Culture awareness in English language teaching

Abstract

This paper describes the Malta Culture Awareness Project aimed at introducing a culture component in English teaching in the lower forms of the secondary school. The research was based on the belief that "a culture component in language teaching actually improves language learning and makes students more tolerant of cultural diversity". The assumptions are that culture awareness (a) facilitates language learning and (b) makes students more tolerant and appreciative of diversity. Indeed these very assumptions underpinned the Council of Europe Project "Language Learning For European Citizenship", which was launched in the light of the socio-political phenomena that created the "House of Europe" in the last 20 years (Neuner 1994). Our assumptions were also substantiated by Byram and Zarate (1995, Preface) "the Council of Europe believes that teachers of languages (and also of other subjects as history and education for citizenship) have a central role to play in preparing young people for full and active democratic citizenship in the new Europe".