Until recently, culture has been the ‘elephant in the room’ with language teachers. There was a reluctance to admit that while teaching the English language we are also teaching the culture that goes along with that language. This attitude has changed, however, as research has revealed time and time again that language and culture have a very tight, un-severable relationship – we can’t teach one without teaching the other. The courses in this section provide language teachers with a greater understanding of the relationship between language and culture as well as ideas for teaching culture in the language classroom in a way that is respectful and pragmatic.
In this video, we talk to teachers who teach different types of specialized ESL classes. They share with us what they find most rewarding and most challenging about teaching these types of classes, and impart some valuable advice to new teachers of specialized ESL classes.
This series of interviews explores the concept of Canadian culture from the perspective of foreign English language learners and their experiences in Canada.
In this video, we interview ESL teachers on how they teach Canadian culture along with the English language. The teachers discuss some common misconceptions ESL students often have about Canadian culture and share some advice for new English language teachers on how to prepare their students for success in a Canadian cultural context.
In this video, we will look at the phenomenon of English as a Global Language. In recent decades, the use of English has extended to every corner of the globe. English is so widespread that it is now commonly regarded as a global language. In this session, we will introduce some of the terms and concepts that go along with the idea of a global language. We will then take a look at the criteria for determining if a language is, in fact, a global language and analyze the most spoken languages in the world according to these criteria. We will examine some of the forces that push a language beyond its natural regional boundaries as well as some of the implications for any language that becomes a global language. Finally, we will examine the global spread of English and discuss the concept of World Englishes.
When we plan and teach our English language courses and lessons, our focus is usually on the language learning activities and materials we will use to meet student needs. Lost in this planning and teaching process is the impact of the context in which we are teaching. The impact of context on our language teaching is much greater than we might think.
Through the analysis of scenarios drawn from real experiences in English language teaching and teacher training projects run around the world, we will talk about the impact that context has on what we do as language teachers. We’ll see how where we teach very strongly influences how we teach. Context will be examined from three angles: the physical environment, the organizational context, and the regional or national culture. We will discuss the impact that each angle can have on the English language teaching and learning processes.
