Colombian Cultural Identity In The Teaching Of English As A Foreign Language

Abstract

This research project presents a fundamental opportunity for high school students in BogotÃÂá and Chia, Colombia to strengthen and build their knowledge of their own culture in the classroom. Through this research project, students are given the opportunity to implement tools and academic learning strategies to improve their learning of English as a Foreign Language. The purpose of this project is to implement didactic units with Colombian cultural content in the teaching English, and thus, to enrich Colombian culture among students who know little of it. The project takes an ethnographic approach to sociocultural analysis in the classroom, and uses topic-based teaching and learning as a methodological approach to the design and implementation of each didactic unit.ÃÂà Results showed the commitment of learners and the leadership of teachers allowed students to expand and acquire new Colombian cultural concepts and successfully reach the academic goals; as a result, they consolidated their identity as Colombians.Key words: Culture, language, identity, Second Language learning, sociocultural analysis, didactic units, Topic based instruction