Dr. Elena Shelestyuk,
Chelyabisk State University, Russia
The linguistic ecology approach to teaching a language entails the preservation of linguistic and cultural diversity. To be legitimized as an international auxiliary language (IAL) for world communication, English should be taught with the view to protecting host cultures, distinguishing them from others. Diversity will ensure a culturally rich while united world. We opt for traditional language pedagogy: learning rules, doing exercises, retelling and creating texts. Immersion, influence on the unconscious through images, fascination, “stunning”, should be moderate; immersion is more welcome for the first (native) language to create a firm cultural identity and immunity to foreignization. Foreign language curricula should primarily focus on host culture history, culture, values, and serve its needs, then – represent world, history, cultural heritage, modernity and future. The optimal ratio is: host language and culture issues – 40-45%, global issues – 40-45%, source language and culture issues – 10-20%. There should be no excessive foreign language personality branding (English-language culture personalities, singers, actors, writers, etc.). Personalities – real and fictitious – should be used in the same proportion as above. Balance and tolerance should be observed in textbooks, especially concerning host culture’s facts, history, values, personalities. Moral and ideological inferences should be traditional, time-honoured; selection of topics — impartial; representation of facts and characters — symmetrical; choice of words – unbiased. A first (native) language should be the main metalanguage of comparing, explanation and interpretation of cultural phenomena. It is advisable to write and publish textbooks of foreign languages by host culture’s domestic authors, albeit with the use of foreign consultants and methodologies.
The above abstract is a part of the article which was accepted at The Third International Conference on Current Issues of Languages, Dialects and Linguistics (WWW.LLLD.IR), 31 January-1February 2019 , Iran-Ahwaz.
