How to Bring Target Culture into Foreign Language Teaching

    Now, this activity is finished. But if the students are advanced, the teacher can try to extend this activity. Generally speaking, each song has a video that matches with the words in the song. So the video can help the students to understand the song better.

    When playing the video, the teacher could ask the students to write down the images and symbols they saw on their note books. Then ask the students to match the words in the song with the images. After that, the teacher can divide the students into small groups again, and let them discuss the following question: If this video was made in our country, what kind of images and symbols would we use to explain the song? Why? After the discussion, the students may understand something about different cultures between different countries. Listening to music can be accepted easily by students since they are interested in it. So they will try their best to cooperate with the teacher, and remember what they've learned easily. This way of teaching is worth of trying.

2.  Using some culture products in class.

In class, teachers always use some teaching aids such as pictures, models and objects. With these objects, students will be more interested in learning. But teachers seldom use objects to explain foreign cultures to the students. Using them correctly in class can offer the students a cultural experience which helps them to be more confident. A large number of things can be used as materials in class. Souvenirs, cartoons, travelogues, money, photographs, newspapers, stamps are all very suitable things to be brought into the classroom. If the students have these things in their hands, it would be easier for them to talk about foreign countries or communicate with others in class.

Let the students find out the differences by themselves, this will be more effective than told by the teachers.

As we all known, language environment is very important to the foreign language learners. Environment also plays an important role in foreign culture learning. In order to form such a mini environment representative of the target culture, the teachers can ask the students to bring to the classroom any objects, pictures, postcards or souvenirs they get from the target-culture country. In the class, the teacher should arrange the objects on a table, and put up the postcards and photographs on the wall. Then let these things stay in the classroom for several days. After that, teacher can explain the objects to the class. If the students are at a high level, the teacher can get the students themselves to explain what each of the items represents for. For example, if there is a picture of Sydney Theatre, the teacher can ask the following questions:

--What's this?

--Which country is it in?

The students would give the answers: This is the Sydney Theatre. It's in Australia. Then the students can make dialogues of this kind one by one. Maybe they can say something more about each object. Through such communications in the class, the students would get more and more information about famous places and monuments in different countries. This is a good way to enlarge their vocabulary.

Another good cultural product is cartoon which plays an important role in the western culture. To compare British/American cartoons with cartoons in the students' own culture would be useful for the students to understand the difference between cultures of the two countries.

Teachers should collect enough cartoons for the class from British/American newspaper and magazines. These cartoons can be divided into some categories, such as politics, relations between men and women, drunkenness, animals, etc. The students are required to categorize the cartoons given and drawm up a list of the different types of cartoons. Then a discussion would be held among the students. They can talk about the cartoons which were given by their teacher, or those they know before. Some of the cartoons they themselves knew may be from their own culture. So they can compare different country's cartoons with that of their own country's. And after that, teachers should ask some spokesperson to say something about their discussions. The speech may contain the following questions:

--What is the most common subject matter of cartoons in western countries and in your own country?

--How are they different?

--Which he prefers?

--What did he learn about British/American humor from the cartoons?

--What did he learn about humor in his own country?

At last, the teacher should make a summary. And the most important thing is to correct them when they are wrong.

Besides cartoons from newspapers or magazines, there are many cartoon videos. Teachers can play cartoon videos in the classroom instead of collecting cartoons from newspapers or magazines. For example, the most typical cartoon video in America is Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck which was produced by Disney Cartoon Company. This is very familiar to the students, and they would be interested in it. Another thing is the cartoon video is easier to be understand. So if the condition permitted, this way is worth of trying.

There are many other physical objects can be used in the class

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