It is very common practise to contextualize English language learning activities within an English-speaking country. In this article, however, it is suggested that the learners’ own culture and society can sometimes be a useful starting point for learning activities. This offers various advantages: (1) it may succeed in involving the learners more, since the activities relate directly to situations with which they are familiar; (2) it will become necessary to tackle the problem of how to express in English certain culture-bound lexical items; (3) it will be possible to create stronger links between the two languages and cultures by focussing on the differences between them. The article gives examples of various teaching activities which have as their starting point the learner’s own cultural background.
The L1 Culture in the L2 Classroom
COFFEY, STEPHEN JAMES
2001-01-01
Abstract
It is very common practise to contextualize English language learning activities within an English-speaking country. In this article, however, it is suggested that the learners’ own culture and society can sometimes be a useful starting point for learning activities. This offers various advantages: (1) it may succeed in involving the learners more, since the activities relate directly to situations with which they are familiar; (2) it will become necessary to tackle the problem of how to express in English certain culture-bound lexical items; (3) it will be possible to create stronger links between the two languages and cultures by focussing on the differences between them. The article gives examples of various teaching activities which have as their starting point the learner’s own cultural background.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
