Culture notes

People have questioned whether "culture" exists in any kind of national sense. When we know that someone is from the United States, what do we really know about that individual? What does knowing that someone is from Mexico or Tunisia or Pakistan tell us about that person (besides perhaps giving us a start in guessing about the language/s that person might speak)? There are plenty of websites designed for tourism that praise the varied and exotic cultures in different countries. I wonder how fairly these represent the reality of the actual residents. I rarely recognize places I've lived when I read tourist advertising.

On the other hand, we do have access to a much broader range of information sources from around the world, thanks to the Internet. Automated translations may confuse as much as they help, but it is still possible to see what is making news around the world. More importantly, we now have ways to be in contact with individuals in places where we may never physically go. The English language mailing list, TESL-L, links 10,000 people in over 40 countries. Reading about the insights and problems of our fellow language teachers helps us see similarities, such as a concern with student motivation and lack of money; and differences, such as class size and type of government control. It gives me the feeling that we have an English language teacher culture that goes across nations. I wonder how many other professions get the same feeling from their professional lists. (Perhaps it's just that English teachers are all a little bit crazy...)

Bakhtin talks about how everyone speaks many different dialects, depending on the situation. The language we use with loved ones is not the same as the language we use with strangers. Perhaps the culture we wear varies the same way - we take on different cultures depending on the context. Teacher, parent-of-teenager, in-group, stranger - these are all different roles we can take on as individuals. Perhaps roles link us to others in the same way that our national cultures do. Maybe they link us more.

--Deborah