awej 5 no.4 full issue 2014

AWEJ Volume.5 Number.4, 2014Reading, Speaking and Writing through Creative ResourcesGómezpeople realize that English is not the property of only a few countries. Instead, it is a vehicle thatis used globally and will lead to more opportunities. It belongs to whoever uses it for whateverpurpose or need” (Hasman, 2000: 28). Those authors consider that the international potential ofEnglish as a lingua franca has made cultural connotations disappear or decrease from itsvocabulary and use.However, we must consider if it is really possible for a language not to have reference to culturalelements or if it is possible for a language to show multitude of cultural aspects at the same time.Widdowson states that: “a language that stripped down to its bare essentials as a resource forimpersonal reference is deprived at the same time of its potential for creativity and change, [suchlanguage] ceases to function a natural language” (Widdowson, 1982: 208). Such statementmakes us think that it may not be possible to separate a language from its cultural roots and it isprobably essential to work on cultural elements by inserting different materials in secondlanguage teaching.Some documents recently developed by European education institutions such the CommonEuropean Framework of Reference (CEFR) also refer the importance of culture in the secondlanguage teaching and sociocultural and intercultural aspects that should be included whenteaching:to cope with the social and cultural dimensions of communicativebehaviour, for example, by adhering to social conventions andcultural norms. Working in harness with our sociolinguisticcompetences, our pragmatic competences underpin our ability touse language appropriately to fulfil particular functions, forexample, greeting, leave-taking, requesting, thanking…(Little, 2012: 3)The Common European Framework of Reference also includes The European Portfolio) thatalludes to different initiatives that aim to comprise linguistic experiences of students belongingto European countries. The document includes a part devoted to cultural experiences related totheir language learning.The ELP comprises:• a language passport, which summarizes the owner’slinguistic identity and his/her experience of learning and usinglanguages other than the mother tongue;• a language biography, which supports the planning,monitoring and evaluation of language learning, and encouragesreflection on the intercultural dimension of second/foreignlanguage learning and use and on the language learning process;• a dossier, in which the owner keeps work in progress,evidence of developed second/foreign language skills, andcertificates and other documents that attest learning achievement(Little, 2012: 13)Then, culture teaching has a prominent role in language teaching from an Europeanperspective and one of its main concerns is to search for new ways, tools and creative materialsthat allow teachers to bring cultural elements and communicative practices into the secondlanguage classroom.Arab World English JournalISSN: 2229-9327www.awej.org447