What Should Teaching English As A Foreign Language?
One thousand five hundred million people worldwide speak English, of whom three hundred seventy five million are native speakers (McKay 2016). Therefore, English language is now considered as an international language, and it is often taught as a foreign language accompanied by teaching both American and British Cultural studies. Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL), in simple words, means the teaching of English language in a non-English-speaking region. Education in American and British cultures deals mainly with the different aspects of both cultures. Teaching English as a Foreign Language besides education in American and British culture may not be considered as a form of cultural imperialism. In fact we should not ignore the fact
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cultural identity. It is preferable to have ELTs who share the same culture as their students and possess the background knowledge about the targeted language and culture. Thus, teachers will make connections, show differences and similarities between the two cultures. They can also help students correcting their misconceptions and clear stereotypes about other cultures. In the same context Kramsch says: ??breaking down stereotypes is not just realizing that people are not the way one thought they were, or that deep down ?we are all the same?. It is understanding that we are irreducibly unique and different, and that I could have been you, you could have been me, given different circumstances?? (1995, 3). However, foreign teachers are also with great importance when transferring the linguistic and cultural knowledge. Yet, they can learn about their students? culture, and they will help them to maintain it. One of the things they can do is integrating information from students? everyday lives because it validates their cultural identity as an important aspect of learning (Alyssa …show more content…
The age group which is most sensitive to this issue is children. Children come to our world as blank sheets and different agents write things on it. At the early stages of growing, children carefully observe things around them, and everything they face play a very important role in shaping their personality and way of thinking. Thus, we might not want to introduce them to different cultures, languages and values until their own ones are already established. ?Children must initially begin their schooling in their own tongue, with which they are familiar. This will help their cognitive development and inculcate critical thinking?. (Zubeida 2012). Zubeida stated that it is really inconvenient to start teaching English at the early ages. He insists that it should be introduced to a child at a late stage, and it should be taught as a second language. However, it is still believed that it is preferable to start language learning earlier, because the input becomes much
cultural identity. It is preferable to have ELTs who share the same culture as their students and possess the background knowledge about the targeted language and culture. Thus, teachers will make connections, show differences and similarities between the two cultures. They can also help students correcting their misconceptions and clear stereotypes about other cultures. In the same context Kramsch says: ??breaking down stereotypes is not just realizing that people are not the way one thought they were, or that deep down ?we are all the same?. It is understanding that we are irreducibly unique and different, and that I could have been you, you could have been me, given different circumstances?? (1995, 3). However, foreign teachers are also with great importance when transferring the linguistic and cultural knowledge. Yet, they can learn about their students? culture, and they will help them to maintain it. One of the things they can do is integrating information from students? everyday lives because it validates their cultural identity as an important aspect of learning (Alyssa …show more content…
The age group which is most sensitive to this issue is children. Children come to our world as blank sheets and different agents write things on it. At the early stages of growing, children carefully observe things around them, and everything they face play a very important role in shaping their personality and way of thinking. Thus, we might not want to introduce them to different cultures, languages and values until their own ones are already established. ?Children must initially begin their schooling in their own tongue, with which they are familiar. This will help their cognitive development and inculcate critical thinking?. (Zubeida 2012). Zubeida stated that it is really inconvenient to start teaching English at the early ages. He insists that it should be introduced to a child at a late stage, and it should be taught as a second language. However, it is still believed that it is preferable to start language learning earlier, because the input becomes much