SDLC 105 Learning Journal Post #7

[Layla Samandi لیلا سمندی]

This week's reading on "cultural competence" was very informative. Being cognizant of the differences between cultures is key to succeeding in today's globalizing society, and key to assimilating into the target language's culture. By being stereotypical Americans who are ignorant of other's cultures, we insult other people, making them feel as if we perceive our culture as superior. Part of learning a language is learning the social cues, norms, and behaviors that are inherent in the culture, so that we can function properly in society -- there is more to it than memorizing grammatical structures and vocabulary. This goes beyond the classroom and into the real world of Iran, where colloquial Persian is spoke and a person speaking the formal Persian learned in school would be laughed at. Sociolinguistic competence is hard to achieve, even in a native language -- the lack of politeness seen every day in society is an example of this. So being able to achieve it in the second language takes a lot of time and effort, but is ultimately very rewarding for the learner. Being able to integrate into the new society is a fulfilling experience. The better we can understand a new society and culture, the more we can appreciate and better understand our first.