Learning about culture helps learn the language

#CultureAndLanguage
Learning about the country's culture can help you to understand and appreciate more about the language. For example, my French students have often mention roast beef and gravy, when discussing the UK. It always makes me smile because food is so embedded in French culture that it is the first thing they think about. However, if I ask my German or Dutch students, they normally mention politeness and if I ask my Asian students, they often talk about business.

Culture is extremely important and certainly for any teacher, who has international students, having cultural intelligence is crucial. For example, my Egyptian students and Spanish students are culturally worlds apart and I must appreciate that to ensure they get the best learning experience.

Equally important, as a student learning English, understanding more about British or American culture will help you to understand why we say things in certain ways. Yes, British people are known for being very polite in meetings, at conference or any professional situation. There is a reason for that.

In English, there is only one word for ‘you’. If I am speaking to: a colleague I use ‘you’; my mum, I use ‘you’; my boss, I use ‘you’; the King, I use ‘you’!

We don’t have a respectful version of ‘you’ and a familiar ‘you’ as in other languages. Therefore, we must add other words to show respect and politeness. For example, in French, you might be talking to a colleague in a meeting, and you could say, “Je suis désolé, mais vous avez tort.” In English, we might say something like, “That’s a really great idea but have you thought about
another possible solution such as…………….?”

In English you must try to be much less direct than other languages. In other languages, directness is softness by using a more respectful version of the word ‘you.’ Once you discover differences like this, it makes it much easier to understand why your British or American colleagues use the language they use. It makes more sense.

“May I help you?” is the polite version of “Can I help you?”
May I help you to learn English?
#LearnEnglish

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