (2014). Building Intercultural Competence in the

Language Classroom. In Dhonau, S. (ed.) Unlock the Gateway to Communication (pp.
1-18). Eau Claire: Robert M. Terry.

Seargeant, P. (2012) General Introduction. In Seargeant, P. and Swann, J. (eds.)

English in the World. History, Diversity, Change (pp. 1-3). Oxford: Routledge.

Slade, B. (2012). Beowulf. Diacritically-Marked text and Facing Translation.

Retrieved from: http://www.heorot.dk/beowulf-rede-text.html

Þæt Eald-Ænglisce Blog (2011). Lesson 0. Alphabet and Pronunciation. Retrieved from
https://ealdaenglisc.wordpress.com/old-english-lessons/lesson-0-alphabet-and-
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pronunciation/

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Unit 8. Key Ideas
 In Depth
Language death

Reflection upon Crystal’s book about languages in danger.

The master class is available at the virtual campus

Developing the Intercultural Dimension in Language Teaching. A Practical

Introduction for Teachers

Byram, M. Gribkova, B. and Starkey, H. (2002). Developing the Intercultural Dimension in

Language Teaching. A Practical Introduction for Teachers. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.
Retrieved from: https://rm.coe.int/16802fc1c3
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This is a very complete reading on intercultural dimension in language teaching. It

will give you information about how to deal with stereotypes and all those aspects
we need to manage when including the cultural component in our lessons

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Unit 8. In Depth
 The History of English in Ten Minutes

OpenLearn from The Open University (8th November 2011). Historia del inglés
(combinado) [Video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3r9bOkYW9s&feature=youtu.be

The Open University summarizes all the events English language has gone through
since the Roman left Britain to emergence of global English.

Don’t Insist on English

Patricia Ryan (December 2010). Don’t insist on English! [Video file]. Retrieved from:
https://www.ted.com/talks/patricia_ryan_don_t_insist_on_english
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Patricia Ryan is a long-time English teacher who asks a provocative question: Is the
world's focus on English preventing the spread of great ideas in other languages? In
other words: What if Einstein had to pass the TOEFL? It's a passionate defence of
translating and sharing ideas.

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Unit 8. In Depth
 Test
1. English is a superior language, so it is the most spoken language in the world:
A. True: due to its popularity and little grammatical difficulty, it overcomes any
other language.
B. False: it is not the most spoken language in the world, as Chinese has more
native speakers.
C. False: there are not languages which can be considered as superior. It is just
a matter of expansion and number of speakers.

2. Old English and present-day English:

A. Look as they were different languages.
B. Look quite alike.
C. Both varieties are still in use in some parts of England.

3. English is spoken by around 2 billion people:

A. Taking into account native speakers.
B. Taking into account native speakers and second language speakers.
C. Taking into account native speakers, second language speakers and speakers
of English as a foreign language.

4. English started expanding during the 17th century because:

A. It was the language of the leading colonial nation.
B. It was the language of the leader of industrial revolution.
C. It was the language of the leading economic power.

5. Which English should you use with your students?

A. Received Pronunciation.
B. General American.
C. Any, as long as it is correct.

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Unit 8. Test
6. What happens when a language dies?
A. Nothing, another language occupies its place.
B. The culture associated to that language fades away.
C. The society does its best to keep a good record of it.

7. Intercultural communicative competence includes:

A. Linguistic competence, discourse competence, sociolinguistic competence
and intercultural competence.
B. Phonological competence, morphological competence, grammatical
competence and intercultural competence.
C. Sociological competence, instrumental competence, discourse competence
and intercultural competence.

8. Ethnocentric stages are based on:

A. People adopting a more open and tolerant attitude towards differences.
B. The idea of using one’s culture and a measuring stick to judge.
C. Becoming interculturalist.

9. Interculturalism is:
A. A process of communication and interaction among people and groups
where neither of them is considered as more important that the other.
B. A process of communication and interaction among people and groups
where one of them is considered as more important that the other
C. A process of communication and interaction among people and groups
where one of them is considered as more important that the other in cultural
terms.

10. One activity we can do with our students to promote intercultural communicative
competence is:
A. Asking them to write a letter to a native speaker.
B. Doing an online exchange with a foreign school.
C. Offering them history books.

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Unit 8. Test