http://www.cervantesvirtual.com/servlet/SirveObras/35761630101354941976613/p0000003.htm#14
After reading this article, I am convinced of the importance of opening students minds in order to facilitate the learning of a second language. The article raises some interesting questions about cross cultural understanding, language aptitude and second language acquisition. If we consider ethno-lingual relativity as valid, then we have to consider the second language teacher as someone who must seek to stretch the boundaries of cultural understanding.
The author of the article argues that in order to learn a new language, students must step out of their “cultural cage” and conceive other ways of seeing the world. As we have said numerous times, language does not happen in a vaccum. Language reflects the ideas, values and common behaviors of those that use that language to communicate. Language is the tool of a cultural group. This is why it is so difficult to make direct translations from one language to another. In many cases direct translation is impossible, as the cultural background where the word emerged must be explained in order to fully comprehend an idea.
Language reflects values and as it is to be expected, different groups have different values. The second language student must learn to accept this and remain open to accepting that others conceive the world differently. Furthermore, tolerance for ambiguity and cultural adjustment are two key factors that facilitate learning a foreign language.
Then, how can the teacher contribute to students ability to adjust to other cultures and tolerate ambiguity? As the article suggests, the teaching approach must “support a macro-level understanding of a language as a complete and unique system rather than as a system that has direct equivalents in one’s first language and can be translated readily”. By staying away from direct translation and instilling in the students an appreciation of the system as a whole and not succumbing to the facility of providing a quick word, but taking the time to explain the context where the word happens. True, this may take longer and take away valuable minutes in the already short class time, but in the long run this is more productive for the students as they will remember it long after the course is over.
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