Journal #1

Teaching Intercultural English Learning/Teaching to World Englishes: Some Classroom Activities in South
Korea

Summary:

The paper focuses on the Intercultural Language Learning and Teaching, its importance, and
how it will be successfully delivered in a non-native (World Englishes) speakers’ classroom. With such
aim, the researcher first describes the evolution of language teaching framework; from Communicative
Approach in the 80’s, to Liddicoat and Crozet’s Model for Intercultural Language and Learning in 2001. In
the past models of language teaching, like Communicative Approach, language is only seen as means of
information exchange within a particularly mono-cultural community. “Linguists ignored the
interculturality that is a necessary part of any communication involving non-native speakers”
(Kang,2012). However, in the post-modern context, cultural awareness along with communicative
competence is highly recognized as main factors in language learning. This movement claims that the
use of language (English) varies on the culture where it is spoken. Moreover, linguists, such as
Canagarajah (2006), claim that there is no longer considered as Standard English due to a lot of factors.
One of these is that language nowadays is considered as descriptive rather than prescriptive, means that
it is defined on how it functions in a certain context and culture. Thus, new models for intercultural
teaching have emerged and brought new wave of language teaching process. These models, though
came from different linguists, have common features which can be considered as the vital points of IELT,
or as referred in the research “IELT mainstreams”. These are cultural exploration, comparison, cultural
acquisition, and integration. Having explained these mainstreams, Kang suggested a couple of teaching
activities that are proven effective in training/exposing students with IELT. In the end of the research
paper, Kang emphasizes how crucial it is not only for teachers, but to the whole educational institution
to collaborate in order to conduct IELT effectively.

Insight:

This research serves an eye-opener for teachers to really value the importance of involving
culture in teaching language. As an English teacher here in the Philippines, I can relate on the
researcher’s stand that we should not see language as prescriptive but rather descriptive, but applying
this in classroom will be very challenging. For an instance, using Philippine contextualized sentence
examples will make students understand the function of a certain grammar rule more than using foreign
context. Moreover, teaching English in the secondary level involves different kinds of literature per year;
Grade 7 (Philippine Literature), Grade 8 (Afro-Asian Literature), Grade 9 (Anglo- American), Grade 10
(World). That being said, we have to make our students aware of the idea that the use of English
language in a certain country may be different from another, for them to avoid confusion. We also need
to teach not only the content of literature but also the tradition and custom which are necessary to fully
understand the studied text. In addition, with the suggested activities in the paper, we can have an idea
in doing IELT in the classroom. In fact, many Filipino students are already exposed in different cultures
such as Korean and Western because of social media. With this, teaching English in the said culture
might be stress-free for us. However, regarding this topic, I believe that there are Filipino teachers who
are still not aware of the essence of intercultural competency in language teaching. With the
implementation of Outcomes Based Education, some teachers are still lost in the dark. The researcher
himself said that teachers cannot successfully conduct IELT themselves alone. They need extensive
trainings and aid from the school where they teach.