International Conference 2008: Do Second Language and Second Culture Acquisition go Hand in Hand?

Do Second Language and Second Culture Acquisition go Hand in Hand?

Beatriz Jorge
Academic Supervisor at Associação Alumni, São Paulo, Brazil.
Beatriz Jorge holds an M.A. in Applied Linguistics from Ohio University, USA, and is currently an academic supervisor in the Department of English at Associação Alumni, São Paulo, Brazil. In this position, besides teaching, she designs programs and develops materials for advanced EFL learners.

Presentation Abrastract
In 2004 I carried out a research for the completion of my M.A. thesis in Applied Linguistics and presented the results at the 2004 Braz-TESOL Convention. The purpose of the project was to investigate the presence of target language culture acquisition in a foreign language environment such as the city of São Paulo, Brazil. Results showed that the ongoing language contact provided through the profession of language teaching may indeed correlate positively with target language culture acquisition. Moreover, the conclusion discussed the extent to which (highly) proficient non-native teachers would be very adequate instructors of the target language due to their cultural flexibility. Suggestions were made as to find strategies to deepen the investigation on the influence of language acquisition on culture acquisition. At the 2008 TESOL-Chile convention I will talk about the follow-up analysis of the role of the target language culture in language teaching; that is, I will look at the pedagogical implications of the previous research. In addition, I will report on the observation of the presence of target language culture both inside and outside the classroom and show how teachers can use this tool to bridge the gap between language learning and culture acquisition. I will start by briefly explaining the theoretical background on which the research carried out previously was based, demonstrate its instrument and method of research and then display the results yielded by the study. The second step of the presentation will be consisted of an analysis of the use of the explicit and implicit presence of the target language culture in foreign language teaching. The presentation will be wrapped up with a discussion on the practical uses of this analysis, such as ways of using the information gathered in teacher training courses and/or the classroom environment.

http://tesolchile.cl/conf2008/postconf2008b.php