The Relevance of Anthropology to Language Teaching

Abstract

The relevance of anthropological theory, methodology, and literature to language teaching is discussed. It is argued that culture should be taught explicitly in the language classroom, and that the anthropological theory of cultural relativity is useful in creating a judgment-free atmosphere. Both teacher and students should become amateur anthropoligists, exploring and testing their own and each other's cultures. The language classroom should be the neutral territory between two cultures, where cultural patterns and attitudes can be freely discussed. This approach would alleviate many of the psychological problems inherent in language teaching and learning. The use of an anthropological approach to language teaching enables students to gain communicative as well as linguistic competence and provides interesting and relevant content with which to practice linguistic structures. The teaching of culture can be integrated with all aspects of language teaching. Some suggestions for techniques are given. The possibility of using this approach to language teaching with speakers of a minority or non-standard language is also discussed. Both teacher and students can learn a great deal if they become partners in mutual inquiry of their own and each other's cultures, using anthropological literature and their own knowledge as resources.