Integrating Cultural Awareness and Language Skills by Using Folktales

Henny Putri Saking Wijaya

PetraChristianUniversity, Indonesia

Introduction

Learning a language cannot be separated from learning the cultures where the language is spoken. Culture is ‘a general process of intellectual, spiritual and aesthetic development’, or ‘a particular way of life, whether of a people, a period or a group’ or ‘the works and practices of intellectual and especially artistic activity’ (Williams, cited in Storey, 1993: 2). It means that language is one among other products of cultures. Many researchers have discussed the importance of including cultural components into L2 curriculum (Sysoyev and Donelson, 2002). People involved in language teaching have begun to understand the intertwined relation between culture and language (Pulverness, 2003). It has been emphasized that without the study of culture, teaching L2 is inaccurate and incomplete. For L2 learners, language study seems senseless if they know nothing about the people who speak the target language or the country in which the target language is spoken.

According to Kramsch (1993 cited in Saluveer, 2004), teaching cultures in a language classroom is not a simple “transmission of information” about the foreign culture. It includes:

  • Establishing a ‘sphere of interculturality’, which means that teaching culture is not transferring information between cultures but a foreign culture should be put in relation with one’s own. The intercultural approach includes a reflection on both cultures.
  • Teaching culture as an interpersonal process, which means replacing the teaching of facts and behaviors by the teaching of a process that helps to understand others.
  • Teaching cultures as difference, which means considering multiculturality and multiethnicity of modern societies.

Therefore, integrating culture in the language classroom makes learners become a whole person.

EAPClasses

EAP Classes in Petra Christian University (PCU) are English classes for non-English Department students. This class is offered every semester. The maximum number of students in each EAP class is 24 students. The students are from Engineering departments, Art and Design departments, Chinese department, and Economics departments. Usually the students are from at least three departments.

Besides the different department, the composition between male and female students is not balanced. There is a possibility that there is only one male or female student in the class. This kind of situation can happen in PCU. The students can choose their own schedule but the computer system will decide whether they can enter the class which they register. The computer system makes students unable to predict who their friends will be. It is possible that they do not know anyone in the class. Therefore, EAP classes are heterogeneous classes due to the heterogeneity of their students.

In the EAP class, the students focus on integrated language skills and study skills such as skimming. There are a lot of language skills and study skills teachers need to cover in each meeting. As a result, EAP teachers will focus more on those skills due to the time constraint. They hardly ever raise their learners’ cultural awareness. In fact, “languageis a cultural phenomenon that is best understood and transmitted within the scopeof the culture that shapes it” (Yassine, 2006).

Due to these conditions, folktales can be alternative media that can accommodate not only the teachers’ needsbut also the learners’ needs. EAP teachers can teach both language and study skills and raise the learners’ cultural awareness, and EAP learners can learn language in a meaningful context.

Folktales in Language Classroom

Folktales are “rich oral histories grounded in cultural tradition and life experiences” (Samuel, 2005).Cambridge Dictionary defines folktale as “a story that parents have passed on to their children through speech over many years.” Folktales comprise fables and fairy tales. Folktales from one country may have the same story with ones from another country. Although folktales may appear in different cultures, there are some common characteristics (Zdybiewska, 2004):

  • The events in folktales are structured chronologically.
  • The plots of the story are predictable so that it is easy to guess what is coming next.
  • There are typical sets of characters that appear in many tales such as a witch, a stepmother, cruel sisters, and a prince.
  • The language used is simple.

There are some justifications of using folktales in language classrooms:

  • Folktales can foster language learning by providing rich and varied content (Zdybiewska, 2004). Through repetitive languages, they can facilitate learning of grammatical structures. In many folktalesthere are series of encounters when the same language structures are used over and over again. For example in Three Little Pigs, each pig goes through the same experience and the same dialogue is repeated three times.
  • Folktales contain universal values and plots (Danandjaja, 1984 and Hanlon, 1999). Although each culture has its particular folklore, it is fascinating to recognize that there are some resemblancesamong certain folklore in different societies. “Cinderella” in German folktale and “Bawang Merah Bawang Putih” in Indonesian folktale share similar themes of a girl who is being mistreated by her step-mother. Therefore, students can develop their critical thinking by comparing and contrasting those cultures, events or characteristics in these stories.
  • Folktales are enjoyable but meaningful (Kononenko, 1998 and Hanlon, 1999). They represent human experience, values, and history; thus it can provide both entertainment and opportunities for further discussion. Because of its universal values, similar plots and values, most people find it easy to remember folklore.

These advantages show that the use of folktales can encourage learners to participate actively in the learning process, develop their critical thinking,and act as a bridge for arousing cultural awareness among the language learners.

Practical Suggestions

These are some possible activities to incorporate folktales in teaching.

  1. Activity 1

Teaching Points: Adjectives and adverbs (Language skill)

Summarizing (Reading skill)

Group discussion (Speaking skill)

EFL level: Pre-intermediate

Material: Bawang Merah Bawang Putih

Teaching method: Deductive method

Activities

  1. T asks Ss to read the story of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih.
  2. T explains how to summarize.
  3. Ss write the summary of Bawang Merah Bawang Putih.
  4. T explains the theory of adjectives and adverbs.
  5. Ss identify the adjectives and adverbs used in the story.
  6. Ss make some sentences by using the adjectives and adverbs they have learnt.
  7. T asks Ss to discuss the following questions in groups of 3:
  8. What would you do if you were Bawang Putih? Justify your answer.
  9. What are the values you can learn from the story?
  10. Are there similar stories in other countries? Can you identify the similarities and differences between Bawang Merah Bawang Putih and that story?
  1. Activity 2

Teaching Points: Coordinating and subordinating conjunctions (Language skill)

Narrative writing (Writing skill)

EFL level: Intermediate

Material: The Hare and the Tortoise

Teaching method: Inductive method

Activities

  1. T tells Ss that they are going to read a passage about a hare and a tortoise.
  2. Ss discuss the following questions in groups of 3:
  3. What are the characteristics of a good person?
  4. What are the values you can learn from the story?
  5. Are there similar stories in Indonesia?
  6. T asks Ss to identify the sentences that have conjunctions.
  7. T explains the use of coordinating and subordinating conjunctions.
  8. T asks Ss (in groups) to write on a transparency a short story that has a value/some values, and use the conjunctions they have learnt.
  9. Ss share their story in front of the class.

Conclusion

The use of folktales in language classrooms can be an effective medium to teach language skills, study skills and cultural values. Therefore, it is highly suggested that language teachers exploit folktales as a valuable resource of authentic material to teach language and culture at once.

References

Danandjaja, J. (1984). Folklore Indonesia Ilmu gosip, dongeng, dan lain-lain. Jakarta: PT Pustaka Utama Grafiti.

Hanlon, T. L (1999). General Guidelines for Teaching with Folk Tales, Fairy Tales, Fables, Ballads, and Other Short Works of Folklore. (Last retrieved on November 7, 2007).

Kononenko, N. (1998). Report from the Lectern: Reflections on Over Twenty Years of Teaching Folklore Courses. Stories for the Young and Old. SEEFA Journal, Vol.III, No.2. (Last retrieved on November 19, 2007)

Pulverness, A. (2003). Distinctions & Dichotomies: Culture-free, Culture-bound. (Last retrieved on November 15, 2008).

Saluveer, E. (2004). Teaching Culture in English Classes. (Last retrieved on November 15, 2008).

Samuel, S. (2005). Traditional folktales enter the classroom. retrieved on November 10, 2008).

Storey, J. (1993). An Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture. Hertfordshire: John Storey.

Sysoyev, P. V. & Donelson L. R. (2002). Teaching Cultural Identity through Modern Language: Discourse as a Marker of an Individual’s Cultural Identity. (Last retrieved on November 15, 2008).

Yassine, S. (2006). Culture Issues in FL Teaching Towards the Fostering of Intercultural Awareness. (Last retrieved on November 12, 2008).

Zdybiewska, M. (2004). How to … use folk tales in classroom. (Last retrieved on August 30, 2008)

Curriculum Vitae

Name: Henny Putri Saking Wijaya

Institution: PetraChristianUniversity

Educational background: MA-ELT from Assumption University of Thailand

Research interests: Material development and EFL writing

Email address:

1