Culture and SLA - Week 8 -  Second Culture Acquisition

Introduction: Hello and welcome to Week 8 of the course Culture and Second Language Acquisition for the master's in English teaching at ULACIT term IIIC0 2023. This week we will discuss the question, can you acquire a second culture and think and see the world the way a member of that culture does? We will also take time to discuss our analyses of the assigned film and see how a critical exploration of the film as a cultural product can help reveal perspectives of the culture that produced it.

Today's Goals:

• Explore the topics of cultural and linguistic relativity and discuss to what degree it is possible (or even necessary) to acquire a second culture.
• Discuss the cultural differences you explored in your film analysis podcast.
• Consider a film as a cultural artifact that can reveal insights about the culture that produced it.

Guiding Questions: 

• Is it possible to truly acquire a second culture as an adult?
• What cultural practices and perspectives were in conflict in the film The Gods Must be Crazy?
• How does a critical analysis of a film as a cultural product reveal perspectives of the culture that produced it?

Warm Up: Body Language

Click the group link below and follow the instructions in the document. 

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

Topic 2: Second Culture Acquisition (SCA)

This article, although highly technical and challenging to read, presents us with some important questions to consider:

• What is the goal(s) of cultural education?

• What is involved in culture learning?

• Is it truly possible to acquire a second culture as an adult?

• “Although it may be possible for people to develop an intellectual understanding and tolerance of other cultures, a more interesting question, perhaps, is if, and to what extent, it is possible for people to become cognitively like members of other cultures; that is, can adults learn to construct and see the world through culturally different eyes (Lantolf, 2000, p. 29)?”

Click the group link below to review some of topics covered in your study guide. We will come back to the main room to discuss some of the more challenging parts of this article together.

• Group Link: CLICK HERE

• So what? We read all that to find out that it is only kind of sort of possible to change your conceptual system a little bit under some very specific circumstances and those circumstances do not involve classroom learning?

• Learners need to understand that cultures differ in their concepts. 
• Learning an L2 is not simply learning new words to express universal ideas.
• There may not be a word in the L2 to express a concept from your C1 and vice versa.

• ST: "Profe, how do you say pura vida in English?"
• T: "You don't."
• ST: "Yeah, but how would you say it though?"
• T: "You wouldn't say it."
• ST: "Yeah, I know you don't actually say pura vida. So what do you say instead?"

• It may not be possible or even desirable to change your cultural conceptual system. After all, your C1 is an integral part of your identity. However, as a long-term English learner and educator, have you found that your way of thinking and being has been influenced by your language and culture learning experiences? How?

Task 3: Film Analysis

Take some time to share the ideas you explored in your film analysis paper. If you want, you can use the following prompts to guide your discussion.

• Reactions: Film and Assignment
• What did you think of the film? Why?
• Do you have a favorite character or scene from the film?
• How did you feel completing the analysis in the format of a podcast? 
• What was easy? What was challenging? Why?

• Cultural Communities: Cultures in Conflict
• What distinct cultural groups or communities were represented in the film?

• What are some of the primary differences between the groups in terms of their products, practices, and perspectives?

• A lot of the film's humor is based on misunderstandings between the different cultural groups. What examples of misunderstandings can you identify?

• Which dimensions from the Hofstede framework did you analyze?

• What was the significance of the Coke bottle to the plot of the story? Why do you think the director chose that product instead of some other "modern" cultural product?

• The introduction of the bottle to the tribe caused a complete disruption in their way of life and a breakdown of their social system. Can you think of current or historical examples of radical cultural changes due to the influence of another culture? Are these changes always negative? Can they be positive? Neutral?

• What do you think about the cultural changes in Costa Rica caused by the influence of the United States in terms of food, spending habits, language, media, tourism, etc.? Are countries like Costa Rica in danger of losing their cultural identity?

• Thinking Critically: Reading Between the Lines
• Although the film is a comedy and meant to be fun, it is over 40 years old and we should also take time to analyze some aspects of the film that are potentially problematic by today's sensibilities. 

• The film's account of the tribe and their lifeways and culture is fictional. However, the Khoisan people are a real ethnic group in countries like Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa that have traditionally lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle in the savanahs and deserts of southern Africa for over 10,000 years. Knowing what you know about the history and current status of traditional hunter-gatherers and indigenous people in countries around the world (and Costa Rica), what do you think the real status and quality of life is like for the Khoisan in modern times compared to the dominant culture in their respective countries? What problems are common to indigenous groups?

• The Khoisan people featured in the film are presented in a documentary style although the information given about them is false. Do you think there are any ethical considerations to explore given the fact that this movie became a worldwide hit and for many people it was the first and only exposure they had to this culture?

• What do you know about the Apartheid system of South Africa or race relations in that country in the past and present? Were there any explicit or implicit examples of issues of racial discrimination, power access, superiority, etc. present in the film?

• One of the major plotlines of the film involve a war between the government and rebels. In what ways does this reinforce stereotypes about political instability and violence in developing countries?

• Have you heard of the terms "the noble savage" or "the myth of the noble savage" (el buen salvaje in Spanish)? CLICK HERE and read the brief description and answer the questions.

• Going Deeper: Thinking More about the Assignment
• In this task you were asked to compare products, practices, and perspectives and describing two of Hofestede's dimensions, If you were the professor of this course, what additional or alternative ways of cultural analysis could you have added to this assignment?

• Imagine you could propose alternative films to watch for the cultural analysis podcast assignment. What films would you recommend and why? How are they rich in cultural content?

Task 4: Films as Cultural Products 

Let's finish by exploring some additional details of the film that help reveal some cultural perspectives of the dominant culture in South Africa at the time the film was produced.

• Apartheid: What? When? Why?
• South Africa's International Reputation in 1980.
• Where was Apartheid it in the film?
• Product of "Botswana"
• Kate's voice dubbed in American accent

• Decolonization:
• South African Empire
• Namibia (South West Africa)

• War:
• Cold War
• Fear of Communism
• Border Wars (1966-1990)
• Cuban Support for Communist Rebels in Angola

• Khoisan: 
• History
• Game Reserve 
• Forced Relocation / Reservation System
• Change to Agriculture and Pastoralism
• Alcoholism, Health Problems, Depression, Poverty
• Loss of Traditional Lands and Lifestyle
• "Discovery" of the Xi
• Trophy Hunting and Diamond Mining
• Lack of Political Representation


• "We have survived for millennia in one of the world's driest areas but they treat us as stupid. We are hunter-gatherers yet we get arrested. We cannot damage the wildlife. If we kill one animal we eat it for a month. We are not allowed to hunt but others can. We are still hunter-gatherers. We want to be recognized as hunter-gatherers. If you say don’t hunt, it means don’t eat. If you are going to ban hunting, you have to consult us. You’re going to turn us into poachers. But hunting for us has never been about poaching. We hunt for food." - Jumanda Gakebone, spokesman for the San in Botswana

• ‘‘The image of the Bushmen given by the Gods films is not really good because it does not show how people are really living. It only shows the past. People should not see this as what is happening now. I find it difficult to believe that people don’t realise it is just acting.’’ -Gcao Tekene Çoma, actor who played Xi

References:

Lantolf, J. (2000). Second Culture Acquisition: Cognitive Considerations. In E. Hinkel (Ed.), Culture in Second Language Teaching and Learning (pp. 28-46). Cambridge University Press. 

Moran, P. (2001). Teaching Culture: Perspectices in Practice. Heinle, Cengage Learning.