The Importance of Teaching Culture in German as an International Language Classroom in Malaysia
Abstract
This study aims to explore teachers’ perceptions of the importance of culture in teaching German as an international language in secondary schools in Malaysia based on the interrelationship between language and culture which are closely related. The quantitative method through questionnaires was conducted to collect data. A total of 66 Malaysian secondary school German teachers were involved in this study. The results show that teachers agreed on the involvement of German culture in the German language curriculum. They are generally aware of the importance of teaching and integrating culture in the foreign language classroom and they often conducted cultural language activities in their teaching practice. Based on the results, some implications are obtained from the study on the importance of integrating culture in the German language classroom and recommendations are made for future studies.
Downloads
References
Ahmed A.Hamza. (2018). The role of culture in teaching and learning English as a foreign language. College of Education for Human Sciences/ University of Babylon, 38, 797–807.
Al-amir, B. A. (2017). Female teachers’ perceptions of teaching culture in EFL classrooms at a Saudi University. English Language Teaching, 10(6). https://doi.org/10.5539/elt.v10n6p28
Bennett, J. M. (1993). Cultural marginality: Identity issues in intercultural training. In R. M. Paige (Ed.), Education for the intercultural experience (pp. 109–135). Intercultural Press.
Berahim, R. R. R., & Amin, N. M. (2018). Kesalahan Penggunaan “Indefinite Article” Dalam Pembelajaran Bahasa Jerman: Kajian Kes Terjemahan Ayat Oleh Pelajar Tahap Dua Di UiTM Cawangan Pulau Pinang. UPALS Language Colloquium 2018.
Brooks, N. (1968). Teaching culture in the foreign language classroom. Foreign Language Annals, 1(3), 204–217. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1944-9720.1968.tb00135.x
Brown, H. D. (2007). Principles of language learning and teaching (5th Editio). Pearson Education, Inc. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1428-6_347
Byram, K., & Kramsch, C. (2008). Why is it difficult to teach language as culture? The German Quarterly, 81(1), 20–34. https://doi.org/10.1177/053331647500800109
Byram, M. (1988). Foreign language education and cultural studies. Language, Culture and Curriculum, 1(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/07908318809525025
Celik, B., & Yıldız, Y. (2019). The role of foreign language culture on teaching the language and learner motivation. International Journal of Social Sciences & Educational Studies, 5(4), 150–161. h https://doi.org/10.23918/ijsses.v5i4p150
Daud, H. (2016). Pembinaan ayat bahasa Jerman dalam kalangan pelajar-pelajar Melayu di UiTM Shah Alam. Universiti Malaya.
Farooq, M. U., Soomro, A. F., & Umer, M. (2018). English language teaching and cultural implications in Saudi Arabia. International Journal of English Linguistics, 8(3), 177. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v8n3p177
Kaça, E. (2015). Teachers’ beliefs and practices of cultural content in the ELT classroom: A multifaceted analysis through the EIL lens (Issue January). Middle East Technical University.
Khumsikiew, J., Donsamak, S., & Saeteaw, M. (2015). A model of small-group problem-based learning in pharmacy education: Teaching in the clinical environment. IAFOR Journal of Education, 3(2). https://doi.org/10.22492/ije.3.2.06
Kramsch, C. (2013). Culture in foreign language teaching. Iranian Journal of Language Teaching Research, 1(1), 57–78.
Krashen, S. D. (1982). Principles and practice in second language acquisition. Pergamon Press.
Li, S. (2013). Culture teaching in foreign language teaching. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 3(2), 371–375. https://doi.org/10.4304/tpls.3.2.371-375
Liddicoat, A. J, & Scarino, A. (2013). Intercultural language teaching and learning. Wiley-Blackwell.
Liddicoat, Anthony J., & Crozet, C. (1997). Teaching languages, teaching culture. Australian Review of Applied Linguistics. Series S, 14. https://doi.org/10.1075/aralss.1
Liddicoat, Anthony J., & Kohler, M. (2012). Teaching Asian Languages from an Intercultural Perspective: Building Bridges for and with Students of Indonesian. In X. Song & K. Cadman (Eds.), Bridging Transcultural Divides: Asian Languages and Cultures in Global Higher Education (pp. 73–100). The University of Adelaide Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/UPO9781922064318.005
Liton, H. A., & Madanat, T. A. AL. (2013). Integration of culture into ESL/EFL classroom: A pedagogical perspective. English for Specific Purposes World, 14(39).
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2013). Malaysia Education Plueprint 2013 - 2025 (Preschool to post-secondary education). Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
Ministry of Education Malaysia. (2015). Malaysia Education Blueprint 2015-2025 (Higher education). Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia.
Mumu, E. L. (2017). An exploration of teachers’ beliefs on the integration of culture in teaching English as a foreign language in Junior High Schools in Minahasa/Indonesia. Murdoch University, Western Australia.
Nguyen, L., Harvey, S., & Grant, L. (2016). What teachers say about addressing culture in their EFL teaching practices : The Vietnamese context. Intercultural Education, 27(2), 165–178. https://doi.org/10.1080/14675986.2016.1144921
Petravić, A., & Golub, A. Š. (2016). Entwicklung der interkulturellen Kompetenz im Unterricht Deutsch als Fremdsprache. Eine empirische Untersuchung zum interkulturell orientierten Kompetenzprofil der DaF-Lehrkräfte. Zeitschrift Für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 21(1), 245–262. http://zif.spz.tu-darmstadt.de/jg-13-1/beitrag/Feist1.htm%5Cnhttp://zif.spz.tu-darmstadt.de/jg-13-1/docs/Feist1.pdf
Purba, H. (2011). The importance of including culture in EFL teaching. Journal of English Teaching, 1(1), 44. https://doi.org/10.33541/jet.v1i1.51
Putra, J. R., & Musigrungsi, S. (2022). Indonesian EFL teachers’ beliefs about incorporating cultural aspects in their multilingual and multicultural EFL classrooms. The Southeast Asian Journal of English Language Studies, 28(March), 75–89.
Pusat Perkembangan Kurikulum. (2005). Pelaksanaan pengajaran bahasa antarabangsa di sekolah menengah harian. Kementeriaan Pelajaran Malaysia.
Robinson-Stuart, G., & Nocon, H. (1996). Second culture acquisition: Ethnography in the foreign language classroom. The Modern Language Journal, 80(4), 431–449. https://doi.org/10.2307/329724
Salim, S. K. (2017). Teaching language and teaching culture. 8th International Visible Conference on Educational Studies & Applied Linguistics, 464–470. https://doi.org/10.23918/vesal2017.a34
Sanusi, S. S. (2016). Padanan kata kerja bahasa Jerman: Satu analisis ketepatannya ke atas makna ayat. Universiti Malaya.
Shirazi, E. (2017). Novice vs. seasoned Iranian EFL teachers’ beliefs and practices about intercultural communicative competence. Journal of Applied Linguistic and Language Research, 4(6), 272–299.
Solgi, F., & Tafazoli, D. (2018). The necessity of teaching culture in English as a foreign language course: Iranian perspective. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 14(3), 1–11.
Stockwell, E. (2018). Teaching culture in foreign language. Foreign Language Education Research, 22, 11–23.
Ying, B. T., Hoon, A. L., Halim, H. A., & Majtanova, M. (2018). Students’ beliefs on translation strategy in learning German language. GEMA Online Journal of Language Studies, 18(1), 69–86. https://doi.org/10.17576/gema-2018-1801-05
Yusuf, R., Mohd Nor, M., Mohd Zakaria, Z., & Taisin, N. (2020). A review of influence from first and second language as syntax interference in the German language. International Journal of Humanities, Philosophy and Language, 3(10), 35–44. https://doi.org/10.35631/ijhpl.310004
Zhan, C. (2016). The importance of culture factor in foreign language teaching. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 6(3), 581. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0603.17
