Language and Culture

 The very question; ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ could also apply to language and culture. If language is the main means whereby people conduct their daily business, social lives, and is used as the main communication tool, then the link between culture and language may be evident but quite complex. But before we try to answer the above question, let’s look at some aspects of language and culture which combine these together.

Have you ever thought about, or even been asked by a student in class, how to define what language is? We use it everyday, we know innately what it is, but to put words on it, to try to define and explain is actually quite a difficult thing to do, without being superficial or losing some meaning. Language has been described by some as a system of signs that come together to create meaning. Others have described it as a method of communicating ideas, emotions and desires by means of a system of produced symbols. However, there is one thing which is evident when trying to define language and that is its importance and relevance to those who use it and how it is inextricably linked to culture.

Like language, culture too can be difficult to define. The image of an iceberg can help us have a better understanding of how deeply ingrained culture is. Culture characterises a certain group of people at a given time. On the face value, or the top of the iceberg, we can see aspects of culture such as food, clothing, sport, music, architecture and art, the thing we enjoy when we are on holiday. However, further down the iceberg - under the water mark – it becomes more complicated and we notice that there is so much more to consider: ideas, beliefs, skills, traditions, attitudes and values, as well as social interactions. Culture includes both the tangible and intangible products of a society.

So what is it that links culture and language together? Well to this we can say that both language and culture are learned or acquired. Both have patterns that change and are a universal fact of life, and both are part of our identity. Just as we acquire our first language, we too acquire our first culture. Also, just as we may chose to learn a second language, we can learn a second culture or develop intercultural awareness. However developing ones intercultural awareness can be a difficult thing to do. There are no rules to learn, no structures to apply and the process can vary from one individual to another. This can be a problem in the language classroom. As teachers, we teach a language, and therefore teach the culture of the language, but we also face the culture of the learners in our class, an aspect which cannot be ignored and which we cannot expect our learners to leave at the door for class time. Therefore having an understanding of the different stages a person goes through when developing their intercultural awareness can help us have more of an insight into our learners. It can also help us as teachers settle into the new ways of life we face when we take off around the world teaching English as a foreign language.

The five stages when developing intercultural awareness can be best described in a U-shaped curve (Hoang-Thu, 2010).

1. The honey moon stage – This is where the difference we see in other culture are exciting and attractive.
2. The disintegration stage – The novelties wear off at this stage and frustration or helplessness can take over.
3. The reintegration stage – At this point culture can be problematic. One can become defensive or not respond to the culture.
4. The autonomy stage – This is where we turn back up in the U. We start to develop a little perspective, opinions become balanced, objective, and start becoming more positive.
5. Finally we reach the interdependence stage – We adopt a new identity a bicultural or multicultural person.

Recognising these five stages can help us as teachers find our feet when taking on the responsibilities of travelling and teaching in other cultures. Moreover, it can also help us to understand our students and the uphill struggle they may be having, not only learning English as a foreign language, but also getting their heads around the culture of the language too.

So which does come first, the language or the culture? What are your opinions on this? Leave your comments below!

Reference

Hoang-Thu, T. 2010. 'Teaching culture in the EFL/ESL classroom', [Available online]  http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/search/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED511819&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=ED511819 [Accessed on 29/4/2013]

Tips for the IELTS Reading Paper

In this week's blog, we look at tips to help you with the reading IELTS paper.

In the reading paper, you will be asked a total of 40 questions. In order to assess how much of the reading passages you understand, the questions will usually paraphrase (use different words with the same meaning) the words that are in the text. The questions test a variety of reading skills including your ability to do the follow:

• Identify the writer's overall purpose.
• Follow key arguments in a text.
• Identify opinions and attitudes.
• Locate specific information.
• Distinguish main ideas from supporting details.
• Extract information from a text to complete a diagram, summary, table or set of note.

There are 12 - 13 questions in each section, and you will be asked 1 - 3 different types of questions in any section. There are several possible types of questions. For some tasks, you need to write words or numbers from the reading passage.

• sentence completion
• summary, note, table, flow-chart completion
• short-answer questions
• diagram label completion

In other tasks, you need to choose one option from a list and write a letter on your answer sheet.

• multiple choice
• matching information
• matching headings
• matching features
• matching sentence endings
• summary completion

You may also need to decide if sentences are True/False/Not Given or Yes/No/Not Given, based on the information that you read.



Ways to improve your test score:

• Follow the instructions exactly.
• Remembering some Test Tips.
• Manage your time so that you can complete all of the questions.
• Practice specific reading skills.
• Before the test read a variety of texts to improve your speed-reading skills.
• Study all aspects of the English language (including vocabulary and grammar).
• Try to do as many practice tests as possible.

Here are some Test Tips!

Timing is an important part of the Reading Test. Try to finish each section in less than 20 minutes.
Read the passage as quickly as possible (up to three minutes).
Look at the questions to see what type of information you need to find (up to one minute).
Spend 12-13minutes reading the passage in detail and answering the questions.
If a question is taking too long, move on.
Use your last 3-4 minutes to transfer your answers, checking and filling in any gaps in your answers.

If the question asks you to write TWO WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER, this means the answer may be:

• one word
• one word + a number
• two words
• two words + a number

Remember that even if a number is written as a word, it counts as a number (e.g. twenty five trees = one word and a number). You do not need to write full sentences of join words together. For example:

Answer the question with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the reading passage.

What TWO colours did the painter use?

(Answer: black, white not black and white)

Make sure you read the whole passage so that you can locate any key words and paraphrases from the questions. Take highlighter pens into the exam with you. Use a different colour for each task, to highlight important parts of the text. This will help save time when checking answers.

If you are asked to choose ONE WORD ONLY from the passage, make sure you do not add extra information such as adjectives or adverbs (e.g. bone tool; abalone shells; gently stirred) or articles (the ochre). If you write more than one word, your answer will be marked as wrong.

Use this approach when matching headings.

1. Read the headings so that you are familiar with them.

2. Skim read (read very fast) the whole passage to get the overall passage.

3. Read the first paragraph and decide which headings might fit.

4. Re-read the paragraph and choose the heading that best summarises it.

5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for the remaining paragraphs.

Don't try to match words in the headings to words in the passage. You need to focus on the whole idea of each paragraph.

Remember that you are being tested on your ability to understand the information you read in the passage. So you should ignore anything you already know about the topic.

Make sure you note any plurals in the questions (e.g. two examples if I the different environments etc.). There may be parts of the passage that refer to only one of the things mentioned, so you need to find the paragraph that has more than one.

For matching feature tasks, the questions will not be in the same order as in the passage. The people mentioned may appear in several different sections. You need to scan (read to look for specific information) the whole passage carefully. Some of the people in the list may be distractors, and you may not need to use all of the letters.

A summary is different from a set of notes, because it consists of complete sentences that are connected together grammatically. You need to:

• carefully read and understand the summary.
• decide what types of word is needed to complete each gap in the summary.
• locate and carefully read the relevant part of the passage.
• choose the word or phrase (either from a box of answers or from the passage) that accurately fills each gap.

Use the title of the summary to help you find the part of the passage you need to read in detail to find your answers.

For any questions where you need to write words from the passage, a hyphenated word (e.g. long-term) counts as one word.

Try to spend no more than 15-20 minutes on Section 1, so that you have enough time for the more difficult texts and questions in Sections 2 and 3. Remember you have only 60 minutes to complete 40 questions and you need to transfer your answers onto a separate sheet in that time. Aim to spend less than 20 minutes on each section so you have time to check your answers at the end.

When answering short-answer questions, you do not need to write full sentences or join words together. Look at this example:

Answer the question with NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS from the reading passage.

What TWO colours did the painter use?

Answer: black, white (not black and white)

Reference:

Cambridge English Objective IELTS Intermediate Student Book, 2016 (16th ed.), Cambridge University Press: UK
The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Cambridge University Press

There is a lot to remember about how to do the reading test. The best way to help you remember is to practice, by using practice test materials. In this way, you will become used to the skills and will be able to apply them better.

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IELTS Listening Test Tips

The IELTS listening test can be very difficult for all levels of English language learners. The best way to prepare for this test is to develop your overall listening skills and practice the test as much as you can before doing it. However, there are a number of things you should know about the test that might help you get through the test more comfortably and achieve higher score. In this blog post, we will go through some key points about the IELTS listening test that you should know, and give you some tips to help you be aware of where you could be making small mistakes.

The first thing you should be aware of in the listening IELTS test is that you will only hear each listening once. Therefore, it is extremely important while you practice for the test, that you learn to move along with the listening and the questions. If you miss an answer, stop thinking about it when you hear the speaker continuing onto the next part and the next question, or you'll miss the next question too.

Another thing you should know before going into the exam, is that the IELTS listening test is long. The test is around 30 minutes. For an English language learner, who has to listen actively for this amount of time, it can be very difficult and very tiresome. Therefore when you are preparing for an IELTS listening test, it is important that you develop your overall listening skills.

As listeners in any language, there are two types of listening that we do: active listening and passive listening. Active listening is when we are focused on the listening for specific information. For example, when we do a listening test, or when we when we listen to take notes. Passive listening is when there is something on in the background, and we are listening to it, but not paying too much attention. For example, listening to music while cooking the dinner. 

When we are learning a language, it is very important that we tune our ear into the language. Passive listening is a great way to do this. By listening to music or podcasts while cooking or cleaning, we are giving our ears and our brain the opportunity to "tune into" the  language and allow us to become familiar with the sounds and the patterns of the language. This helps us even more when we want to develop our active listening skills.

Active listening skills can be developed by practicing activities, such as gap-fills and multiple choice questions. We can also practice our active listening by taking notes and writing specific information down. 

When developing listening skills in another language, it is very important that you are patient. It is also very important that you do not become stressed or annoyed. When we get stressed, we block things out, and this can happen a lot in listening. Staying calm and allowing the information in is key to good listening in any language. For more information about this, I recommend you read up on Stephen Krashen's Affective Filters theory.

So let's look at the IELTS test and some of the types of questions you will find in the test.

Listening strategies

In parts 1 and 3 of the listening test, you will hear a dialogue.

Some of the tasks you may have to do are completing sentences.

Before you listen, make sure you read the task carefully to get a general idea of what sort of information is required. You must spell correctly and make sure you don't write more words than you are told to.

You will only hear the recording once.

In parts 2 and 4 of the listening test, you will hear one person talking about something of general interest.

There is usually more than one type of question.

You will often need to listen for specific information – that is dates, times, names important words.

You will hear a lot of information, but you don't need to hear all of it.

You should always look ahead to the next question so that you don't miss hearing the answer to a question.

Write the exact words that you hear, but don't write more than the maximum number of words.

Type of Questions and Strategies

Matching

Read the task before you listen

If you miss an answer, stop thinking about it when you hear the speaker going on to talk about the next question, or you'll miss that one too.

Multiple Choice

First read the questions and the options.

As you listen, consider all the options. Only one is right, unless you are asked to pick more than one answer.

Diagrams

There are different types of diagrams in the listening test. There may be a map, a plan, a process, a chart or a picture of an object. Study the diagram very carefully before you listen.

Read the instructions carefully.

Study the drawing and the heading, if it has one.

Try to work out what the drawing shows.

If parts of the drawing have question numbers, find the first number and notice where the numbers continue.

Look carefully at the drawing and notice the words that are given.

Think about the words that might be used; for example, for a map you might hear words for giving directions – left, right, on the corner, before, after, and so on.

Listen for information relevant to the first question

Think about the meaning of the words in the questions and the box, if there is one. The words may be exactly what you hear or you may hear different words that mean the same.

When you hear the relevant information, listen carefully for the answer. If you miss an answer, go onto the next question or you may miss that too.

Sentence and note completion

You will be given time to read the sentences or note before you listen.

Think about what information is likely to fit each space (e.g. amount of money, address, time etc).

Think about both the meaning and the grammar.

Listen for each answer in turn.

If you miss one, go onto the next question or you may miss that one too.

Part 4 - Lecture Style Listening Task
Part 4 of the listening is a short talk or lecture related to academic work or study. There will be a mixture of task types and you will be told which questions to read, and be given time to read then before you hear the recording.

Before listening read the instructions carefully. Check how many answers you should write, and the maximum number of words for each answer.

Try to write your answers in the same order that you hear them, but it doesn't matter if you change the order.

You should write the words exactly as you hear them

Summary

You will be given the time to read the summary before you listen.

Think about what information is likely to fit each space, and think about the meaning and the grammar.

Listen for each answer in turn. If you miss one, continue onto the next or you may miss that one too.

It is important to listen for what is relevant to the questions. You will not understand everything.

Pay attention to specific information such as times, dates, addresses. Often one or more of these specific pieces of information will be close to each other to try to confuse you. Remember what the question is asking for.

Classification

Use the time you are given to read the instructions carefully and think about the meaning of the three options.

Check what letters you should use for your answers: they may be A, B, C or three other letters

Listen for each answer in turn and consider all three options before choosing your answer.

Always give an answer – you will never lose a mark for guessing but might get it right!

Remember - if you want to prepare for the IELTS listening test, it's important that you practice listening skills regularly. This does not mean that you should only practice IELTS listening tests. Listening to talks online, watching TV in English, listening to radio and Podcasts are all great ways to develop your overall listening skills, and will benefit your performance in the IELTS listening test.

Cambridge English Objective IELTS Intermediate Student Book, 2016 (16th ed.), Cambridge University Press: UK

The Official Cambridge Guide to IELTS, Cambridge University Press

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