UNIT 4

TOPIC 4
THE IMPORTANCE OF A FOREIGN LANGUAGE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF
COMMUNICATION AMONG PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES.
DEVELOPING INTEREST IN LANGUAGE DIVERSITY THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE
OF A NEW LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.

0. INTRODUCTION.

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF

COMMUNICATION AMONG PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES.

Reasons to Study a Foreign Language

Motivations towards the learning of a foreign language.

Reasons to study English as a second language.

2. INTEREST IN LANGUAGE DIVERSITY THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF A NEW

LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.

Teaching language and culture.

Culture in the primary school.

Developing cultural knowledge.

3. CONCLUSION.

1
UNIT 4

2
UNIT 4

0. INTRODUCTION.

Communication is the exchange of ideas and information between two or more people. Speech, both
oral and written, is the usual method of communication, but human beings can also communicate
through a variety of other mediums.

The LOMCE (The Organic Law of Quality Improvement in Education 8/2013, 9 th December ) in its
Preamble says that mastering a second, even a third, foreign language has become a priority in
Education due to of the process of globalization we are living. The European Union states as a main
aim the development of multilingualism for the construction of the European project. This law
strengthen resources for make students achieve the communicative competence in at least a first foreign
language, that means not only to use the four communicative skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing) fluently, but to use them correctly and appropriately to accomplish communication goals.

In fact, with this law, English becomes one of the main subjects of the curriculum of Primary Stage.
Foreign language can act as a barrier to international communication, we have to estimate the
knowledge of foreign language as the main mean to foster mutual international understanding.

The world wants a language that can transcend the language barrier, and English is ready to fill that
gap. The learning of socio-cultural aspects will give students clues for a better use of the language, as
well as increasing their affection towards the countries whose language they are studying.

1. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE AS AN INSTRUMENT OF

COMMUNICATION AMONG PEOPLE AND COUNTRIES.

Reasons to Study a Foreign Language

Learning a foreign language has become a priority in Education due to of the process of globalization
we are living. The European Union states as a main aim the development of multilingualism for the
construction of the European project.
The current laws of education the LOE with modifications of the LOMCE, the Royal Decree
126/21014 of 28th February and the Decree 89/2014 of 24 th of July, set English Language Acquisition
as one of the objective for the Primary Education Stage. In fact, the LOMCE considers English as one
of the central subjects of this stage. This law strengthen resources for making students achieve the
communicative competence in at least a first foreign language, the ability to use the language correctly
and appropriately to accomplish communication goals.

General reasons for studying a foreign language are:

3
UNIT 4

English has become a world language by virtue of the political and economic progress made by
English-speaking nations in the past 200 years. It is used as an official or semi-official language in over
60 countries, and has a prominent place a further 20. It is well dominant or well-established in all the
continents.

Nowadays, there are several factors that indicate that English is that language:

- Economic factors: wold wide economy depends on the North America's one, this country is the first
worldwide economy.

- Linguistic factors: morphology and syntactic in English are not as complicated as other languages,
what suppose and advantage when learning it.

- Technological and scientific factors: English is the language used within the technological and
scientific fields.

Motivation towards the learning of languages:

Motivation has been identified as the learner's orientation with regard to the goal of learning a second
language. Motivation is an important factor in L2 achievement. For this reason it is important to
identify it. There are two kinds of motivation in order to learn foreign languages:

Integrative Motivation

Most successful students when learning a target language are those who like the people that speak the
language, admire the culture and have a desire to become familiar with or even integrate into the
society in which the language is used.

When someone becomes a resident in a new country, integrative motivation is a key component in
assisting the learner to develop some level of proficiency in the language. It becomes a necessity to
operate socially in the community and become one of its members.

Instrumental Motivation

It is the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from the study of a second language. The
purpose of language acquisition is more utilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or
university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based, reading technical material,
translation work or achieving higher social status.

Integrative vs Instrumental Motivation

While both integrative and instrumental motivations are essential elements of success, it is integrative
motivation which has been found to sustain long-term success when learning a second language .

4
UNIT 4

2. INTEREST IN LANGUAGE DIVERSITY THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF A NEW

LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.

Linguists and anthropologists have long recognized that the forms and uses of a given language reflect
the cultural values of the society in which the language is spoken. Linguistic competence alone is not
enough for learners of a language to be competent in that language.

Language learners need to be aware, for example, of the culturally appropriate ways to address people,
express gratitude, make requests, and agree or disagree with someone. They should know those
behaviours and intonation patterns that are appropriate in their own speech community may be
perceived differently by members of the target language speech community. They have to understand
that, in order for communication to be successful, language use must be associated with other culturally
appropriate behaviour.

In many regards, culture is taught implicitly, embedded in the linguistic forms that students are
learning. To make students aware of the cultural features reflected in the language, teachers can make
those cultural features an explicit topic of discussion in relation to the linguistic forms being studied.
Students will master a language only when they learn both its linguistic and cultural norms.

Teaching language and culture.

Teaching Culture without preconceptions

Cultural information should be presented in a non-judgemental fashion, in a way that does not place
value or judgement on distinctions between the students’ native culture and the culture explored in the
classroom.

Some teachers and researchers have found it effective to present students with real objects or ideas that
are specific to the culture of study but are unfamiliar to the students. The students are given clues or
background information about the objects and ideas so that they can incorporate the new information
into their own world-view.

Instructional Strategies for Teaching Language and Culture

Cultural activities and objectives should be carefully organized and incorporated into lesson plans to
enrich the teaching content. Some useful ideas for presenting culture are:

Authentic Materials: Using authentic sources from the native speech community helps to engage
students in authentic cultural experiences. Sources can include films, news broadcasts, and television
shows; Web sites; and photographs, magazines, newspapers, restaurant menus, travel brochures, and
other printed materials. Teachers can adapt their use of authentic materials to suit the age and language
proficiency level of the students.

5
UNIT 4

With the incorporation of Internet in the classrooms, it is nowadays easier to access to authentic
materials published in blogs, web pages...

Proverbs: Using proverbs is a way to explore culture, it also provides a way to analyse the stereotypes
about and misperceptions of the culture, as well as a way for students to explore the values that are
often represented in the proverbs of their native culture.

Role Play: In role plays students can act out a miscommunication that is based on cultural differences.
Other students observe the role play and try to identify the reason for the miscommunication. Then they
role play the same situation using a culturally appropriate form.

Students as Cultural Resources: Exchange students, immigrant students, or students who speak the
target language at home can be invited to the classroom as expert sources. These students can share
authentic insights into the home and cultural life of native speakers of the language.

Literature: Literary texts are often replete with cultural information and evoke memorable reactions for
readers. Texts must be carefully selected for a specific group of students and with specific goals; this is
very helpful in allowing students to acquire insight into a culture.

Film: Film and television segments offer students an opportunity to witness behaviours that are not
obvious in texts. Film is often one of the more current and comprehensive ways to encapsulate the
look, feel, and rhythm of a culture. Film also connects students with language and cultural issues
simultaneously.

Projects: Students can compare British and Spanish habits or talk about a cultural topic

Celebration of traditional festival in class: We can celebrate with our students speaking countries'
traditions, such as: Halloween, Thanks Giving Day, Sant Patric´s Day…

Culture in Primary School.

The decree 89/2014 of 24th of July which develops the curriculum for Primary Education for Madrid
Autonomous Community, includes as one content to be worked the “English culture”.

According to R.D. 126/2014, February 28th, we have to bear in mind Socio–cultural Aspects and
Intercultural conscience in learning a foreign language; this makes reference to the ability to use the
Ianguage in accordance with the rules of the society among others.

The purpose of teaching languages is for the student to acquire communicative competence, and one of
the subcomptences is socio-cultural competence. The student should be aware of the cultural
background of that language in order to communicate appropriately. Teachers work also consists of
introducing relevant knowledge of that country.

6
UNIT 4

For example, the way English people rarely kiss when meeting others and so on. This could be
expanded.

Also in the concepts section of socio-cultural aspects we can find the aspects of daily life. The day in
England follows a different timetable, and so do the times of eating. The students may have some
negative ideas about the English eating habits, and these should be dispelled.

Developing cultural Knowledge.

Aspects such as festivals, music, monuments, history, TV programmes or sports must be taught to
students as they are part of the culture.

Within the classroom there are many activities that the teacher can make use of in order that the child
becomes aware of cultural differences, and many of the textbooks that are currently being used in
schools do include some exercises that encourage this. However, with a little imagination and some
extra work, a great deal can be achieved without having to resort to the text book.

There are many organisations in Britain and Spain that work to promote cultural exchanges. Pen friends
are an excellent way for young children to have contact with children from another country.

These types of classes have to be carefully planned by the teacher in order to develop an interest in a
topic that many of the students may not have thought about before.

In bilingual schools, one of the roles of the native language assistants is to transmit their culture.

3. CONCLUSION.

Overall, the teacher has the role of ensuring that the students have as much of an interest in the target
language community as possible. This interest should be aroused by focusing on the positive aspects of
the population, and removing any foolish stereotypes or prejudices.

Learning a foreign language is more than develop the four basic skills (listening, speaking, reading and
writing), it is necessary to use the language properly in the different situations we will have to face,
avoiding misunderstandings and lack of communication.

Moreover studies on learning a foreign language show that learning another language enhances the
academic skills of students by increasing their abilities in reading, writing, and mathematics. Reading
skills are transferable from one language to another.

Before ending, ass teacher, we must not forget the current educational legislation. Learning a foreign
language involves directly the development of the linguistic competence, one of the seven basic
competences set by the LOMCE, but according to the Order ECD/65/2015, 21 st January, we must
incorporate the teaching and learning competencial to our area. Every area must contribute in the
7
UNIT 4

development of different competences, and, at the same time, every basic competence will be acquired
as a consequence of the work of several areas or subjects. It is a team work, so that teachers must
cooperate with each others.

Another aspect that LOMCE does include is the training in audio-visual communication. We have to be
aware of the influence of the information and communication technologies nowadays, they have led a
great change in the way we communicate to each other. This new law is sensitive to this reality.