Module 1

What Is Culture

Dra. Rahayu Dwi Riyanti M.A.

IN TR O D U C TIO N

I n this module we will discuss culture and its relation to language and
studying a foreign language. This module will be divided into two units;

Unit one: Language and culture

In this unit you will learn about the definition of culture, and its
relation with a language spoken by its society.

Unit two: Culture and foreign language teaching.

After you know about the relation between language and
culture, you will also learn about the importance of knowing
that relation in studying a foreign language.

This module also provides some exercises to enhance your

understanding on the topic being discussed.
1.2 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Unit 1

Language and Culture

A fter reading this unit you are expected to be able to define culture, give
examples of culture, and also give examples of how culture influences
the language.

Language (is) a symbolic guide to culture. Vocabulary is a very sensitive

index of the culture of a people. (Edward Sapir taken from Wierzbicka,
1997: p1)

Edward Sapir, as seen in the above quotation, claimed that there is a

close relationship between culture and language. It will be difficult to
understand other people‟s culture without having the knowledge of the
language and vice versa. Benjamin Lee Whorf, one of Sapir‟s students,
extended Sapir‟s idea by stating that there is a connection between cultural
norms and linguistics pattern. According to him the way people see the world
is reflected by the structure of the language used by them.
Before we discussed this relationship between language and culture, let us
discuss first what we meant by culture.

What is culture?

There are many definitions of culture; experts define it from many points of
view.
Gurito stated that:
Culture indicates all aspects that members of a group share
together. Children learn ways of doing things, ways of talking,
smiling, laughing, liking and disliking things. Culture
determines people‟s action, their social relationship and their
morality (Gurito, 2003: p 1).

Dwyer proposed another definition of culture:

Culture is that which the language learner needs to know in
order to understand the meaning of the message in another
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.3

language other than the formal properties of the language code

(syntax, morphology and phonology) (Dwyer, 1996: p.3).

What about dictionary? How is culture defined in a dictionary? The Collins

Dictionary defined culture as
 the total of the inherited ideas, beliefs, values, and knowledge which
constitute the shared bases of social activities. It also provides with the
other words which have similar meaning like: custom, life style, way of
life and society.

 The artistic and social pursuits expression, and taste valued by the
society or class.
(The Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus, 1989: p.237)

From these definitions, we can get some ideas about culture. You might
even have one definition of your own about culture, well do not be ashamed,
write it down and see whether it fits with the explanation in this module.
Okay, now let us start with our basic knowledge of culture. People
usually relate culture with traditional dancing, traditional ceremonies, and
arts. Now let us see the following pictures and try to identify which pictures
are the examples of Indonesian and American culture, give your reason based
on the above definitions.

Traditional dances
1.4 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Rodeo

Halloween Karapan Sapi

So, what is your answer? Check the following explanation and see
whether it is similar to your answer.
 Most people will consider traditional dances as one reflection of their
culture. Based on the definition in the dictionary, we can include all
these activities as the representations of a culture.
 Karapan sapi as one of celebration in Madura can also be considered as a
representation of Madura‟s culture.
 Rodeo is sometimes considered as representation of American culture,
whereas Halloween is considered as western culture (not only American
but also British culture).

Those are the most common representation of culture. If we look back to

Gurito‟s definition, we can see that there are other kinds of representations of
culture. Actually, in our daily life what ever we do is the representation of
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.5

our culture. The way we speak to our friends, to our parents, teacher or even
strangers represents our culture. The way we dress, cook, eat, drink, etc are
also representations of our culture. Take for example the way the western
people eat which uses knife and fork is different from the way we eat, which
uses our hands and also different from the way the Chinese people eat, which
uses chopstick.

So you see, there are many kinds of representations of our culture in our
daily life that probably we do not even realize it. In the following text you
will read another example of culture.

My mother says I’m becoming ‘English’. This hurts me, because I know
she means I’m becoming cold. I’m no colder than I’ve been, but I’m
learning to be less demonstrative. I learn this from a teacher who,
after contemplating the gesticulations with which I help myself
describe the digestive system of a frog, tells me to”sit on my hands
and then try talking”. I learn my new reserve from people who take a
step back when talk, because I’m standing too close, crowding them.
Cultural distances are different, I later learn in a sociology class, but
1.6 Cross Cultural Understanding 

I know it already. I learn restraint from Penny, who looks offended

when I shake her by the arm in excitement, as if my gesture had
been one of aggression instead of friendliness. I learn it from a girl
who pulls away when I hook my arm through hers as we walk down the
street- this movement of friendly intimacy is an embarrassment to
her.
Perhaps my mother is right, after all; perhaps I’m becoming colder.
After a while, emotion follows action, response grows warmer or
cooler according to gesture. I’m more careful about what I say, how I
loud I laugh, whether I give vent to grief. (Hoffman, 1989: pp 146-
147)

The writer is an American writer who comes from a Polish family. She
and her family emigrated to America when she was a teenager. She found
that everything she did is considered strange and created some
misunderstanding. She probably comes from culture that is very
demonstrative in expressing emotion or feeling. Whereas the English people
are very reserved people who do not show their emotion or feeling
demonstratively. What can you learn from this excerpt? Yes that‟s true,
culture involves almost everything in our life. As you can see from that
excerpt, the girl finds that what is „normal or appropriate‟ for her is not
always „normal or appropriate‟ for other people. In her culture it is common
to stand close to the speaker when you have a conversation with other people,
but this is not „normal‟ for English people. They tend to stand not too close
when they talk to other people. They will not shake your arms in excitement,
they will not laugh loudly when they hear something funny or when they are
happy.

Related to the concept of culture, we have also the concepts of cultural values
and cultural norms. What is meant by those terms?
Gurito stated that:

A value is the importance that we attach to something. For instance a

house may have some values, either in term of money or in term of the
usage of it. We might have a happy family life by living in that house.
Value is also concerned with what is „good‟ and „desirable‟ and what is
„bad‟ and „undesirable‟. For instance, Americans highly value
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.7

independence and self-reliance. So independence and self-reliance are

important values for American culture. (Gurito, 2003: p.4)

Norms are standard rules and they are accepted by the members of the
community. Norms consist of folkways and mores. Folkways, are the
way of the people, the customs of the community which, when broken,
do not have fatal consequences. Mores are concerned with behaviors of
vital importance in the community and represent the basic moral values
of a community. Bigamy is unacceptable in the American culture, so is
neglecting a husband‟s duty as the provider and the breadwinner for his
wife and children. The norms concerned are actively enforced by the
community, either through a legal action or a social sanction. (Gurito,
2003: p. 5)

If we apply these definitions to Indonesian context, we have some

examples of Indonesian values. We, Indonesians, highly value our family and
the community. We tend to live and do things together with our family and
our neighbor. We live with or near our family, parents, grandparents, uncle
and aunts, we know our neighbors and also their family. We visit each other
often. If something bad to our neighbor then we and other neighbors will
come to help. The people in Indonesia, especially those who live in small
cities, usually keep their door open to show that they are welcoming people
to come and visit them. Unlike us, Americans highly value personal privacy,
they prefer to live and do things by their own. They usually keep their door
close.
What about Indonesian cultural norms? Usually our norms are a mix
between culture and religion. For example, In Indonesia it is against the
norms for two unmarried people, man and woman, to live together. Whereas
this phenomenon is common in western countries since it is not against their
norms.
The following is an example of cultural norm and value described by
Wierzbicka (1994).

….. and American culture is one of those cultures that value

and encourage the „social smile‟. Again the American social smile
must be distinguished from the social smile, which may be used as
a cover for bad and painful feelings. The American social smile
has a different function: It projects a positive image, causing
1.8 Cross Cultural Understanding 

people to think something good about the smiler, and it expresses

the experiencer‟s conscious or semiconscious effort to get rid of
bad feelings and to generate in oneself genuine good feelings. The
American social smile is also different from the obligatory
Balinese smile, as analyzed by Wikan (1989). The most striking
difference between the two has to do with different attitudes
toward self – analysis. In Balinese culture, people are constantly
enjoined to forget their troubles, to not think, and to become
cheerful and smiling as a result of this strategy. By contrast, in
American culture, one is enjoined to achieve a similar result by
taking the opposite route.
Balinese route: If I feel something bad,
it is good not to think about it
if I don‟t think about it,
I will not feel like this
I can then feel something good.
American route: If I feel something bad,
it is good to think about it
if I think about it,
I will not feel like this
I can then feel something good

That is another example of how culture differentiates the meaning of the

„same‟ emotional expression, in this case smiling. Can you see the difference
between Balinese smile and American smile? Can you give another example
from your own region?
Let us go back to our discussion of cultural value and norm. Renwick
(1980) differentiates between American and Australian cultural attitudes:

Americans need to be liked … Australians are less concerned than

Americans about what others think of them; they are not as interested in
whether someone likes them or not. Therefore, they do not try as hard as
Americans to influence other people‟s opinion of them.
The cultural importance of positive feelings in American society is
reflected in linguistics routine such as the common greeting routine, with as
expected positive reply:
How are you?
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.9

I‟m fine/very well, thank you/etc

The fact that in Australian culture the prevailing greeting routine is less
positive highlights the difference in cultural attitudes to emotion in these two
different traditions:
How are you?
Not bad/ not too bad/can‟t complain/etc
(Wierzbicka, 1994)

This excerpt shows you how culture influences our reaction

linguistically.

Activity 1
 From the definitions mentioned earlier, can you give some examples of
culture? Discuss this with your friends.
 Look around and see whether there are differences in the way you do
things with the way your friends from other regions, do it.
 Give some examples of cultural values and cultural norms that exist in
your region.
 You might know a certain word or words in your region that have a
special meaning to the society. Write it down and give explanation why
it is so special.

Language and Culture

Now that you know the definitions of culture, at least the one that we use
in this module, let us move to discuss the relation between culture and
language. At the beginning of this unit we have Sapir‟s opinion on the close
relation between language and culture. Many people share his believe,
including Ronald wardhaugh, Imam Suyitno, Anna Wierzbicka, Cliff
Goddard and of course his student, Whorf. We will discuss their idea one by
one.
Read the following short conversations:

Ani (Indonesian) : Wah, bajunya bagus sekali.

Nina (Indonesian): Ah, ini baju jelek dan murah kok (blushing).
1.10 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Susan (American): Wow, your dress is very beautiful.

Mary (American): Thank you. (smiling)

Can you see the difference? Yes, in the conversation done by the two
Indonesian women, Nina‟s reaction to Ani‟s complement is by denying it. In
Indonesian culture, it is common for people to be humble. Nina will be
considered to be arrogant if she agrees to Ani‟s complement. By denying it
she tries to be humble. In contrast to this custom, in American culture it is
common to give and accept compliment. You will not be considered arrogant
when you accept a compliment. Can you give other example? Write it down
and discuss it with your friend.
If we apply Whorf‟s idea about language and culture, we can see that
the way people see things is indeed reflected in their language. For example,
in Indonesia we have many words to represent rice. In our culture rice is very
important, that is why we have many words to represent each form of it. We
have the word „padi‟ for the form of rice in the field, „gabah‟ for its form
after being harvested, „beras‟ for the form before being cooked, and finally
„nasi‟ for the form after being cooked. In America, where rice is not
considered as important as in Indonesia, there is only one word for it that is
rice.
Wardhaugh (1998) discussed some examples of the relation between
language and culture. One of them is the kinship system. For Americans, they
have uncle for their father‟s or mother‟s brother and aunt for their father‟s or
mother‟s sister. Americans do not differentiate between younger or older
brother/sister. For Javanese people, they have more names for their father‟s
or mother‟s brother and sister. They have „Pakde‟ for their father/mother
older brother and „Bude‟ for their father/mother sister. „Pakle‟ and „Bule‟ are
used for younger ones.
Color terminology is also an example of the relationship between
language and culture (Wardhaugh, 1998: p. 230). Sometimes it is not easy to
translate directly a certain color terminology in one language to another
language. „Blond‟ is one of the English color terminology that does not have
exact translation to any of Indonesian color terminology. The English and
American people need this terminology for their „special hair color‟ that does
not exist in Indonesian people hair color.
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.11

He also mentioned about taboo and euphemism are also good examples
of the relation between language and culture. What is meant by taboo and
euphemism?
Taboo is the prohibitions or avoidance in any society of behavior
believed to be harmful to its members in that it would cause the anxiety,
embarrassment, or shame and euphemism is to avoid mentioning certain
matters directly (Wardhaugh, 1998: p. 234).
Some words or objects are considered to be taboo in one society but not
in other society. The same goes to euphemism. Taboo and euphemism are
usually related to the standards and norms in a society (remember the cultural
norms?).
One thing that should be remembered is the fact that taboo and
euphemism can change form time to time. For example, the English word
„damn‟ was considered as a taboo word in the past, but not anymore, well at
least not as strong as before.
Can you give examples of tabooed subjects in your place?
Now let us see what Imam Suyitno says about language and culture.
Imam Suyitno Stated;
Bahasa adalah bagian integral dari budaya suatu kelompok.
Karena itu unsur-unsur budaya seperti aturan, kebiasaan, dan cara
hidup kelompok dapat diekspresikan melalui bahasa. Budaya yang
dimiliki oleh bangsa-bangsa di dunia dicerminkan dalam bahasanya
sehingga menimbulkan berbagai macam gaya berbahasa yang
menjadi ciri penanda masyarakatnya.
(Suyitno, 2000, p.147)

Suyitno wrote that there are many ways to express „no‟, to reject, or to
decline an offer or a request. Here are some of the ways people from various
cultural background say ‟no‟

 In Japan and Korea, people offer food and drink by using negative
expression, like “ Wouldn‟t you like some more tea?” If the answer for
this offer is „no‟ then it means the offer is accepted.
 In France, the answer for that kind of offer is „Merci‟ which means
„Thanks‟. But in this context „merci‟ means „No, thanks‟ which in
American would be meant „Yes please‟
(Suyitno, 2000: p. 154)
1.12 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Suyitno also mentioned about the way people rejecting something that
have a very close relation with their cultural background. In American
culture, people tend to be direct when they are rejecting a request or an offer.
They will use an explicit words to express their rejection, such as :

 A : Can you help me taking these chairs to my room?”

B: “I am sorry I can‟t”

 A: “Can I help you?”

B: “ No, thank you. I can manage by myself‟
 A: „Would you like something to drink?”
B: “ No, thanks”

Unlike the Americans who are straightforward in expressing their

rejection, the Javanese tend to avoid expressing their rejection openly. It is
related to their culture in which it is considered impolite to say ‟no‟. Here are
some expressions that are commonly used by Javanese people to reject a
request or an offer:

 A: Shandi, apa Anda bisa menuliskan surat ini?

B: Tulisan Susan lebih bagus, Pak

 A: Mila, apa Anda bisa mengantarkan saya ke Bandara nanti?

B: Wah, pukul 12.00 nanti saya ada kuliah
 A: Anda mau minum apa? Kopi?
B: Saya tidak minum kopi karena saya sakit mag.

 A: Pak, ada tamu.

B: Katakan, saya sedang tidur

 A: Apakah Bapak bisa datang ke pesta pernikahan kami?

B: Insya Allah

 A: Bagaimana menurut Anda gagasan Pak Rahmat tentang jam kerja?

B: Itu gagasan yang bagus, tetapi ma‟af saya kurang setuju.
(Adapted from Suyitno, 2000: p.156)
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.13

What is your comment on these examples? Yes, The Javanese are trying
very hard to avoid saying „no‟ when they are trying to reject a request or an
offer. Their culture prevents them to express it directly. What about in your
culture, can you say „no‟ directly to a person who offers you something or
who asks you to do something? Discuss it with your friends and write it
down so that you know that you understand Suyitno‟s idea about the relation
between language and culture.
Now, let us see what Anna Wierzbicka says about the relation between
language and culture. Anna Wierzbicka conducted a comprehensive study on
the influence of culture toward a language, especially to its vocabulary. She
believes that there is a very close link between the life of a society and the
lexicon of the language spoken by it. (Wierzbicka, 1997, p.1). She found
many words in one language that are difficult to be translated into other
language due to its strong cultural value. She did some studies on the relation
between emotion words and culture. According to her, different culture
encourages different attitudes towards emotions, and these different attitudes
are reflected in the lexicon and the grammar of the language associated with
the culture. (Wierzbicka, 1994)
A study on the Ifaluk language of Micronesia was done by Lutz (taken
from Wierzbicka, 1994). According to Lutz, this language does not have a
word for a concept of anger. Ifaluk people have a word with a concept of
„song‟ . What they mean by „song‟ is quite different from the concept of
anger in English. Below is Wierzbicka‟s explanation of Lutz study on these
two words;
Song is less aggressive feeling than anger, a feeling that is less
likely to lead to physical violence. Typically, song manifests itself in
reprimands, in refusal to eat, or in a pout. What is more, in some
cases, song can lead to suicide or to attempted suicide. The hidden
goal of song is to change the situation by altering the behavior of the
offending person, but the actions caused by song are often directed
toward oneself rather than toward the guilty person (for example, an
attempted suicide rather than an attempted murder).
Lutz (Wierzbicka, 1994) states that although both Ifaluks and
Americans may have the goal of avoiding violence, roles of physical
aggression in the two societies and beliefs about those roles are in
dramatic contrast, in part due to cultural differences in the
importance attached to that goal. (Wierzbicka, 1994)
1.14 Cross Cultural Understanding 

So, you see that culture does influence the language. It will be a bit
difficult to translate „song‟ into English. As we know that „angry‟ is not
really capture the real meaning of „song‟. What about the word „marah‟ in
Indonesian, do you think it can capture the meaning of „angry‟, in other word
is it the exact translation of it? How can you answer this question? Analyze
the reaction of people who get angry and who are „marah‟. Describe your
emotion when you are „marah‟ and see whether it is the same as the
American people who are angry. It is not that difficult, is it?
Another example is the Javanese word „isin‟. Can you translate this word
into English? Write down the English word or words that you think have the
same concept as „isin‟. “Isin‟ is not really the same as embarrass, ashamed or
shy. If you put this word in the context of Javanese culture, those English
words do not have the same concept with the one in „isin‟. We will not find
an exact translation for this word. In Javanese culture, „isin‟ is not something
bad. You don‟t have to do something „wrong‟ or „bad‟ to feel „isin‟. This is
not really the same with its English counterparts that have negative meaning.
Cliff Goddard also did some studies on the relation between culture and
language, in particular emotion words. The following is his explanation on
two English „surprise words‟, „surprised and amazed’, and compared them
with the Malay and Indonesian „surprise words‟.
Surprised is a feeling one has in response to something immediate and
unexpected. Amazed is a stronger kind of surprise. If we try to translate these
two words into Malay, we might use one of these words hairan, terkejut, or
terperanjat or in Indonesian heran, terkejut, and terperanjat. If we look up
in a bilingual dictionary, we might find these words or one of these words as
the translation for surprised and or amazed. According to Goddard, these
three Malay and Indonesian words cannot really capture the real meaning of
the words „surprised‟ and „amazed‟. Hairan and heran, according to
Boucher, has a slightly different connotation, it is closer to the connotation of
the English word „astonishment‟. McAndrew offered the word „terkejut‟ to
translate these two words, but then „terkejut‟ has a „negative tone‟ whereas
„surprise‟ does not have that.(Goddard, 1997, p. 172). According to Goddard,
if these two English words are words that express emotion, which should be
universal, that is everybody in this world can experience it and therefore
there should be a word/words to express it in any language. So how come
there is no exact translation for these two words in either Malay or
Indonesian language? Heider proposed an answer to this problem. According
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.15

to him, this problem is related to the cultural differences between

Indonesian/Malay and American. Do you agree with him? Of course it is
easy to „blame‟ every „unsolved‟ problem to the culture, isn‟t it? Some
people might not agree with Heider, but the most important is you have to be
able to see each problem related to the language and culture objectively and
try to analyze from many points of views. Not all „unsolved‟ problem related
to a language is related to the culture.

Activity 2

1) Find some examples that show the relation between your native language
and your culture.
2) Find some examples of words or objects that are taboo in your society.

S UM MAR Y

In this unit, you have learnt about some definitions of culture,

cultural values, and cultural norms. Besides that you also have learnt
about the close relation between language and culture. Many researchers
found that there are many words or expressions that have strong relation
with the culture of the people who use those words and expressions.

FOR M AT IV E TE S T 1

Choose the right answer by crossing A,B,C or D

1) The followings are examples of culture, except…..

A. Traditional dance
B. Wedding ceremony
C. School system
D. Kinship system

2) Which of the followings is the example of cultural value in Indonesia?

A. Family
B. Personal privacy
1.16 Cross Cultural Understanding 

C. Independence
D. Self reliance

3) What is cultural Norms?

A. Something that is considered very important by somebody
B. Rules that are applied and accepted in a community
C. Rules set by the Government in a certain country
D. Standardized rules which are applied to certain people

4) What would the Indonesians reject this offer “ Wouldn‟t you like
coffee?”
A. Yes, I would like coffee
B. No, I wouldn‟t like coffee
C. Yes, I would like coffee
D. No, I would like tea, please

5) What would the Japanese accept this offer “ Wouldn‟t you like coffee?”
A. Thank you
B. Yes
C. No
D. Sorry

6) The followings are people who conducted studies on language and

culture, except….
A. Wierrzbicka
B. Goddard
C. Suyitno
D. Gurito

7) What would the French people reject this offer “ Would you like
something to drink?”
A. Thank you
B. No, thank you
C. No, please
D. No, but thank you

8) Which of these Indonesians words does not have an exact English

translation?
A. Paman
B. Sepupu
C. Beras
D. Cantik
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.17

9) Which of these English words does not have an exact Indonesian

translation?
A. Christmas
B. Thanksgiving
C. Smile
D. Dance

10) Which of these short conversations shows cultural misunderstanding?

A. + : You have a beautiful eyes
- : Thank you
B. + : Wouldn‟t you like some cookies?
- : Yes, thank you (take the cookies)
C. + : Can you meet me after lunch?
- : I can‟t!
D. + : What do you think of his idea?
- : It‟s the worse idea I‟ve ever heard!

If you have finished doing the formative test, you may check your answers
with the key to the formative test at the end of this module. Then evaluate
your answers. When you get at least 80 % right, you can continue to the other
unit; however, if you do not, you have to read over the discussion and the
examples. Then, do the formative test once more. The following is how to
evaluate your test.

Formula:
The number of the right answers
Level of mastery = x 100%
The number of the items

Level of mastery:
90% - 100% = very good
80% - 89% = good
70% - 79% = sufficient
< 70% = insufficient
1.18 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Unit 2

Culture and Foreign Language Teaching

A fter studying this unit, you are expected to be able to state the importance
of understanding culture in teaching a foreign language, and to give
examples of cultural studies in teaching a foreign language, especially in
teaching English.
In Unit one, you have already learnt the relation between language and
culture. Now you know that it is important to know the culture of the target
language when you are teaching and or studying a foreign language. Can you
give the reason or reasons why it is important to know the relation between
language and culture when studying a foreign language? Write down your
answer, it will help you understand this unit more easily.

Dwyer (1996) states about the incorporation of culture into the Foreign
Language Curriculum.

Language teachers have been at the business of incorporating cultural

information into their foreign language classes, long before it became
popular to do so. While these teachers may not have used the term
culture, they are certainly aware of the fact that one does not
communicate in a foreign language by grammar and vocabulary alone.
Yet now that experts are suggesting that teachers add „culture‟ to their
language classrooms the situation becomes problematic because it is not
really clear what this means in practice. (Dwyer, 1996)

According to Dwyer, the problem with incorporating culture into foreign

language teaching is that there are many disagreements about the meaning of
language and the meaning of culture. What does he mean by that statement?
Yes, that‟s true, it is difficult to find the exact definition of language and
culture. Now if you have to define „language‟ and „culture‟, each one of you
might give different definitions for these two words. As we have already
learnt in the first unit, there are some definitions for the word „culture‟.
Which definition you use will affect your materials in teaching the target
language. The same thing goes to your definition of language. What is
language? If you define it as a code: grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.19

(Dwyer, 1996) then your main concern in teaching it is those three language
components and do not really concern with the culture. But if you define it as
a system for the expression of thoughts, feelings etc, by the use of spoken
sounds or conventional symbols (The Collins Dictionary. P. 563), then
culture is really important in the teaching and learning process. So you see, it
is important to have a clear definition of those two words before you teach.

Byram mentions three reasons to consider the cultural study in teaching a

foreign language.
First, there is a growing concern within foreign language teaching (FLT)
with the ways in which language learning is related to cultural learning,
indicated by phrases such as „cultural awareness‟ and „intercultural
learning‟. Yet this concern has not been explicitly related to the
development in cultural studies (Kramsch, 1993). On the other hand,
those who define and discuss cultural studies rarely show any awareness
of how the study of cultures, for many learners, is a study of foreign
cultures through the medium of foreign languages, the learners in
question being essentially language learners.

A second issue is that Cultural Studies in some cases is taught as part of

a course for teachers of foreign languages, either at the beginning of their
career or as part of their further professional development in mid-career.
The study of British cultures is often part of the training of teachers of
English as a foreign language. For these students the relationship
between Cultural studies and language teaching is important not only as
part of their own learning process but with respect to their methods of
teaching language and culture to others.

A third issue raised by the link with FLT is the question of different
stages or levels of learning. Foreign students of British cultures may be
at quite different levels in language acquisition; they may also have quite
different purposes and opportunities for learning – from professional
contacts in Britain on a regular basis to a certainty that they will never
visit Britain during or after their course of study. (Byram, 1997: p. 53-
54)
1.20 Cross Cultural Understanding 

What can you conclude from this excerpt? Right, there is a close relation
between cultural study and foreign language teaching or learning. In his first
issue, Byram mentions that there is a cross interest between the students who
study culture and the students who study a foreign language. Those who
study foreign culture should use the language spoken by the society of that
culture to be able to understand the culture. On the other hand, those who
study a foreign language should also know the culture of the society in which
the language is spoken. Byram also mentions the importance of teaching
culture for English teachers that can help them in teaching English to their
students.
As indicated before, you must have a clear picture of the meaning of
language and the meaning of culture when you teach or learn a foreign
language. Then, based on your definition of these two words, you decide
your objective in teaching a foreign language or in learning a foreign
language. Let us say that your main objective of teaching a foreign language
is to enable learners to communicate using a foreign language, in different
ways and with native and non - native speakers. (Byram 1997: p. 60). If this
is your main objective, then you have to be aware that culture can and will
influence people when they involve in a conversation with native or non-
native speakers. Do you still remember our examples of two conversations in
unit one? Let us see again those two conversations.

Ani (Indonesian) : Wah, bajunya bagus sekali.

Nina (Indonesian): Ah, ini baju jelek dan murah kok (blushing).

Susan (American): Wow, your dress is very beautiful.

Mary (American): Thank you. (smiling)

Now, these conversations can run smoothly because the people involve
in the conversation come from the same cultural background, the first
conversation is between two Indonesian women, and the second conversation
is between two American women. What if the conversation is between an
Indonesian and an American woman? Now let us see what happens.

Susan (American): Wow, your dress is very beautiful

Nina (Indonesian): Ah, this is ugly and very cheap. (tersipu-sipu).
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.21

Well, now you can see the problem of cross-cultural misunderstanding.

In that conversation, the American woman might feel offended because the
dress that she thought beautiful is considered to be ugly by the owner. You
might feel awkward when you know that your response is hurting other
people‟s feeling. You do not want you or your students in that kind of
situation, do you? Let see another example of a conversation that might
confuse you.

A: Smith went for seven in a double header yesterday.

B: Must have been a left-handed pitcher then.
(Dwyer, 1996)

Can you guess the topic in that conversation? The topic of this
conversation is about baseball. Baseball is very popular in America. The
American people are very fond of this sport, they watch it, talk about it, and
they collect everything related to this sport. It becomes part of their culture.
To understand the above conversation you have to know the game first.
If we go back to our main objective in teaching a foreign language
mentioned above, then we cannot teach the language out of context. The
question is which context should we use? Is it the learners‟ context or the
target language context? Should we ignore the learners‟ cultural background
when we teach a foreign language? Should we introduce both cultures?
Those questions should be considered before you teach your students. It is
easier for language teachers to choose a teaching method if they are aware of
those questions. Nowadays, we are introduced by a teaching method that puts
stress on using the learners‟ cultural background in delivering the teaching
materials. The materials used when using this method should be related to the
learners‟ context. For example, if you teach English to Indonesian students,
you have to use teaching materials related to Indonesian context. The text
should be about Indonesia, the name of the people in your examples of
dialogs should be Indonesian names, etc. The experts who support this
method believe that the students can learn the target language faster and
easier when they are familiar with the materials. It is true that the students
might learn faster when they are familiar with the context in the lesson, but it
is difficult to „create‟ materials that can be as natural as authentic material.
Read the following examples;
1.22 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Liam and Noldi live in a small town, Tomohon, in North Sulawesi. It is

thirty kilometers from the beach. They are SLTP students but they are
not in the same school. Lian is studying at SLTP Don Bosco and Noldi is
studying at SLTP negeri Tomohon. Lian likes cycling and Noldi does
too. Noldi prefers swimming to cycling but Lian prefers cycling to
swimming.

One day Noldi and Liam went to the beach, „karang Ria‟ Manado. They
spent five hours to go there. It was Sunday morning. They carried their
bags with a camera, binoculars, and some biscuits.

When they arrived on the beach, a lot of people had been there. Some
were swimming and some were sailing. Grown-up people were lying on
the sand. Old people were sitting and enjoying the beautiful beach.
Children were playing beach volley and the others were playing chess.
Noldi was taking pictures and Lian was too. The sun shone brightly then.
The weather was very hot so that most of the children drank soft drinks,
such as coca cola, fanta, aqua.”The botol‟, pepsi-cola, greenspot. And
the like.

In fact, Noldi and Lian wanted to sail but they realize that they were too
young to sail. They saw two foreigners enjoyed the sailing. They used
their binoculars to see them, they looked very near.
(Adapted from Mingkid and Sudradjat, 1995: p.105-106)

Well, what is your comment about this example? Yes, it is not natural.
Most of the non-authentic materials are made to fit certain purposes. For
example, when the teacher wants to teach Simple Past, he/she will use a text
that has many examples of sentences using Simple past. Sometimes if the
teacher is not careful, then he/she will use a text that is not natural. Then the
students might not learn the language, they only learn the pattern of the
language. As the result, they will have a problem when they have to
communicate with the English native speakers. In the example above, most
of the sentences are using Past tense, it makes the story becomes monotonous
and uninteresting.
Other experts believe that the students should get authentic materials
when they are learning a foreign language. What they mean by authentic
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.23

materials are materials from authentic resources like newspapers, TV, books,
magazines etcetera. Dwyer defines the meaning of „authentic materials‟ as a
text created by a fluent (native) speaker of a language for communication
with other fluent speakers of that language. Non-authentic texts are produced
by nonfluent speakers of the language or by fluent speakers of the language
for purposes other than communication with first language users (Dwyer,
1987: p. 8). By using these authentic materials, both the teacher and the
students are exposed by the culture of the target language. According to
Dwyer culture has always been transmitted in the language classroom,
though we may not have been aware of it. (Dwyer, 1996: p. 7). How does this
happen? Okay, let us try to picture the situation in your classroom when you
teach English. You want to teach your students reading comprehension, so
you ask your students to read a passage on „Thanksgiving‟. When you and
your students discuss the content of the passage, you also introduce the
American culture, in this case a special day to express your gratitude to God.
In this special day, people usually gather together with their family and have
dinner. They usually have turkey as their main dishes. So you see, in the
process of teaching and learning a language you and your students also learn
about the culture. Can you give another example to show how culture is
transmitted in language classroom? You can give an example of your own
culture and how this culture can be transmitted in the process of teaching and
learning a language.
The target language cultural background can be exposed to you and your
students not only through reading texts but also through authentic dialogs.
What is meant by authentic dialog? If we refer to Dwyer‟s definition of
authentic material, then authentic dialog is a dialog spoken by native speakers
in a real situation. By using this authentic dialog, we will get an example of
actual usage of certain expressions. Another important point that we can get
from authentic dialog is we will get information on the cultural background
of the speakers. Read the following dialog and see whether you can get the
cultural background of the speakers.

Susan : Can I see you for a minute?

Prof John : Sure, what‟s up?
Susan : I need more time to write my paper. Can I have one week
extension?
1.24 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Prof John : Sure, but not more than one week. You have to put your
paper in my mail box by four next week.
Susan : Okay, Thanks.

Now, what can we say about this dialog? From this dialog, we can see
that in western culture the language used between a student and a lecturer is
informal language. In English language, the word „I‟ and „you‟ can refer to
anybody. For example, when you talk to your friend, you use the word „I‟ to
refer to yourself and „you‟ to refer to your friend. „I‟ and „you‟ are also use
when you talk to your boss, your parents, your teacher or even to strangers.
What do you think about it? Is there any relation with the culture of the
native English speakers? Yes, in a way, it is related to the cultural
background of the people who use the English language, that is western
people.
What about in Indonesian language? As we know, In Indonesian
language, we have several words to refer to the speaker and the addressee,
they are „saya‟, „aku‟, or ‟gue‟1 to refer to the speaker, and „kamu‟,
„anda‟,‟saudara‟, „kau‟, „lu‟2 or „Bapak/ibu‟ to refer to the addressee. Each of
those words is used depending on the relation between the speaker and the
person the speaker is talking to (the addressee). For example, when you talk
to your friend, you might choose to use the word „aku‟ or ‟gue‟, to refer to
yourself, and use the word „kamu‟ to refer to your friend. But when you talk
to the head master in your school, you will choose „saya‟ to refer to yourself
and „bapak/ibu‟ to the head master. Can you explain why you have to
change? Is it related to Indonesian culture? Discuss this with your colleagues
at school.
As you can see from the explanation above, your knowledge of either
your students‟ cultural background or the target language cultural
background is very important in teaching a foreign language.

1
Gue is a word from Betawi‟s dialect, but nowadays it is used by many
Indonesian people in their daily conversation.
2
Look the explanation for „gue‟
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.25

Activity 1

1) Give an example of teaching English by using your students‟ cultural

back ground
2) Read these excerpts:

Excerpt one

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession

of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on
his first entering a neighborhood, this truth is so well fixed in the
minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the
rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
‘My dear Mr. Bennet’, said his lady to him one day, ’have you heard
that Netherfield Park is let at last?’
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
‘But it is,’ returned she; ‘for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she
told me all about it.’
Mr. Bennet made no answer.
‘Do you not want to know who has taken it?’ cried his wife impatiently.
‘You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it’
This was invitation enough.
‘Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is
taken by a young man of a large fortune from the north of England;
that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place,
and was so much delighted with it that he agreed with Mr. Morris
immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and
some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week.’
‘What is his name?’
‘Bingley.’
‘Is he married or single?’
‘Oh single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of a large fortune; four
or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!’
‘How so? How can it affect them?’
‘My dear Mr. Bennet,’ replied his wife,’how can you be so tiresome?
You must know that I am thinking of marrying one of them.’
‘Is that his design in settling here?’
1.26 Cross Cultural Understanding 

‘Design? Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he
may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as
soon as he comes.’
‘I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send
them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better; for as you are
as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley might like you best of the
party.’
‘But my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr Bingley when he comes
into neighborhood.’
‘It is more than I engage for, I assure you.’
‘But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it
would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined
to go, merely on that account; for in general, you know, the visit no
newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to
visit him if you do not.’
(Austen, 1987: p.111-12)

Excerpt two

Euis: My grandfa bought me a small aquarium the day before

yesterday, then I place it somewhere in my room.
Susi: Well. Do you like keeping fish, Euis?
Euis: Yes I do. I like fish very much because they are really funny. I
have yellow, red, black, white, green, blue, and pink fish in my
aquarium. They are very, very beautiful.
Susi: You’re right. They are funny to see. Nowadays many people like
to keep fish in aquariums. They do it just for fun.
Euis: By the way, do you keep pets at home, Susi?
Susi: Yes, I do. I have a few rabbits at home. They are very nice and
funny, too. I like to play with them.
Euis: Oh. But I really hate the rabbits
Susi: Really? Can you tell me why you don’t like them?
Euis: I don’t like the rabbits because they look so dirty.
Susi: Er … Em… Do you keep birds, Euis?
Euis: Yes. I do. My elder brother, Cecep and I have three parrots in
their cages. What about your younger brother, Kebayan. What
does he like to keep, Susi?
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.27

Susi: Cock. He has a cock. Its name is Jago. He often plays with it. It
has a little house somewhere in my garden. My father keeps
geese, ducks, goats, hens, and horses. They have their own
stables. The stables are somewhere in my garden, too.
(Mingkid and Sudradjat, 1995: p 157)

Activity 2

1) Write any information on the cultural background of this story.

2) Do you think there is any similarity between the culture in the first story
and the culture in your place? Explain your answer.
3) What is your comment for the second excerpt?

Okay, now that you know that cultural knowledge is very important for
language teacher, you can learn more about the cultural background of the
target language, that is English, in this module.

S UM MAR Y

It is important for language teachers to learn about the culture of the

people who use the language. By understanding the culture, it will be
easier for the language teachers to understand the language and to teach
the language to their students. Some materials are easier to be explained
by relating them to culture. Some experts believe that it is better to use
the students‟ cultural context when teaching a foreign language. They
believe that it is easier for the students to learn the language when they
are familiar with the context. Others believe that it is better to use the
target language cultural context so that they can learn the language in its
natural settings.
1.28 Cross Cultural Understanding 

FOR M AT IV E TE S T 2

I. Read this text and answer the questions.

“Mother, can I go to the movie this afternoon?” Euis asked her mother after
school.
“Of course, but you must do your homework before going there”, answered
her mother.
“Right, mother. I will” Euis said and then she entered the dining room to
have lunch.
In the afternoon Euis went to Susi‟s house. Susi is Euis‟ classmate.
“ Susi, do you have a plan to do anything this afternoon?” Euis asked Susi.
“ Well, would you like any help, Euis?” Susi asked Euis, too.
“ Can you go to the movie with me this afternoon, Susi?” asked Euis. ”There
is a good film at Buaran Theatre. It is the secretary. It‟s a very good film I
know”. said Euis.
“I am sorry Euis. I‟d love to but I‟m afraid I can‟t”, answered Susi. “My
mother, father, and I will attend my cousin‟s birthday party this afternoon.
“ All right. Let me go home now, Susi”, said Euis.
“Why are you so in a hurry, Euis?” asked Susi.
“I should do my homework before going to the movie. Good bye. Susi” said
Euis.
“Good bye, Euis” said Susi.
Mingkid and Sudradjat, 1995: p.182-183)

1) Is this text an authentic material? Give your reason for your answer.
2) Do you think the text contains information about culture? Give your
reason.
3) What is your comment on this text?
4) If you want to use this text as your teaching material, what topic are you
going to teach that will fit the text?

II. Choose the right answer by crossing A, B, C or D

1) What is one of the weaknesses of using non-authentic materials?

A. It is too long
B. It is too short
C. It is not natural
D. It is easy to get
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.29

2) A: Do you mind if I sit next to you?

What might the English native speaker answer this request?
A. Thank you
B. No, thank you
C. Yes, I don‟t mind
D. No, I don‟t mind.

3) What might the Indonesian answer the request in number 2?

A. Thank you
B. No, thank you
C. Yes, I don‟t mind
D. No, I don‟t mind

4) What might the reason for the Indonesian to answer like that?
A. They have different cultural way in responding to a request
B. They don‟t know the right grammar
C. They know the culture so they can give the right answer.
D. They know the right structure but not the vocabulary.

5) Which of these materials is an authentic material?

A. A guided conversation made for teaching grammar
B. A text from a news paper.
C. A student‟s writing in English class.
D. A Taylor made text to teach reading.

6) A: I‟ve just had a baby!

Which of these replies is an example of cross cultural misunderstanding?
A. Congratulation! When did you get married?
B. Really? That‟s great, congratulation.
C. Congratulation! Is it a boy or a girl?
D. Oh, I am so happy for you, congratulation!

If you have finished doing the formative test, you may check your answers
with the key to the formative test at the end of this module. Then evaluate
your answers. When you get at least 80 % right, you can continue to the other
unit; however, if you do not, you have to read over the discussion and the
examples. Then, do the formative test once more. The following is how to
evaluate your test.
1.30 Cross Cultural Understanding 

Formula:

The number of the right answers

Level of mastery = x 100%
The number of the items

Level of mastery:
90% - 100% = very good
80% - 89% = good
70% - 79% = sufficient
< 70% = insufficient
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.31

Key to Activities
Unit 1
Activity 1
The answer for this activity depends on your understanding of the
definitions of culture.
Your answer might be about the way people in your region celebrate a
wedding, Lebaran or Christmas, the way people doing things, or the
traditional dance or other kinds of arts. Remember! There is no right or
wrong in your answer, the most important thing is that you know what
culture is.

Activity 2
Your answer can be varied depend on your knowledge of the words or
expressions that are related to your culture.

Unit 2
Activity 1
1) The answer for this question can be varied. For example you could teach
reading by using a passage on traditional wedding ceremony in your
region, Lebaran, or a passage on any other occasions that related to your
culture.

Activity 2
1) In this story, we can see several information on the speaker‟s cultural
background, such as;
 In the speaker‟s culture it is considered to be impolite for a
woman, in this case a young and single woman, to visit a man‟s
house before her father comes and introduces himself to the
man.
 There are certain formalities for introducing one‟s daughter to a
man.
 The wife uses a formal language when she talks to her husband.
In this case she uses her husband last name and title (Mr.
Bennet) to refer to her husband when she talks to him.
 Gossiping is common among the women.
1.32 Cross Cultural Understanding 

2) Your answer depends on your own opinion whether there is any

similarities between your culture and the culture in the story.
3) Your answer depends on your understanding of the difference between
authentic and non-authentic materials. As you can see, the second
excerpt is not an authentic material. It is written for a specific purpose,
i.e. to teach English. It is not natural so it sounds „weird‟. You probably
will not see some of the expressions in that text in „the real English
text‟..
 PBIS4102/MODULE 1 1.33

Key to the Formative Tests

Formative test 1
1) C
2) A
3) B
4) A
5) C
6) D
7) A
8) B
9) C
10) B

Formative test 2
I.
1) Your answer should be no, because the text is designed for teaching
reading comprehension. It has a local context and it is not natural.
2) Your answer depends on your understanding of the meaning of culture
3) Your answer depends on your opinion on the text
4) You might use the text to teach :
 Modal auxiliary
 Future Tense
Can you find other topic?

II.
1) C
2) D
3) C
4) A
5) B
6) A
1.34 Cross Cultural Understanding 

References

Austen, Jane, 1987, Pride and Prejudice, Galley Press, Leicester.

Adams, Penny, Brian Heaton and Peter Howarth, 1989, Socio-Cultural issues
in English for Academic Purposes, MacMillan Pub, London

Byram, Michael, 1997, Cultural Studies and Foreign Language Teaching, in

Susan Bassnett (ed), Studying British Cultures, Routledge, London.

Dwyer, Davis, Antonia Schleicher and Lioba Moshi, 1996, The role of
culture: In the language classroom, __

Goddard, Cliff, 1996, The “Social Emotions” of Malay (Bahasa Melayu.

Ethos 24 (3): 426-464.

____________, 1997, Congtrastive Semantics and Cultural Psychology:

„Surprise‟ in Malay and English. Culture and Psychology Vol 3 (2):153-
181.

Gurito, A, 2003, Culture, unpublished paper.

Mingkid, Hermanus Karel dan Sudradjat S, 1995, English for the SLTP,
M2S, Bandung

Suyitno, Imam, 2000, Pemahaman Aspek Budaya dalam Tindak Berbahasa,

Bahasa dan Seni 28 (2): 147-159.

Wardhaugh, Ronald, 1998, An introduction to sociolinguistics, Blackwell,

Massachusetts.

Wierzbicka, Anna, 1992, Emotion, Language , and Cultural Script, in

Shinobu Kitayama and Hazel Rose Markus, Emotion and Culture:
empirical studies of mutual influence, American Psychological
Association, Washington.

______________, 1997, Understanding cultures through their key words,

Oxford University Press, New York.