The Eighth International Literacy & Education Research Network Conference on

SPETSES, GREECE
4-8 July 2001

Dr Jill Murray

Head of Dept, Language Teacher Education, Institute of Languages, University of New South Wales, Australia

Teaching Communication Through Culture - But Which Culture?

Abstract

If success in language learning is linked to a positive attitude to the target culture, are teachers justified in accenting only the culture,s positive aspects? This question is of particular relevance when the motivation to explore other cultures coincides with or originates from ambivalent or negative feelings about one's own.

From the perspective of Australian teachers abroad, the perpetual `Coming of Age' of mainstream Australian identity, combined with each individual,s perceived distance from it, tends to make every individual a culture of one. How then can the Australian resident `going overseas to teach English' best function as cultural informant? How can s/he recognise his/her position on the continuum of cultural ambassador to cultural refugee?

This paper explores ways that Australian graduates entering the adult language teaching field are encouraged to explore their own cultural assumptions. Regarding this awareness-raising in teacher education, it poses the question: not just is it enough, but what can ever be enough?

Bionote

Jill Murray heads the Language Teacher Education Department at the Institute of Languages, UNSW, where she lectures on TESOL and LOTE courses. Prior to this, she taught migrant and overseas students in Australia and Greece. She holds a doctorate on the topic of strategic competence and classroom discourse, and Masters, degrees in Applied Linguistics, and History and Philosophy of Science.

Presentation Type
30 min. Paper

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Country
Australia