First International Meeting on
Language Learning in Tandem:
Past, Present and Future
Teletandem and Culture: an analysis of the cultural
dimension in a virtual discussion forum among
students of a Brazilian and an American university
Maisa de Alcântara Zakir
Graduate Program in Language Studies – UNESP
CAPES Foundation, Ministry of Education of Brazil
Brasília-DF 70.040-020, Brazil
University of Miami
February 27th 28th and March 1st 2014
Overview of the presentation
• FLTA Program: the beginning;
• The research context;
• Theoretical framework;
– Culture (Kramsch, 1998);
– Culture Related Episodes (ZHU, 2012; ZAKIR, FUNO &
TELLES, forthcoming);
– Dialogical Discourse Analysis Principles (Brait, 2013;
– The culture dimensions (Levy, 2007)
• Excerpts of the discussion forum.
The beginning…
• The FLTA Program (2009-2010): a transformative experience;
• More than 400 international students from 45 different countries;
• The Fulbright Conferences:
– First contacts with foreigners: cultural shock.
• The immersion experience: real X virtual
– “Have you... have you been to the United States? Or traveled?”
– No, never. But, I did teletandem before. Two times. With hum... a guy from
Utah”
– Oh, wow!
– And a guy from Miami. So I...
– Oh, very different!
– Yes, very different. And I really want to know Miami. I think it’s... amazing, I
don't know.
Will and Gabi – Spring Semester 2011
The research context
-
The scope of the project Teletandem and transculturality in on-line
foreign language interactions via webcam;
-
General research question: how can the cultural dimension of
teletandem interactions in foreign languages be described?
Research topics (Telles, 2013)
(1) Ways of understanding the study, the learning and the social use of
foreign languages;
(2) Ways of representing the culture of the teletandem partner and the impact
of such understanding on the process of learning a foreign language and on
the relationship with the partner;
(3) the contribution of the cultural dimension of teletandem to the
education of the learner to relate to other cultures;
(4) The impact of the cultural dimension of teletandem on the different views
of institutional implementation in the curriculum
The research context
- Brazilian university: 14 students (pre-service language
teachers; voluntary participation);
- American university: 14 students (different majors; second
semester of Portuguese; TT as part of the syllabus during the
class);
- 10 teletandem sessions, from which 5 were recorded
(average 45 minutes long);
- Twice a week (March to April 2012)
- Written activities in the virtual platform Teleduc – discussion
forum
Posts
73
Mediators
14
Students of the AU
41
Students of the BU
18
The initial (“ideal”) hypothesis
• Teletandem as a context to promote and
enrich the participants’ “cultural
knowledge”/ “cultural experience”
• a “better” understanding/ a “wider”
perspective of the L2 culture.
– BUT… is that what “really” happens?
Discussion forum
• 1. What aspects of your own culture have you
highlighted (or would you highlight) to your
partner during the teletandem sessions?
Why?
• 2. What aspects of your partner’s culture has
s/he highlighted? What has changed in your
perception about his/her culture because of
the teletandem sessions?
Dialogical Discourse Analysis Principles
• Discourse as language in its concrete and live integrity
(Bakhtin, 2008, p. 207)
• The issue of verbal interaction as constituting language
transforms the enunciation act into a broad process,
which takes into account both the relations between the
interlocutors in the social scope and the context in which
this enunciation is produced (BAKHTIN, 2004).
• “The dialogism principle in Bakhtin’s theory is given by
the premise of the constitution of the self by the other”
(FLORES & TEIXEIRA, 2009, p. 163).
Dialogical Discourse Analysis
• The dialogical discourse theory is grounded on the
the inseparable relation that exists between
language(s), history and subjects (Brait, 2010).
• The theory implies a conception of language,
construction and production of meaning necessarily
grounded on the discursive relations among
historically situated subjects.” (p. 10).
Key elements in data analysis - DDA
•
a) recognizing the multiplicity of discourses that constitute a text or a set of texts and that
modify or subvert their relations due to the change(s) in the context(s) in which they are
produced and received;
•
b) the discourse, defined as dialogical relations, which is the object of an interdisciplinary
subject that Bakhtin called “metalinguistics” or “translinguistics”  starting point of the
dialogical discourse analysis/theory;
•
c) the theoretical-methodological assumption that the dialogical relations are established
from the point of view of a historical, cultural and social subject;
•
d) the dialogical relations are not “ready and finished” in a certain research object, but
they are always established from a point of view that is shaped by values, ideologies,
frontiers;
•
e) the role of languages and subjects in the construction of meaning;
•
f) the conception of text as “signed” by an individual ou colective subject that moves
historical, social and cultural discourses. (BRAIT, 2013, p. 85).
A definition of culture
• “In summary, culture can be defined as membership in a
discourse community that shares a common social space
and history, and common imaginings.” (Kramsch, 1998, p. 10)
• “Moreover, any one individual’s experience of culture will
be affected by the multiple aspects of their identity—race,
gender, sex, age, sexuality, class, caste position, religion,
geography, and so forth—and it is likely to alter in various
circumstances.” (Skelton & Allen, 1999, p. 4).
• “Thus, culture is both a manifestation of a group, or a
community, and of an individual’s experience within it, or
apart from it. As a group, members engage with one another
in a shared social space. […] Recognising the perspective
of the individual in relation to the group is key in
developing a pedagogical approach. (Levy, 2007, p. 105)
LRE – Language Related Episodes
• LRE – Language Related Episodes are
“any part of a dialogue in which
language students talk about the
language they are producing, question
their language use, or correct
themselves or others.” (Swain &
Lapkin, 1995, 1998).
CRE – Culture Related Episodes
• CRE – Culture-Related Episodes: “moments
when the spoken classroom discourse focuses on
the collaborative construction of cultural
understanding and cultural knowledge among the
participants.” (ZHU, 2012, p. 7).
• CRE - “Any part of a dialogue produced in the
teletandem sessions in which the students focus
on any interest, explanation or inquisitiveness
about their own culture or the partner’s” (Zakir,
Funo & Telles, forthcoming)
LEVY (2007) – Culture dimensions
1. Culture as elemental;
2. Culture as relative;
3. Culture as group membership;
4. Culture as contested;
5. Culture as individual (variable and multiple).
1. Culture as elemental: the learner is no more a "blank slate"
Sysoyev (2002, p. 510): “learning of foreign culture does not start from ‘an
absolute zero’ By the time learners begin the study of a L2 context and its
culture, they have already formed certain concepts, stereotypes, and
expectations about L2 cultural realities. These expectations are not fixed and
immutable. But they will influence the way learners comprehend and interpret a
L2 culture (C2).”
Willis (1979, p. 186): “We are therefore most deeply embedded in our culture
(…) we are in a very important sense, already, one step away from our real and
living culture.”
Levy (2007): “Pedagogical approaches and techniques that help learners to
reflect objectively on their own culture are especially important because
language teachers and learners need to be sharply aware of their point of
departure in culture learning.” (p. 107)
2. Culture as relative: “culture is, fundamentally, a relative
concept, not an absolute one.”
Lo Bianco e Crozet (2003)  Making generalisations is central in this
approach: in other words the belief that what we do and what they do is
common to all, across the two respective cultures being compared.
Guest (2002, p. 154)  identifies a number of problems associated with a
contrastive approach in learning and teaching the second culture (C2), and
a paraphrased list of problems such as “oversimplification” which leads
to "caricature" rather than a deeper understanding.
Levy (2007, p. 108)  “In essence Guest is recommending a move away
from the learner as detached observer towards the learner as active
participant in culture learning, and from a view of culture which is static and
distant, to a view which is more , dynamic and directly engaged. This level
and kind of contact becomes more feasible and practical with new
technologies, especially synchronous forms of communication such as
chat”.
3. Culture as group membership:
Lindsay, Robins and Terrell (1999, p. 26-27): “Culture is everything
you believe and everything you do that enables you to identify with
people who are like you and that distinguishes you from people who
differ from you. Culture is about groupness”.
Baldwin, Faulkner & Hecht (2006, p. 17): A group perspective on
culture draws attention to the idea of membership and community and
leads to questions such as how people identify with groups, how
others identify people with groups and how different groups relate and
interact with one another.
3. Culture as group membership:
Hymes (1974, p. 51): “Culture is understood as a "speech
community": a group ‘sharing knowledge of rules for the
conduct and interpretation of speech’.”
Levy (2007): “Online groups, and the ‘digital cultures’ that
result provide new venues for groups and communities to
be created and maintained (see Kim, 2000). Online groups
require us to revisit questions of identity, membership and
community and the ways in which individuals become
members of such groups, and how their messages
contribute to the group’s identity and culture (p. 109).
4. Culture as contested:
Culture is contested at many levels: from individual (cultural shock
when someone goes abroad) to a broader scale (media).
Giroux (1988, p. 171) : “the representation of lived experiences,
material artefacts, and practices forged within the unequal and
dialectical relations that different groups establish in a given society at
a particular historical point. In this case, culture is closely related to
the dynamics of power and produces asymmetries in the ability
of individuals and groups to define and achieve their goals.
Furthermore culture is also an arena of struggle and contradiction, and
there is no one culture in the homogeneous sense. On the contrary,
there are dominant and subordinate cultures that express different
interests and operate from different and unequal terrains of power”. (p.
110)
5. Culture as individual (variable and multiple)
Robins, 2005; Terracciano et al., 2005: “What we call our ‘own’ culture
is incomplete and fragmentary” (p. 111)
“The teacher’s and the learner ‘s understanding of their own culture
(C1) will inevitably be an individual interpretation, modified by such
factors as world knowledge, experience living abroad, political
awareness and so forth” (p. 111)
“If we can say nothing with any certainty about cultures as whole and
have to rely on helping the learner develop individual perceptions, the
individual is going to acquire a very incomplete and idyosincratic view
of the C2.
“What one learner will come to understand or learn when observing or
engaging in a cultural exchange, another may not” (p. 111).
Culture as elemental
• Raíssa spoke with me about music festivals, things that
she likes to do in her city, and the differences between
her college city and her hometown. I hadn’t realized
that metal and hard rock were as popular as they are
in Brazil. (Phillip, A, 04/09/12)
• My skype partner Daniela is very studious and is
working hard to earn her degree. Although one thing
that did surprise me a little bit was that she wasn’t a
big soccer fan. Especially since she lives in Sao Paulo,
home of the 2011 champions Corithians. (Vincent, A
04/12/12)
Culture as relative
Durante as sesões que tive até agora tentamos abordar um pouco da expressões que
utilizamos no nosso dia a dia sempre comparando a de um pais com o outro,
também falamos sobre as musicas, eles acreditam que todo brasileiro gosta de
samba, mas nós brasileiros sabemos que não é assim...e o teletandem desta forma
vira uma boa oportunidade de explicarmos e mostrarmos para eles que o Brasil e
repleto de culturas diferentes e há muita coisa boa que eles ainda não conhecem
sobre nosso país. (Denise, B, 03/28/12)
Hoje, especificamente, destacamos sobre a nossa cultura, os sotaques de diferentes
regiões brasileiras e os modos de os brasileiros fazerem piadas com as diferenças
entre sotaques cariocas e paulistas, por exemplo. Também destaquei o estilo de vida
de cada cidade como, por exemplo, baianos tranquilos e paulistas estressados. Meu
parceiro também destacou o estilo de vida da sua cidade, Valencia - Espanha, e falou
também da mania de os Americanos de Nova York serem agitados também assim
como São Paulo e me contou que ficou impressionada de ver tantas lanchonetes que
vendem café por esquina. (Alice, B, 03/28/12)
Culture as group membership
When we spoke about Easter and Good Friday I realized that we are not
so different in how we celebrate these holidays. I think it is very similar to
Hispanic culture than American culture because I was raised in a Hispanic
way and we have a lot of similarities. (Ashley, A, 04/23/12)
Realmente, quando Denise e eu falamos da cultura e das costumes de
nossos países podemos que eles têm muitas coisas em comum a nível
geral (eu não sou muito da cultura americana, agora estou começando a
saber mais, mas acho que Brasil é muito mais parecido à Espanha que
aos Estados Unidos). (Olga, A, 04/13/12)
Eu concordo com você quando fala sobre as semelhanças nos dois países,
eu também achei muitas semelhanças, tal vez porque eu sou hispana. Eu
encontrei interessante que muitas das costumes brasileiras, como
comemorar os quinze anos das meninas, são muitos parecidas às dos
hispanos. (Hannah, 05/04/2012)
Culture as contested
• Os aspectos do povo brasileiro que eu acredito importantes seriam
o nosso estilo de vida, o nosso sorriso mesmo em situações
extremas, nossa vontade em conhecer outras culturas. E o que
ficou evidente como mudança, na minha visão da cultura deles, é o
fato de que eles também têm interesse em outras culturas, eles
também têm curiosidades. E esse contato para o aprendizado da
língua é muito importante, pois além da necessidade imediata em
usar a língua, também ganhamos conhecimentos culturais, e
melhor podemos difundir o que somos, além do futebol e do Rio.
(Ísis, B, 03/28/12)
• Você pode descrever como o povo brasileiro tem um sorriso
mesmo em situações extremas? Acho que este é muito diferente
do que os aspectos do povo americano. Acho que as pessoas
americanas raramente estão sorrindo (Carl, 04/06/12)
Culture as individual
• Também quero mencionar que nos estamos
falando com só um amostra das pessoas nosso
países. Eu acho que temos que lembrar que
nosso parceiro não representa toda a
população brasileira. Além deste eu adoro que
eu e minha parceira podemos nos entender
ainda que somos de diferentes países.
(Hannah, A, 04/05/12)
Final remarks
• Culture dimensions: variable and dynamic;
• Teletandem interaction(s): a context to reflect
about culture and CALL;
• Mediation sessions after teletandem
interactions: a context to rethink language
teachers’ education and the role of foreign
language and culture exchanges.
• Uma cultura estrangeira não se revela em sua completude
e em sua profundidade a não ser através do olhar de uma
outra cultura (e ela não se revela nunca em toda sua
plenitude, pois outras culturas virão e poderão ver e
compreender mais ainda). (...) Face a uma cultura
estrangeira, colocamos perguntas novas que ela mesma
não se colocava. Procuramos nelas uma resposta a essas
questões que sãos as nossas, e a cultura estrangeira nos
responde, nos desvelando seus aspectos novos, suas
profundidades novas de sentido. Se não colocamos nossas
próprias questões, nos desligamos de uma compreensão
ativa de tudo que é outro e estrangeiro (trata-se, bem
entendido, de questões sérias, verdadeiras). (Amorim,
2006, apud De Paula, 2013).
Thank you!
[email protected]
References
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