How should Language Teachers Think about Culture?

How would you define culture? Two weeks ago, before starting my Master’s program, I had my own idea of what it was. However, lately I have read so many definitions of culture that my conception of it has changed. Now I think that it is a broad term; culture is almost everything, the way you talk, the way you live, how you behave, how you see the world… I have realized that my definition of culture was too narrow. We have to go beyond dictionary definitions when we talk about culture. I would have never thought how much more fascinating it is to embark in an in-depth study of culture rather than just knowing an incomplete definition of it. Language is part of culture and as an English teacher I need to know that teaching a second language means teaching a second culture as well. I have to start by understanding that there are cultural differences and that I have to respect and appreciate these distinctions I perceive around me in order to transmit these ideas to my pupils.
As Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche, a story teller, says in The Danger of a Single Story “something that is normal to you may be peculiar to others.” How ethnocentric we are! We judge and make assumptions about other people without researching or knowing about their beliefs, or their culture. As language teachers we should encourage our students to learn about different versions of their own story as well as the stories of others. Knowing just a single story drives us to create stereotypes and the problem with stereotypes is that these might be concordant with facts, but they are incomplete as Chimamanda says. This is why we should instruct our students to understand why people behave the way they do. Our students must know that people around the world do things to satisfy their physical and psychological needs and we all do it in different ways.
We have to teach our students not to categorize cultural customs as “weird” or “bizarre” (as they are cataloged in Google) just because we do not practice them ourselves. For instance, we cannot judge Suri women in Ethiopia because they wear a plate in their lower lip to indicate they are mature and eligible to be a wife. Eating with your mouth is not rude for some Asian cultures; can we judge them and say that Asians are not well-mannered because we were taught that this is not proper in our culture? We cannot say the “Tibetan Sky Burial” is brutal since it is not our tradition. We would probably never consider doing that to one of our beloved family members, however Tibetans see this as a sacred ritual. How important it is to accept that our customs and beliefs are not the only “correct ones.” We need to open our eyes and leave ethnocentric ideas behind.
The language teaching profession is not only about explaining grammar or pronunciation rules, but also teaching students how to be tolerant and value our world’s diversity. We prepare ourselves to instruct our students to be open-minded and patient, and most importantly to show respect and courtesy to every single person regardless of their culture. They need to be aware of what happens in the world around them. If we teach this to our kids, we would avoid misunderstandings, problems, and eventual wars. These future adults will pass on the same principles to forthcoming generations so our world will definitely be a better world.
I cannot wait to learn more about culture and teaching techniques…