C&Pa Design for Learning: Learning Languages 3

The learning outcomes

• To deepen our understanding of the ‘second’ strand of the Learning Languages curriculum: Cultural Knowledge.
• To have a critical understanding of ‘culture’.
• Reflect on our own culture/s and implications for teaching of the Learning Languages curriculum.
• To understand the premise of Intercultural Communicative Language Teaching (iCLT) theory and how it might be applicable to language learning in New Zealand primary schools.

Strand 2: Cultural Knowledge

Level 1 & 2: (Y0-4)

Students will:

• Recognise that the target culture(s) is (are) organised in particular ways.
• Make connections with known culture(s).

Level 3 & 4: (Y5-8)

Students will:

• Recognise and describe ways in which the target culture(s) is (are) organised.
• Compare and contrast cultural practices.

The key focus of this strand is ‘culture’.

Article: Oranje & Smith (2018)

Some interesting quotes from Oranje & Smith (2018)

• “It is intuitive to think of language and culture as intertwined, each playing their part in any interaction” (p. 311).
• “Culture knowledge is recognized not only as interesting and motivating, but necessary to avoid or manage misunderstandings in interactions” (p. 311)
• “…research shows that language education sacrifices teaching the cultural dimension in favour of teaching the linguistic dimension” (p. 311).
• “Traditional teacher-transmission of pre-ordained static information about a culture does not develop learners’ ICC; rather, such approaches support culturally-based generalizations or stereotypes (Liddicoat & Scarino, 2013)” (p. 311).
• “…critical cultural awareness also involves reflection on one’s own cultural perspectives by questioning them objectively to understand their influence on the intercultural interaction. Through exploration and reflection, learners compare their cultural views with those of the target language ” (p. 311).

• “In doing so, effective communication is enhanced as learners come to anticipate, recognize, and manage misunderstandings, accept other viewpoints as equally valid, and understand that their own cultural perspectives are not ‘right’ or ‘the norm’ in relation to ‘the other’” (pp. 311-312).
• ‘Language knowledge’ and ‘cultural knowledge’ are the two equally weighted ‘supporting … strands’ (p. 24). The former relates to the language’s structure and the development of explicit language knowledge and accuracy; the latter is associated with the relationship between language and culture, and concerns the expression of belief systems through language and cultural practices.

Intercultural Communicative Language Teaching (iCLT)

iCLT is premised on the notion that culture is present in language.

Planning a Learning Languages lesson

The Ministry of Education has released a series of 20 prepared units of work for a variety of basic language areas in Te Reo. For each unit there are a mix of downloads, worksheets, videos, lesson plans and hyperlinks to other resources to support the content. Here is the link below.

https://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Reo-Maori-resources/Ka-Mau-te-Wehi/Programme-overview