UNIT
4:
FOREIGN
INST INSTRU RUM MENT ENT. REALITIES.
LANGUAGE
INTE INTERN RNA ATIONA IONAL L
INTEREST
FOR
A
AS AND NEW
COMMUNICATION MULTILIN ILINGU GUAL AL LANGUAGE
AND
CULTURE. 1.
FOREIGN
LANGUAGES
AND
INTERNATIONAL
COMMUNICATION.
Language can be a barrier to communication. The most usual way to go roun round d is to find find som someone eone to inte interp rpre rett or tran transl slat atee it. it. ther theree are are many any problems because exact equivalence is impossible and there is always a loss of information, even with an accurate translation. On the other hand hand some some people people have have create created d new artifi artificia ciall langua languages ges,, neutral, neutral, standardised, standardised, easy to learn, with a lot of functions, functions, etc, but people cannot identify with a language nobody speaks. There is another solution, using a natural language for communication between different groups of people. For centuries Latin has been used but nowadays is nglish the one that is getting that position. !t is due to the political, economic and military power of the "# first and the "$% later. Trading, industry, science and literature have contributed to it. nglish is a live language, changing and developing quickly. There are many linguistic loans from all languages and the meaning of some words change quite easily. !n addition to that, verbs system is simple and nglish has not got genre. $ome people, most of them from countries with important languages, are relu reluct ctan antt to lear learn n a seco second nd lang langua uage ge.. &ut &ut fore foreig ign n langu languag agee learn learnin ing g becomes a necessity nowadays' The urope uropean an (ommu (ommunit nity' y' meeti meeting ng people people from other other countr countries ies on • equal linguistic terms. %nd also the possibility for workers to move from country to country. )eople travel a lot and languages help to cope with different situations • and give the opportunity of interaction with natives. • There are more and more cultural exchanges. $cience, technology and trading demand foreign languages. • Languages promote understanding, tolerance and respect for the cultural identity, rights and values of others. They broaden our minds, because we find other ways of thinking about things. Forei Foreign gn lang langua uage ge learn learnin ing g prepa prepare re stud studen ents ts to cope cope with with an ever ever** • changing environment. They face up to social and personal demands. Linguistic awareness is getting more and more accurate with foreign • language studying. +other tongue gets also better.
$o, teaching a language means also showing the linguistic aspects and knowing about the culture. The language is a vehicle for it. 2. TEACHING LANGUAGE AND CULTURE
-ew materials include increasingly information about different aspects of the target language community geography, geography, social values, sports,/0 !t can help the contrast between foreign community habits and pupils1 own habits. They must be aware of the different ways of behaviour and also reduce the risk of intolerance. +eaning is not an isolated property of the text, it does not only appear in discourse, it is relational. )upils must know about the context where the text is shown. &eing nglish is a part of a person. 2e must also mind sex, age, social class, ethnic background,/ The teaching of nglish culture is not only a matter of words. 2e must not reduce culture to stereotypes. 2e are educating people for a more tolerant world and the civilised acceptance of difference. Our task is to encourage people to take an interest and develop a positive attitude towards the foreign country and its people. 3. CONTENTS
$ociocultural expressions are shown mostly in traditional material e.g.' songs' 3! love sixpence4, 3Teapot40 Traditional Traditional games and sports also help. stablishing differences and contrasts in' • $ome 5obs e.g.' milkman0 • $ocial politeness +r., +rs., +iss, xcuse me, please/0 veryday activities meals, time, school timetable0 • 2eather clothes, seasons0 • $ociocultural distinctions driving on the left0 • (elebrations 6alloween0 •
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