The republic of uzbekistan navoiy state pedagogical institute the faculty of the english languages and literature

2.2 The Teaching Methodology of EFL Classes.Teachers EFL
presents nine different understandings of pedagogies for teaching culture in
EFL instruction, as well as the similarities and differences among them.

Among these pedagogies to teaching culture, Mono-cultural and Foreign-cultural pedagogies appear to be inadequate for contemporary classrooms, because they do not integrate students‟ knowledge of their local cultures. Mostly focusing on the target culture, teachers using these pedagogies overlook the opportunities to address culture from an ICC perspective. Note, Combination and Practice pedagogies guide teachers in how to approach cultural items. These pedagogies enable students to learn the studied language both linguistically and culturally because culture is addressed alongside language instruction. Similar to Mono-cultural and Foreign-cultural approaches, the teaching of culture within these approaches may not be intercultural. In language classrooms, teachers provide students with cultural information, but do not make comparisons among cultures. Comparative, Intercultural and Multicultural pedagogies emphasise the importance of comparing different cultures. They give students the opportunities to discover the similarities and differences between their own countries and the others. These pedagogies are more relevant for students to develop cultural competence,because they enable students to “identify more clearly those communities with which they wish to align themselves, to observe the way they work, and to negotiate more effectively their own place in these communities” (Corbett, 2003, p. 39). They appear to be relevant in raising students‟ awareness and enable the making of distinctions between cultures and managing their communications in an effective way. The remaining pedagogy, Transcultural, “takes as its point of departure the interwoven character of cultures as a common condition for the whole world” (Risager, 1998, p. 248). The teaching of culture within this approach may assist students to function at a global level. It does not stress the differences and similarities among cultures, which may cause misunderstanding for students.The implementation of any particular pedagogy affects the ways culture is addressed. When culture is approached from an intercultural stance, it is integrated into language education and involves students‟ engagement with practices, which helps them communicate across cultural boundaries as well as strengthen their identity. If the teaching approach does not allow teachers to view culture from an intercultural perspective, it may limit students‟ understanding of target culture through the provision of cultural facts. Consequently, it affects their learning outcomes,because they might develop cultural competence depending on their cultural knowledge. Teachers may follow any variant of pedagogies to address culture in EFL classes. However,they should bear in mind the need to adapt their teaching in order to engage students in various techniques for their development of ICC. In the following section, I will elaborate on the techniques and activities for the teaching of culture.Researchers who emphasise the integration of culture into EFL pedagogy offer a variety of techniques and activities (Dai, 2011; Hughes, 1986; Reid, 2015; Stern, 1992; Thanasoulas, 2001; Tomalin & Stempleski, 1993). I will now introduce a list of nine techniques for the teaching of cultural competence and make a distinction among them .The list includes almost all techniques suggested by scholars for culture-based activities in EFL classes in order to help teachers approach cultural items in practical and relevant ways (Reid, 2015). The discussion of each technique is elaborated on below.The nine techniques may be adopted to introduce culture in EFL classrooms. The commonly used technique is Comparison (Reid, 2015). Students may discuss topics applicable to English-speaking countries and contrast these with their local culture. Similarly, Cultural capsule enables students to discover the differences between cultures. These two techniques may be useful in raising students‟ cultural awareness, because they help students explore a specific cultural topic from the perspectives of different countries. Cultural assimilator is somewhat similar to Comparison and Cultural capsule. Students have to figure out the differences between diverse cultures. This technique assists students in developing skills to negotiate encounters with different cultures. Teachers should explain cultural conflict to the student. With these three techniques, teachers become cultural mediators in order to help students negotiate their communications across cultures. Other techniques of note include Cultural island, Reformulation, Prediction, Total Physical Response, Role play and Treasure hunt. Cultural island assists teachers in creating an authentic classroom context associated with English speaking countries. Visual aids such as posters, displays, newspaper cuttings, etc. can be brought into EFL classrooms to familiarise students with foreign cultures and attract their interest. This technique is simple but effective (Reid, 2015; Youzhen, 2006). Teachers can adapt authentic materials to suit students‟ language proficiency. Reformulation, Prediction, Total Physical Response, and Role play techniques encourage students‟ participations Students‟ involvement in learner-centred activities, such as retelling a story, finishing a half told story, responding to verbal commands, acting out in real life situations provides opportunities to develop linguistic and cultural competence. Treasure hunt “offers many opportunities for visits and projects, enabling [students] to come into direct contact with a great many aspects of the target culture” (Stern, 1992, p. 232). It may be an effective culture-base technique, because it assists students in developing their thinking and skills in order to understand materials from a range of Internet resources.
The goal of ICC pedagogies is no longer the transmission of knowledge but the focus on skills, attitudes and critical cultural awareness for students‟ development of ICC (Aguilar, 2008). It is important to include culture right from the beginning of EFL instruction. EFL pedagogies can deepen and expand students‟ learning through these techniques. Students‟ discovery and exploration of the local culture and that of others make possible their ability to intepret and negotiate intercultural communications (Liddicoat, 2002). The task of integrating culture into EFL teaching is not easy. Teachers should use the classroom to make the inclusion of culture possible. Using culture-based techniques effectively requires that teachers should consider the overall factors from the students, teaching materials, teaching goals, teaching principles and teaching approaches to choose the most appropriate methodology.In this chapter, I have reviewed the literature on cultural pedagogies in EFL teaching relevant to the study. I have also presented the integration of culture into EFL education, focusing on cultural representation in EFL curriculum and teaching materials, and teachers‟ approaches to teaching culture. This review and discussion suggest that culture is a core component of EFL education, which is necessary to develop students‟ cultural competence alongside linguistic competence. It is necessary to teach culture in an integrated way with language teaching. In the Vietnamese EFL context, the Government and the MOET advocate students‟ development of cultural knowledge and skills for international communication. The common goal requires teachers to make a shift from outdated teaching methods to intercultural pedagogies. EFL instruction should include the teaching of culture in order to approach the key idea of addressing students‟ ICC. Consequently, my study aims to provide an in-depth analysis of cultural content in EFL teaching materials and teachers‟ strategies to demonstrate cultural competence into language teaching and learning. In the next chapter, I will outline my research methodology that guided the study and discuss the ways the research was conducted and how the data was analysed.