LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:8 August 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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Cross-Cultural Awareness in Teaching
British and American Literatures

Dr. R. Dyvadatham

Abstract

In the world of multi-polarization/globalization use of English has become increasingly predominant. Hence, training is particularly important to focus on cross–cultural awareness. The teaching of English and American Literature from the perspective of cross–cultural awareness is the need of the hour. With the international economic, cultural, political and other fields, exchanges become more frequent to accelerate the pace of development. In the contemporary world of multi-polarization and economic globalization, it is increasingly clear, more frequent international exchanges are increasingly used in a variety of cultures. In this environment, if the teachers do not understand the customs and cultures, habits, ideas and values, intercultural misunderstanding and even conflict will affect any smooth communication.

As a result, foreign language teaching, attention to the target language culture, improving cross-cultural awareness and focusing on cross-cultural communication ability is particularly important. Knowledge of foreign language teaching is not just language learning, Language is the carrier of culture, hence learning of language is also a process of knowing a culture. Literature is a special form of culture. Literature has always been concomitant with the culture. Therefore, understanding literature, specifically English and American Literature and their cultural ethos is an essential one and it would have a great impact on teaching. This paper aims to identify the barriers that a teacher encounters in the cross–cultural scenario and suggests solutions. His article was presented on an international seminar on “Teaching Literatures in English for cross culture, the Dept. of Communications” on 08 – 10 August 2011 organized by the Dept. of English & Communications, Dravidian University, Kuppam (A.P)

Key words: Culture, teaching culture, teaching foreign language, cultural awareness, culture-based activities techniques, British and American Literatures’ cross cultural Awareness.

Introduction

English Education in India has largely depended on the teaching of literature. It is only in recent years that there has been a shift of emphasis from the teaching of literature to language. Even so, most Universities still lean easily on literary texts and often on great masterpieces of literature to give college students a good command over elegant English. Literature as discipline uses language, also the primary raw material of our business as teachers of language. Literature means the process of the development of the individual, training the intellectual, the affective, ethical and imaginative faculties. It is in a sense a history of the development of the culture of a whole people who speak that language. It has the ability to produce a maze of every complex feeling interwoven with rational and psychological justifications which often defy analysis. Yet the growth of a child is bound up with the literature of his social group and unfolds the process of adjustment and harmony with his environment. Every child listens to stories. He/she is very fond of them and these stories often condense the wisdom of the people, the cumulative expression of which is literature. Influenced by literature, people have cultivated gentleness, tolerance, forgiveness, warm friendliness and all these can be inculcated among the students by good teachers of literature. Many of the finest utterances one hears in a good speech or writing come from the deepest philosophical notions embedded in great literature,

The teaching of literature has not yet received the attention it merits. All too often learned lectures are delivered to students who are unable to follow them. It is true that literature itself and the lectures of the teacher present difficulties of language difficulties of complex situations, difficulties of the bewildering turns of emotive expressions and so on. It is not really the experience of the literary artist that is sought to be transmitted to the students but only the plot, characterization and such stock elements. These the students can get more easily in an easily digestible form in the bazaar guides. Experienced teachers know that students get good marks in the examination without attempting the literary texts even once.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Dr. R. Dyvadatham
Assistant Professor
Department of English & Communication
Dravidian University
Kuppam – 517 426
Andhra Pradesh
India Dyvadatham@in.com
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