TOPIC 4: VALORACIÓN DEL CONOCIMIENTO DE LAS LENGUAS EXTRANJERAS COMO INSTRUMENTO DE COMUNICACIÓN ENTRE

LAS PERSONAS Y LOS PUEBLOS. INTERÉS POR LA DIVERSIDAD LINGÜÍSTICA A TRAVÉS DEL CONOCIMIENTO DE UNA NUEVA
LENGUA Y SU CULTURA.
CULTURE. THE ASSESSMENT OF KNOWING FOREIGN LANGUAGES AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR COMMUNICATION BETWEEN
INDIVIDUALS AND PEOPLE. DEVELOPING INTEREST FOR LINGUISTIC DIVERSITY THROUGH THE KNOWLEDGE OF A NEW
LANGUAGE AND ITS CULTURE.

eir sexual tendency or their physical appearance.

In order to achieve these aims, I would suggest following some general guidelines.

 Students need to be in contact with native speakers or at least listen to audio clips and stories told by them.
This is easier to accomplish in bilingual schools.

 We have to incorporate authentic materials, or at least simulated authentic ones, in order to make children
familiar with natural and real language. Some examples are magazines, leaflets, TV programs or adverts.

Candlin & the question of authenticity does not depend on the original purpose of the material, but on how learners
Edelhoff, perceive and experience the tasks. In fact, they argued that authenticity can be added through several
aspects: the main goal of the lesson or the activity, the environment, the task itself or the text.

 Teachers are responsible for comparing both cultures, avoiding stereotypes.

 Finally, it is advisable to set up social problem solving activities and debates, in which students need to put into practice
various cognitive, metacognitive and social abilities. In fact, according to the Multiple Intelligences Theory by Gardner, this
is a way to attend to the diversity of the class, as we are promoting the overall development of the students, who will be
using not only their linguistic and their logical-mathematical intelligences, but also their kinesthetic, visual-spatial,
naturalistic, musical, intrapersonal and interpersonal ones.

Another important aspect to consider refers to the contents to cover. Following Celce-Murcia, we can incorporate
several traits.
 Socio-cultural factors: participants variables (age, gender, status) and situational variables (time, place).
Celce-  Stylistic appropriateness factors: politeness, social conventions.
Murcia
 Cultural factors: educational background, regional differences, cross-cultural awareness.

 Non-verbal communicative factors: kinesics (body language) and proxemics (use of space).

5. PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF CULTURE IN THE ENGLISH CLASSROOM

In this point of the topic I am going to present some practical tools and techniques that are quite effective for the inclusion of
culture in the English class.
o English literature, which presents famous characters and stories within a context. Some of the most appropriate ones are
adaptations of the classics and folk material: fables, myths or fairy-tales.
o Songs, especially traditional ones that show folklore and traditions. They facilitate memorization, reduce the affective filter
of the students and induce a linguistic response, but also a kinesthetic one by using Total Physical response techniques.
o Drama activities, like role-plays and simulations, which allow students to experience the language in an active way,
participating in dialogues and contextualized communicative situations.
o Topicality, including topics related to cities, countries, monuments, famous people, habits, customs or festivities. Festivities
are quite interesting, as the whole educational community may become involved in the celebration of Halloween, Easter,
Guy Fawkes’ Day or Thanksgiving Day.
o The use of contextualised tasks and projects to give the pupils the opportunity to practice in a seemingly real-life situation.
This point is closely related to the implementation of CLIL tasks (Content and Language Integrated Learning). They are
based on using the language not just as a goal, but as a vehicle for the transmission of other kind of contents (science, arts).
Consequently, both the foreign language and the contents are acquired. They make pupils use cognitive and meta-cognitive
abilities (resourcing, summarizing, elaborating, planning…).

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o Introducing Information and Communication technologies also raises cultural awareness, as we can use the online
resources, computer-based games, videos or the Internet for accessing to relevant information. Additionally, the digital
competence of the students will be promoted.
o I would also recommend to set up self-access corners with appropriate material for the purpose of introducing socio-
cultural aspects, such as a reading and/or a listening corner. We can create our own classroom library in order to encourage
reading habits, making students aware of the fact that reading is a tool for learning, but also a source of pleasure. On the
other hand, a CD-player or a computer with earphones can be a great way of encouraging the children to use their listening
skill in an autonomous way. From a methodological point of view, it will help us to manage the sessions, having additional
work for fast-finishers.

All the techniques mentioned above should be included in the classroom dynamics with the purpose to set up
meaningful, active and contextualized tasks based on students’ interests and experiences. They will make students
put into practice key and specific competences, as well as working on the contents and constructing their own
knowledge. This is to say, they are useful techniques to use within learning situations, which are established in the
Decree 157/2022 as the basis of the teaching-learning process from a methodological point of view.
In addition, regarding attention to diversity, the Universal Design for Learning approach (UDL) should be highlighted. This approach,
specifically mentioned in LOMLOE and supported by several pedagogues such as Meyer and Rose, makes special emphasis on variety and
flexibility, giving all students an equal opportunity to succeed by providing them with different ways to learn; and it is based on the
following main principles.
 Representation: presenting contents in a variety of ways and formats to support comprehension.
 Action and expression: giving children more than one way to interact and work with the materials and to show what they learn.

 Engagement: stimulating and sustaining motivation and effort among pupils, by setting up safe, relevant and engaging learning
environment.