Culture with a big C: How to introduce culture in the CLIL / Foreign Language classroom

The forgotten C Some include it Some replace it Some omit it

TODAY WE WILL… Look at the concept of intercultural competences TODAY WE WILL… Look at the concept of intercultural competences Look at how and WHY to do culture and introduce it into the CLIL classroom

Come up with a definition of culture (in CLIL) Shakespeare? The location of the Grand Canyon? Body language? Religious beliefs? The rivers of Spain? Gestures? Opera Understanding stereotypes? Being tolerant? Halloween? Recognising flags? Empathy? Examininging your beliefs?

“I hope you’re hungry.” What does this mean? What would you think or understand if someone said this to you?

A lesson in context

Sheldon says… “Interesting. A friendly sentiment in this country – cruel taunt (joke) in the Sudan.”

What is your opinion about food scarcity in other countries?

Components of intercultural competence Also known as Main idea 1 Main idea 2 Key concept Intercultural attitudes   Knowing to be (savoir être) This means having curiosity about other cultures and being open to them and their differences. It’s about being willing to relativise your own values and beliefs and not to assume they are the only possible an naturally correct ones “Decentring” (seeing things from an outsider’s perspective) Intercultural knowledge Knowing (savoirs) This is knowledge of other social groups, but also their products and practices. As well as knowledge about other people it also entails having an idea of how they might perceive you. Societal and individual interaction Skills of interpreting and relating Knowing how to understand (savoir comprendre) It’s important here to see how misunderstandings can happen. The skills of interpreting a document from another culture and comparing and relating it to your own are crucial. Resolving inevitable misunderstandings Skills of discovery and interaction Knowing how to learn/do (savoir apprendre/faire) You can’t anticipate everything you’ll need to know, so you need to know how to find out when the situation arises. People from other cultures might not be conscious of their beliefs, values and behaviours, so they have difficulty explaining them. Integrating new knowledge in real-time interaction (picking up clues) Critical cultural awareness Knowing how to engage (savoir s’engager) Even if you try to be tolerant and open-minded, your own values are deeply embedded. You need to be critical of your own as well as other people’s values. Values awareness

And the Spanish? (Intercultural knowledge)

Heaven is where the cooks are French, the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by the Swiss. But why?

Hell is where the cooks are ______, the police are ______, the mechanics are ______, the lovers are ______, and everything is organized by the ______.

Hell is where the cooks are British, the police are German, the mechanics are French, the lovers are Swiss, and everything is organized by the Italians. And why again?

The Big Q: How do I “do” culture? By multi-tasking By looking for opportunities in the contents By making the most of cultural diversity in the classroom

Multitasking Culture plus cognition Culture plus communication

How? Why? - Cognition questions

How? Why? - Communiction questions

What are they thinking?

Opportunities in the contents

Examining from different perspectives

Examining from different perspectives

I love using learners as a resource