Asia Literacy – redefining the middle ground between language and culture education (part 2)

Part I of this discussion offered an overview of the definitions of Asia Literacy. By using a reflective framework for thinking about the relationship between language and culture in our current and perspective curricula, I argued that Asia Literacy must not be viewed as simply a bundle of language proficiency and cultural understanding, but a system of practice where one is consistently taught through the lens of the other.

Below, I discuss each of the four approaches in this framework with considerations for teaching practices.

1. Teaching language with (some) culture

This approach refers to the teaching of Asian languages in a school with the inclusion of cultural aspects taught in English that may or may not necessarily align with the natural order of language acquisition specific to that language. Even til today, this approach to Asia Literacy has been dominant in schools and textbook designs. For example, schools may celebrate the Chinese New Year on a one-off basis, or discuss the Terra Cotta Warriors as a culture project within the Chinese class.

The nature of this approach is closely aligned with the Asia Education Foundation's (AEF's) definition previously discussed, although it would be difficult to argue that the language course would offer a comprehensive overview of the culture for students to gain deep knowledge, skills and understanding of Asia.

2. Teaching culture with (some) language

In reaction to the approach above, submissions from AEF and others have proposed for Asian Studies to be made compulsory across both the primary and secondary curricula, and for languages to continue alongside as a separate subject. In other words, this approach simply shifts the spotlight slightly from language education to culture education.

On the one hand, this approach could be viewed as the result of the government's reality check on the decline in Asian language enrolments under the National Asian Languages and Studies in Schools Programs (NALSSP). On the other hand, with the incorporation of "Asia and Australia's Engagement with Asia" as a cross-curricular priority in the Australian Curriculum, it would be far more likely for the government to find suitable resources and seemingly "Asia-literate" teachers to deliver cultural aspects of Asia across the curriculum in English.

However, I argue that without the knowledge of an Asian language, some cultural fundamentals could never be fully appreciated, and we would risk delivering a program entirely from an Anglo perspective with English being our only tool in the toolbox.

3. Teaching language through culture

Teaching language through culture refers to building the linguistic capacity of students in a foreign language within the context of specific cultural topics. For example, primary schools often teach the Chinese words for each of the Chinese zodiac animals when doing a new unit on the Chinese New Year. Even in Australia today, it is not unusual to find a non-Chinese speaker who would be able to mimic a string of sounds that resemble "Kung Hei Fat Choi" at Chinese New Year.

In fact, many of us apply exactly this approach when travelling overseas and wanting to engage with the local culture on a deeper level. We learn phrases in the language because we know that it is only until we understand that "Kung Hei Fat Choi" literally means "May you be happy and prosperous/wealthy" that we can finally scratch the surface and begin to explore a unique values system that underpins the foreign culture.

Nonetheless, without a deep understanding of both the language and culture, the teacher may risk reinforcing cultural stereotypes, and deliver a program incompatible to the natural sequence of second language acquisition.

4. Teaching culture through language

The last approach in this framework, teaching culture through language, relies on the assumption that language is the major vehicle through which a culture is manifested.

Let us take the example of dates in Chinese. The fact that dates are sequenced as year – month – day reflects a preference of Chinese people for viewing this world as having a macro-to-micro structure. In fact, this cultural perspective resonates well with any beginner learner of Chinese when they are introduced to rules such as the family name – first name sequence in names, and country – province – city – road – number – floor sequence in addresses.

Rather than hoping to engage students simply with the idea of 'doing something differently', I argue that Asia Literacy is only meaningful when we dig deeper and ask why things are different. Perhaps this is the perfect time for asking the students "Why do you think the Chinese would use a macro-to-micro system? What are the advantages and disadvantages?" or even talking about collectivism and its implication on the way the society is organised.

Personally, I believe that this approach to teaching Asia Literacy via the cultural perspectives embedded within the languages means that students can leave school not only with a toolbox of facts about Asia, but real tools for identifying potential sources of miscommunication and promoting greater social coherence. It is thus with great excitement that I read the "Draft Shape of the Australian Curriculum: Languages" which sees language as a social practice and the classroom as a hotbed for 'talk about talk'.

Let me end this discussion with a quote from a rather disengaged Year 8 student of mine whose attendance and performance in Chinese last year was minimal. Nonetheless, I thank her for her observation below, as I hope that this quote could remind all Asian language teachers that among the frantic pursuit for language proficiency, we should never forget to reflect on the ultimate purpose of what we do:

"Mr Wang! The people who live next to me speak Chinese, and whenever they speak English, they can never get 'he' or 'she' right. I had always thought they were stupid or something, but now I see why they keep making that mistake when speaking English. It's cuz you just say 'ta' in Chinese for both 'he' and 'she' right? So, like, you never have to think about it. I finally understand it now."