Abstract
The focus of culture in English language teaching (ELT) has traditionally been on the target culture of English speaking countries. However, the new status of English as international language (EIL) has led to significant changes in the practice of teaching and learning culture in ELT. Rather than relying on the paradigm of native speaker competence and target culture, the culture teaching in ELT now aims at cultural diversity to develop learners as intercultural speakers in a globalised context. Given the need to integrate diverse cultures into the ELT practice as a platform for learners to become intercultural speakers, learners’ attitudes towards this issue are of paramount importance. This article will, therefore, discuss learners’ perspective on cultural diversity that is integrated into the ELT practice in Vietnam. Based on data collected from learners’ reflections, the article discusses the question of whether or not cultural diversity is feasible in the ELT practice in Vietnam.
Highlights
1.1 New Status of English LanguageSince there is an intertwined relationship between language and culture, cultural components have been incorporated into language skills in foreign language education
While advocating an understanding of multiple cultures as the necessity for teaching and learning culture in the globalised context, the participants acknowledge that the concept of diversity in English language teaching (ELT) has to do with their home culture, marking the second finding
English as foreign language (EFL) learners have to study their home culture in addition to the mainstream of cultural diversity. Their positive attitudes help to confirm that diverse cultures are possible and appropriate in the Vietnamese ELT context
Summary
1.1 New Status of English LanguageSince there is an intertwined relationship between language and culture, cultural components have been incorporated into language skills in foreign language education. In ELT, cultural content has been subsumed under language teaching so that learners would use the English language competently and have in-depth understandings of cultures embedded in that language. As the concept of native speaker (NS) competence used to prescribe all aspects of ELT, culture teaching was correspondingly constructed on the paradigm of target culture associated with the language being learnt. The NS norms that previously determined the ELT pedagogy in general and culture teaching in particular are considered inappropriate with the English use in multilingual and multicultural contexts (Kramsch, 2008). Culture teaching must be in line with the new goal of ELT which trains learners not to become NSs, but “to use this language as a tool for interaction among many other languages and cultures” Culture teaching must be in line with the new goal of ELT which trains learners not to become NSs, but “to use this language as a tool for interaction among many other languages and cultures” (Soler & Jorda, 2007, p. 1)
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