Often times
when people think of culture, the first thing that comes to mind is what we see
on the surface such as spoken language, music, clothing, religion, etc. However, culture is much harder to define
than some simple surface observations. In
her book Teaching culture: perspectives in practice, Morgan divides
culture into five main aspects which include products, practices, perspectives,
communities, and persons. She says that “Culture is the evolving way of life of a group of
persons, consisting of a shared set of practices associated with a
shared set of products, based upon a shared set of perspectives on the
world, and set within specific social contexts” (24). Morgan illustrates culture as an iceberg
where products and practices are the top of the iceberg, communities and
persons are deeper into the ice, and perspectives are the big block of ice
below the water. This concept of culture
resonates with me because it clearly shows how culture is made up of so many
aspects and goes deep below the surface.
My definition of culture includes the fact that it is always changing
within society and within individuals.
Morgan touches on the process of change within cultures when she
explains “the evolving way of life reflects the dynamic nature of culture-that
there is a history and tradition to the products, practices, perspectives, and the
communities of the culture. It also
stresses that the persons of the
culture are in the process of actively creating and changing products,
practices, perspectives, and communities” (24).
I believe culture is so complex because it encompasses large groups of
people yet each individual is unique.
Culture is actively changing as a whole and also individual beliefs and
values change with time.
Morgan also
brings up a good point that the five aspects of culture are extremely important
for language
teachers to understand because teachers deal with products, practices,
perspectives, persons, and communities particularly as they intersect with the
use of language. We can use these aspects
to help our students better understand language and its uses in different
contexts.
In addition, Morgan’s example of
the use of the French forms of tu and vous were interesting to be
because it relates to my personal experience with Spanish. When I went abroad for the first time I tried
to use the vocabulary and forms of words to fit into the culture. Then when I went abroad to a different
Spanish speaking country, I applied the same “rules” and customs of the language
and soon found out the language was quite different even though I was still
speaking the Spanish language. Language
can be a means of showing respect, and the pragmatics of language vary from
country to country even when it is labeled as the same language. Morgan’s chapter Language and culture,
was useful in understanding how as a teacher, I can use language as a way to
teach culture. Participating,
describing, interpreting, and responding to culture are all things that can be
difficult for students, and as teachers, if we are able to help are students
develop these skills, they will come to understand and be more accepting of
other people different from them.
