The Reflective Approach to Teaching Culture within the EFL Classroom

Authors

Lucia Schiopu, State Pedagogical University “Ion Creangă”, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova

Abstract

This article examines the reflective approach in the teaching of culture in the EFL classroom, which is not just a mere gathering of information, but is the creation and construction of discourses that break or maintain cultural stereotypes. This is also an approach where meaning is constructed that is shaped by the quality and depth of cultural sensitivity and awareness. Teaching and learning a culture reflectively does not necessarily mean that the learner is taught to behave in accordance with specific social norms but to introduce an acceptable and appropriate conduct for the use of language in terms of intelligibility, comprehensibility, and interpretability within a cultural context. A fundamental issue in the reflective approach to teaching culture in the EFL classroom is to establish the cultural parameters between the learner’s culture and the target culture. Based on this, there should be established pedagogical reflective practices that will expand the learners’ experiences.

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Schiopu, Lucia (2020) "The Reflective Approach to Teaching Culture within the EFL Classroom," ECTESOL Review: Vol. 3: No. 1, Article 6.
Available at: https://jagworks.southalabama.edu/ectesol_review/vol3/iss1/6