Recent years have witnessed many developments in
the use of the communicative approach in language
teaching. This approach aims at developing students'
ability to communicate with native speakers of the
target language. To achieve this ability, students
are required to have not only linguistic competence
but also communicative competence. That is why the
students need not only the linguistic knowledge but
also the background knowledge of the culture in which
the language is spoken.
Language is a part of culture. Cultural differences
always cause problems for speakers of
different cultures while communicating. Therefore,
the " learning of a second culture is often a part
of the learning of a second language " (Brown, 1980:
242 ) .
Background Studies, including culture, used to
be neglected or taught improperly in the curriculum
of the Hanoi Foreign Languages College. In consequence,
Vietnamese E.F.L students at the College have a poor
background knowledge of the English speaking countries
and their people's patterned ways of life. This causes
difficulties for them when communicating with native
speakers of English, even when they are studying
at the College where culture-based textbooks and
materials are commonly used.
Therefore, Background Studies, including
culture, must be seen as a separate and indispensable
component of the curriculum of the College
which aims at providing the students with the
background knowledge of English speaking countries
and with an awareness of their people's ways of
life, their customs and habits and so on. Various
techniques for the teaching of this subject are
examined.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218834 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Cat, Bui Van, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Bui Van Cat |
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