The Importance Of Culture In Language Learning

By learning your own language it can help you understand who you are and in time it can help you express

What they want to do is also retain their own language, culture, and identity.” (9-10). By retaining their own culture and learning English they are able to participate in both cultures.

This situation is relative to real life instances of immigration, as those moving to America with the hopes of improving their own lives and the lives of their family members are, in some cases, unfamiliar with the English language. Therefore, they must somehow learn the ways of the new people surrounding them in order to be accepted in this environment and also be able to communicate with others so they can attempt to obtain jobs to support themselves and family. Understanding the same language clearly plays an important role in assimilating to new surroundings.

Currently, general education classrooms have increasingly become diverse with both disable students and students from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds. In order for educators to ensure that they effectively teach these classrooms, meet the needs of each student both successfully and individually, effective research that is based on strategies need to be implemented. The U.S. Department of Education suggest that, the current school-age population is becoming more diverse as time passes, yet, majority of the teachers in these schools are white non-Hispanic women. According to another report by The Condition of Education in 2006, American schools are portraying increased diversity and growth. The report suggested that, forty two percent of students in public schools were ethnic or racial minorities in the year 2003; this increased from twenty two percent since 1972. Owing to these reasons, teachers in these schools are expected to educate a diversified class of students including those that come from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Teachers are therefore, required to implement a number of key strategies that will ensure that every student in specific classroom feels that he or she belongs there (Worrell, 2010).

The world culture has many different meanings depending on the person you ask. Each person has their own view on what they think culture is. To me, culture could be defined as different puzzle pieces that come together to create a person socially, physically and mentally. According to Chapter Three, Culture and the Culture-Learning Process, authors Cushner, McClelland, and Safford (2009) talks about culture and defines it as “Culture determines, to a large extent, people 's thoughts, ideas, patterns of interaction, and material adaptions to the world around them” (p. 61). This definition of culture explains that everyone culture is different based on their environment and influences around them. Culture starts at home and can then branch

I have lived in two different countries before moving to the United States of America; the challenging things about moving into a new country is learning the language, culture, and getting used to the new food. By the age of 15, I had learned to speak three different languages: Amharic, which is spoken in Ethiopia; Swahili, which is the native langue of Kenya, and a little bit of English. English is one of the hardest languages for me to learn and speak, because English is different from my native language in pronunciations, tone, and English has so many different words, which have the same meanings. Once I moved to the U.S.A, I had to learn how to speak English well in order to communicate with people at work, school and to socialize in the community. Attending college to learn English and other cultures is very important to me. For example, when I am attending collage, I will be meeting people from all over the world with different cultures and backgrounds. For instance, last semester I met an Indian student in my math class, she was very friendly and open indeed. She taught me a lot about her culture. The most interesting example is the one she mentioned about their wedding ceremony. The traditional wedding includes painting of the feet and hands of the bride, and this tradition is called Mehndi. Learning about her culture has allowed me to understand and appreciate the culture differences we possess. I

Student-teacher relationships: The video show that the teacher or students have no relationship in learning or teaching.

To become bilingual, must you lose a piece of your identity? Or can the cultures of language coexist in a person? In the essays by Martin Espada and Richard Rodriguez, the ability to maintain identity as a bilingual speaker is challenged. According to Espada, Spanish should be permitted everywhere to prevent losing a piece of one’s identity. However, Rodriguez believes that a piece of your identity must be sacrificed in order to be accepted into a new culture. For others, such as myself, there is a happy compromise; bilingualism should be encouraged and supported in public to communicate and spread understanding.

The language barrier is one of the biggest problems people face when they move to another country. Many immigrants who come from other countries are met with many linguistic challenges that not only impede their control of daily life tasks but also their ability to survive. I believe that it is important for immigrants to speak a national language. If they are unable to speak a national language, they will be unable to function to the fullest and therefore become isolated and disempowered from the community.

It has been said that if you know numerous words, you can have numerous thoughts. (Hartshorne) Knowing many words or phrases can make someone smarter and they can have many thoughts and ideas. Committing to the English language introduces an individual to a new culture, this does not indicate you have to change your own culture to fit in the other Americans. This is saying you can learn the American culture and language, but keep you original culture and as a bonus, know two languages. Also, being brought into a new culture and language does not necessarily mean your original culture will change. Culture is completely different from language. Culture is unique and special, where language is meant for anyone and knowing a different language is not always unique. Therefore, you can know the same language as your neighbor, but on the other hand are completely different because of your culture. Getting used to a new environment can be difficult, but having an uncommon culture, yet an equal language with others can help adapt to a new world. Scott Young points out that, “Culture offers a different identity and perspective that tends to be more homogenous within a group of people who all speak the same language.”

Language, culture and individual personal attributes are all things we consider when describing what identity is and how it is influenced. Culture influences many aspects of an individual's life such as traditions, belief systems, norms, personal values and more. A language is a form of expression, it also reveals a person's origins such as what country they are from. Both culture and language shape a person's identity and can make an individual feel as though they belong. Translations by Friel not only does a great job of demonstrating the importance of language and cultural identity but also shows how easily both can be stripped from a society.

Language is the universal connection that brings all humans together. We share this common ground to communicate. The three major points that I would like to focus on are: How does language influence our culture? Does it define us, or does it refine us? And lastly, the impact that language has on our societies.

“Unlike a drop of water which loses its identity when it joins the ocean, man does not lose his being in the society in which he lives. Man's life is independent. He is born not for the development of the society alone, but for the development of his self”. B.R. Ambedkar, in Develop with Fact: Neutralizing the Catalysts of Downturn, p. 57. There are many different languages spoken around the world. Sometimes it can create a barrier when trying to communicate. Other times it may cause you to be judged because you have a different accent, or you use different terminology. Language can play a small role in how people’s identities are formed., The language variety that you speak as a native language is closely tied to your geographical identity.

Learning about a new culture is very common now days. Most people immigrate to other countries looking for different goals in life. Some people immigrate for safety purposes; some people are looking for better opportunities and different quality of life. For some people adjust themselves to a new culture is easy; the younger they are the easiest is to adjust to a new different culture and a different way to live. However, there are many people who struggle every day trying to learn about a different culture.

* In the educational field, the teaching learning cycle is a model used in contemporary teaching in both school and adult educational settings. Rothery (1996 in Derewianka & Jones 2012, pg 43) who originally developed the model used this to aim at disadvantaged children for teaching literacy and writing in the KLA (Key learning areas) who were from socially disadvantaged areas. Over time the model has been phased across other areas of the English language such as listening, speaking, reading as well as writing. The key involvement of the teacher also known as ‘expert other’ in the teaching learning cycle is guiding the learner to understand key concepts in academic literacy through use of scaffolding strategies to transform students