1. LANE 622 APPLIED LINGUISTICS
Prepared by Dr. Abdullah S. Al Shehri

2. SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS
LECTURE VII
SOCIOCULTURAL FACTORS

3. In the previous lecture..
We focused on the ‘affective domain’ of second language acquisition:
We looked at how the personal variables within oneself and the reflection of that self to other people affect our communicative interaction.

4. In this lecture..
We will touch on another affective aspect of the communicative process, that is, the interaction of culture and affect. We will be seeking answers to the following two questions:
How do learners overcome the personal and transactional barriers presented by two cultures in contact?
What is the relationship of culture learning to second language learning?

5. What is ‘culture’?
Culture is a way of life. It is the context within which we exist, think, feel, and relate to others. It is the “glue” that binds a group of people together.
Culture may also be defined as the ideas, customs, skills, arts, and tools that characterize a given group of people in a given period of time.

6. What is ‘culture’? (Cont.)
Culture “.. is a system of integrated patterns, most of which remains below the threshold of consciousness, yet, all of which govern human behavior just as surely as manipulated strings of a puppet control its motions” (Condon 1973).

7. More explanation of ‘culture’..
Culture establishes for each person a context of cognitive and affective behavior, a template for personal and social existence. But we tend to perceive reality within the context of our own culture, a reality that we have “created” and therefore not necessarily a reality that is empirically defined.

8. The role of ‘culture’ in L2 acquisition
The role of culture is highly important in the learning of a second language.
A language is a part of culture, and a culture is a part of language.
The two are intricately interwoven and cannot be separated without losing the significance of either language or culture.
The acquisition of a second language is also the acquisition of a second culture.

9. FROM STEREOTYPES TO GENERALIZATIONS
Picturing other cultures in an oversimplified manner, lumping cultural differences into exaggerated categories, and then view every person in a culture as possessing stereotypical traits.
Stereotypes form when we perceive reality through our own world view and cultural pattern, and see differing perceptions as strange, and are thus oversimplified.
If people recognize and understand differing world views, they will usually adopt a positive and open-minded attitude toward cross-cultural differences.
A close-minded view of such differences often results in the maintenance of stereotype.

10. Stereotyping and L2 Learning
Both learners and teachers of L2 need to understand and appreciate cultural differences.
They need to understand that there are real differences between groups and cultures.
They should learn to perceive those differences positively, and respect and value the personhood of every human being.

11. ATTITUDES
Stereotyping usually implies some type of biased attitude toward the other culture or language.
Such biased attitude is usually based on insufficient knowledge and extreme ethnocentric thinking.
Attitudes develop during early childhood, and are the result of parents’ and peers’ attitudes.
These attitudes form a part of one’s perception of self, of others, and of the culture in which one is living.

12. The Effect of Attitude on L2 Learning
Studies have found that positive attitude towards members of the L2 and their culture, and the desire to understand them and to empathize with them, will lead to an ‘integrative’ motivation, thus, resulting in successful L2 learning.
Studies found that, while L2 students benefit from positive attitudes, negative attitudes may lead to decreased motivation, input, and interaction, thus, resulting in unsuccessful L2 learning.

13. SECOND CULTURE ACQUISITION
Learning a second language implies some degree of second culture learning.
Many L2 students learn the language with little or no sense of the depth of cultural norms and patterns of the people and culture of L2.
It has been suggested that L2 learners undergo cultural learning (or acculturation) as a process.
L2 learning involves the acquisition of a second identity, and thus, requires a substantial knowledge and appreciation of L2 culture.
However, an in-depth contact with the second culture may, in rare occasions, result in a ‘culture shock’, which may disrupt the L2 learning process.

14. SOCIAL DISTANCE
‘Social distance’ refers to the cognitive and affective proximity and/or relative dissimilarity between two cultures that come into contact within an individual.
Schuman’s hypothesis: ‘the greater the social distance between two cultures, the greater will be the difficulty the learner will have in learning the L2, and the smaller the social distance, the better will be the L2 learning situation.

15. CULTURE IN THE CLASSROOM
Cross-cultural learning experiences may cause some people to experience psychological blocks and other inhibiting effects.
In teaching an “alien” language, teachers need to be sensitive to the fragility of students by using techniques that promote cross-cultural understanding/learning.
Use of role-play in ESL classrooms is perhaps a good way to help students overcome cultural “fatigue” while promoting the process of cross-cultural dialogue.
Perhaps the best model of cross-cultural learning is found among students who learn L2 in its native country.

16. LANGUAGE POLICY AND POLITICS
Every country has some form of explicit, “official” or implicit, “unofficial” policy affecting the status of its native language/languages and one or more foreign languages.
Language policies are sometimes politicized and used for groups political and economical interests.
English, for instance, as a worldwide lingua franca, has become a subject of international debate for policy makers.
Some have expressed concerns that English teaching worldwide threatens to form an elitist cultural hegemony, widening the gap between the rich and poor.

17. World Englishes
Rapid growth of English as an international language has stimulating interesting discussion about the status of English varieties.
Learning English in India, for example, does not involve taking on a new culture (acculturation).
The process of “nativization” or “indigenization” of English has spread to other countries such as Singapore, the Philippines, Nigeria, and others.
The traditional dichotomy between ‘native’ and ‘non-native’ speaker is thus functionally uninsightful and linguistically questionable.

18. ESL and EFL
ESL and EFL terminology are thought to have created a world view that being a ‘native speaker’ of English suggests an unquestionable competence in the use and teaching of the language as well as expertise in telling others how English should be taught.
Native speakers competence does not necessarily exemplify the idealized competence that was once claimed.

19. Linguistic Imperialism and Language Rights
A central issue in the linguistic imperialism debate is devaluing of native languages through the colonial spread of English.
As teachers of English, some of our primary goal should be the highest respect for the languages and cultures of our students, and the preservation of diversity among human beings.
L2 curricula must not impose a foreign value system on learners.
We must be aware that English as an International language is a two-edged sword that carries with it the danger of the imperialistic destruction of a global ecology of language and cultures.

20. Language Policy and the “English Only” Debate
This has to do with policies pertaining to linguistic legislations ranging from choosing a language for education to the adoption of “official” status for a language in a country.
In the United States, where English had never been declared to be an official language, proponents of “English only” debate argued for an ‘official English’ policy with aim of unifying the country and end debates over bilingual education.