However, as a graduate student from Brazil currently living in the US, I begin to consider some thoughts about this topic since I started to teach Portuguese language at the university. I think we cannot teach and deliver to American students the full comprehension of what culture looks like in Brazil. But we can introduce the students to some differences that they may encounter when going to Brazil. It may seem funny, but these cultural differences could represent a kind of warning to them, aiming to reduce the cultural shock with common everyday attitudes in Brazil.
Regarding the three P's of Culture described in the US National Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 12th Century, some of each cultural manifestations can be presented in a language classroom, preferably embedded in the language teaching through authentic material. The first P is Product, the easiest to present: food samples, art, dressing, architecture, and cities' urban design. The second is Practices, which comprises the forms of celebration of festive dates, the social interaction, body language and informal expressions. The third is Perspectives - which is underneath the two others - that are the beliefs, taboos, and worldview.
Certain items of Products, of Practices and, as a consequence, the Perspectives of the target culture can be shown to the students before they go to the studied country. For example, in Brazil, we don't need (or don't care about) a big private physical space around ourselves, as Americans do. So, in daily situations like shopping in a grocery store in Brazil, people can come near you, or stand in a line closer that an American would usually accept. There are some funny videos of Americans reporting these kind of situation.
In Brazil, in rush hour, the public transportation may be extremely crowded. It is not comfortable to anyone, but it is normal. So, even in these uncomfortable situations, people can talk to strangers, have fun and laugh a lot during the trip, standing literally stuck to other people in a crowded bus or subway car. In Brazil, we are really noisier that Americans. I think we share this characteristics with all Latin-American cultures and even with people from Italy, Spain and Portugal. Beyond speaking louder in daily social situations, people walking in the street may scream to a friend that is in the other side of the street and have a complete conversation in public, often using friendly curses.
Therefore, I think that some aspects of Brazilian informality and life-style should be mentioned, so the student won't freak out when someone that s/he never saw before run into her/him and in 5 minutes tell all his/her life-story in a blend of drama, privacy and comedy. Don't you think it would be really useful to know in advance that in Brazil you should not arrive in some kinds of parties in the exact hour indicated in the invitation, as well as other aspects of the cultural practices that have its roots in the traditions and perspectives related to social interaction?
Reference:
National Standards for Foreign Language Education Project. (1999). Standards for foreign language learning in the 21st century. Lawrence, KS: Allen Press, Inc.
I agree with you that a foreign culture cannot truly be taught in a classroom. Sure, you can tell the students what the people in the other country do and in that way you can prepare them for it when they go to the country and experience it themselves. However, I think only by experiencing it in person can the students internalize the target language's culture, so that they can accept it as normal, the parts that they like at first and equally the parts that they may not.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's hard to imagine a culture even more extroverted than us Americans! It's interesting how the cultural differences between northern and southern Europe (the introverted Englishman, German, etc and the extroverted Spaniard, Italian, etc) still apparently show some affect on the cultures of the Americas today.
Hi Tim,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great insight! I never thought in these terms, like you did, comparing Europe north and south with Americas, north and south. It is surprising to me to read that Americans have this image of extroverted of themselves. To us, at least in this area of the US, in daily life, we Brazilians think you all speak low and are all extremely polite.
Hi Lara,
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very useful to know social norms of Brazil before traveling there. This reminds me of John Chaston's Spanish 525 class on the culture and civilization in Spain. The class was entirely in English, so you would expect as a language major I did not find it extremely beneficial. However, I took the class the semester before I studied in Spain, and I am so happy I did. Not only did he teach the lengthy history of Spain, he taught social norms and interactions, things you should do or see in Spain, and the many different foods you might see in Spain. This was so helpful because when I arrived in Granada a couple of months later, I was excited to apply all of the knowledge from my class into a real-life context.
Even though foreign culture cannot be fully taught in the classroom, I think that the attempt to learn about another classroom is more than ignoring it all together.
Awesome post and great thoughts!
Hi Lara,
ReplyDeleteWhile teaching culture in the classroom will not give learners the true understanding, I agree with you that it is useful to prepare them for what they may encounter if they ever travel to the country where the language is spoken. Before I left for Spain, I had been warned by some of my previous Spanish professors about some major cultural differences. I was told about different aspects of everyday life in Spain such as the lack of personal space and late meal times. While this didn't provide me with a full understanding of the Spanish culture before I got there, I had an idea of what to expect for certain things and I found that to be very helpful.