The Deep Approach to Russian Language and Culture

Anya Nesterchouk, Snezhana Zheltoukhova and Jambul Akkaziev 

FORTHCOMING

National Standards for foreign language education emphasize the importance of integrating cultural knowledge into curriculum, declaring that mastery of the target language is not possible without understanding of the target culture. Consequently, to teach or not to teach culture does not seem to be a theoretical dilemma for the majority of language educators, yet in practice they face numerous difficulties when infusing language curriculum with cultural flavor.

Assuming that the culture associated with the target language can be taught, there has to be some consensus as to what elements of culture should be taught, whose culture is worth teaching, who should be teaching it, what is the optimal way of teaching it, and ultimately what is the purpose of incorporating cultural knowledge in a foreign language curriculum?

The statement that teaching culture is essential for successful language acquisition carries two presuppositions: what constitutes culture is established and it can be taught. “It is so taken for granted that each country embodies its own distinctive culture and society that the terms “society” and “culture” are routinely simply appended to the names of nation-states” (Gupta&Ferguson, 1992,  p.34). High immigration rates all over the world redefine linguistic and cultural boundaries and make nation-state – culture ties obsolete. A ‘foreign language classroom’ is increasingly becoming more culturally and ethnically diverse (Kramsch, 1995), gradually rendering national comparisons obsolete. World-wide expansion of cultural universals through media, internet, and travel makes it challenging to trace them back to a particular nation. Yet, differences in cultural frameworks defining the ways of knowing and being cannot be underestimated.  The intercultural discourse is moving to a deeper level and expanding to include cultural communities, along with those of a virtual nature. The changing nature of cultural interaction affects language instruction and demands the shift from memorizing cultural facts to developing intercultural competence for successful cross-cultural communication.