My Perspective on Culture

The task of defining culture can be difficult because it encompasses so many different things and can be seen from a variety of viewpoints. After reading the chapters from Teaching culture: Perspectives in practice by Morgan, I was able to grasp a clearer definition of the word and its importance in an ESL classroom. Originally I defined culture as the way of life that is shared within a community and it is always changing. This can include beliefs, values, traditions, art, food, and many other aspects.

The approach to culture in this article was much more complex and covered features that I had not previously thought of. According to Morgan, culture has five dimensions, which are products, practices, perspectives, communities, and persons. These five dimensions are all important parts of culture and they work together to create a way of life. This definition shows how there are components that are explicitly seen, such as products or language, but also parts of culture that cannot be seen because they are embedded into the culture, such as beliefs. This proves that culture can be difficult to understand from an outsider’s perspective because there is so much more than meets the eye. It is what makes this concept so complex. However, I resonated with Morgan’s analogy of culture as an iceberg because it was a clear visual of this idea. It showed how the perspectives in a culture are unseen, but products, practices, communities, and persons are visible reflections of that. An iceberg is so large, just as the concept of culture is, and I believe it is difficult to know what lies beneath the surface.

After reading, I came to the conclusion that culture is best understood when it is experienced. Culture is constantly evolving over time so it is never concrete and easy to thoroughly understand. For example, I have studied Spanish culture many times but it was not until I actually lived in Spain for five months that I began to understand it on a deeper level. The lifestyle there was so greatly different from America and it was difficult to adjust to their new customs. Morgan illustrates the five dimensions of culture through the example of drive-through restaurants and this led me to think of more examples from my time abroad. I thought of their cultural phenomenon of siestas and how this is a practice valued throughout the country. It is based off of their belief that you should work to live, not live to work, and it is important to go home and spend time with your family. This reflects their perspective on life and how the economy and daily routine is structured around it. If one was not familiar with this practice, they would be confused as to why all of the stores were closed mid-afternoon and it may seem like an inconvenience.

Now that I have a clearer idea of culture, I look forward to seeing how this can affect an ESL classroom. Since culture is so varied, what is the best way for teachers to relate to their diverse students?