Raluca Petrus Educatia 21 9/2011 LAYING SOME WEIGHT ON...

Raluca Petrus Educatia 21 9/2011

LAYING SOME WEIGHT ON CULTURAL AWARENESS WHEN LEARNING SWEDISH

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Laying some weight on cultural awareness when learning Swedish

Raluca Petruş

Babes-Bolyai University, Romania

Author note

Raluca Petrus, PhD student, teaching assistant Faculty of Psychology and Educational

Sciences



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Abstract

This research paper focuses on the relevancy of developing the learners’ cultural awareness in the

context of learning Swedish as an optional course. The course is offered by the Faculty of Letters in

Cluj-Napoca and it is attended by various learners (both enrolled students or adults) who want to

acquire knowledge of Swedish. The reason for choosing an optional course for this research is that the

learners come from various backgrounds, have different ages and expectations as regards Swedish.

There has been conducted a qualitative research in order to obtain specific information regarding the

way in which the teaching materials and the students’ own background and mentality enable or hinder

the development of cultural awareness. The results obtained reflect the students’ understanding of

learning Swedish by focusing on cultural awareness. In order to reach some conclusions there have

been analyzed different teaching materials and different teaching activities which come to offer

support to the findings.

Key words: foreign language learning, cultural awareness, inter-language, qualitative research,

cultural background, authentic teaching materials, social identity

Zusammenfassung

Diese Arbeit konzentriert sich auf die Entwicklung der kulturelle Bewusstsein bei Studenten, im

Zusammenhang mit der schwedischen Sprache, angeboten als Wahlfach. Der Kurs wird von der

Fakultät für Literatur in Cluj-Napoca angeboten, gefolgt von Personen (Studenten oder Erwachsene),

die erwerben wollen Kenntnisse der schwedischen Sprache.

Der Grund der Auswahl dieses Wahlpflichtfach für unsere Forschung war, dass die Teilnehmer aus

unterschiedlichen Hintergründen und unterschiedlichen Alters kommen, unterschiedliche

Vorstellungen über die schwedische Sprache haben. Es würde eine Qualitative Forschung

durchgeführt, weil wir bestimmte Informationen über erhalten wollte, zum Beispiel: wie die Mentalität

der Studierenden und Lehr-und Lernmittel begünstigen oder behindern kulturelles Bewusstsein. Die

Ergebnisse spiegeln den Grad der Integration. Um einen Bestimmung eine Richtung, wurden analysiert

verschiedene Unterrichtsmaterialien und verschiedenen Aktivitäten, die die Informationen

unterstützen.

Schlüsselworte : Fremdsprachenerwerb, kulturelles Bewusstsein, qualitative Forschung, kulturelle

Besonderheit, authentische Lehrmaterialien, soziale Identität



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Laying some weight on cultural awareness when learning Swedish

Introduction

This research paper intends to support the idea that language learning, whether it regards the

mother tongue or another foreign language, requires a deep understanding of the context in

which this one appears, namely the cultural environment that supports the language

development. The language is probably the most utilized means of communicating one’s

culture. The music, the paintings, the sculptures, and arts in general, all carry a cultural

essence, but the language seems to be the most comfortable and easy to grasp characteristic

when comparing people and cultures. Likewise one could claim that the language is in fact the

key of understanding a culture. No one can deny that there is a bond between these two

elements.

The title of the study regards the development of cultural awareness when learning

Swedish as a foreign language. The research has been conducted by Raluca Petruş, PhD

student and teaching assistant at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Babeş-

Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca. The research question of this study refers to identifying the

students’ understanding of cultural awareness as regards the relationship between mother

tongue and Swedish. This research was useful because it provided two perspectives on: a) the

teaching materials used, in order to understand if these promote cultural awareness taking into

consideration the particularities of the research group and b) an analysis of the students’ level

of understanding regarding the usefulness or appropriateness of integrating culture in the

learning process. The objective of the research was to identify students’ personal opinions

regarding the idea of culture and foreign language learning. The outcomes have been obtained

through conducting an interview, by classroom observation, by using a short case study

activity and a brainstorming session. There have not been applied any knowledge tests that

would reflect communicative, lexical or intercultural competences, because the purpose of the

research was not to evaluate students in this manner.



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The paper is comprised of three parts which are interconnected. The first one focuses

on highlighting specific arguments that favour the grasping of cultural background when

learning a foreign language. The sources are going to be depicted according to their relevance

and appropriateness to the research question. The data is going to be linked to the objectives

stated by the proposed research. It could be concluded that the literature review will provide

information related to the usefulness of gaining an understanding of the relationship between

culture and foreign language learning.

The second part describes the research proposal and provides the necessary data

regarding the coordinates of the research: time span, location, research objectives, performing

the recruitment, methods employed, the design and procedure for gathering data.

The last part of the research project refers to conducting a data analysis of the gathered

pieces of information. Since in a qualitative research there is no hypothesis to begin with, the

findings of this research are not going to test or validate a certain theory. In fact the results are

going to provide an understanding of the respondents’ inner experiences. There are going to be

specified some follow-up directions, common conclusions and also some particular

specifications regarding each respondent.

Literature review

Language is culturally sensitive

Language is culturally sensitive, which means that language learning develops in

relation with the social environment in which mother tongue and target language are learnt.

Mercer (1996, 30) states that “an important purpose of education is to help students gain and

use cultural, linguistic resources so that they can use language effectively, as both as a social

and an individual mode of thinking”. One could regard foreign language learning, in addition

to being an enjoyable means of communicating in another language, also as having a social

interaction function. During a conversation between interlocutors coming from different

countries the knowledge of grammar, phonetics or punctuation is not going to yield a

meaningful conversation even though the language is the common denominator. Instead of

considering the language as a tool used for communicating something, this should be also



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regarded as a means of understanding better different cultures and people. Along with

gestures, mimicry or nonverbal language, which add value and explain better the instance of

communication, the language represents a means of providing a key towards understanding

one’s interlocutor.

Because language is deeply rooted in the culture to which it belongs to, the process of

learning a foreign language becomes an intricate matter. There should not be any longer a

focus on learning strategies that consider of paramount importance merely the acquisition of

lexical or linguistic competences. There should be taken into consideration the fact that

“language is not a culture-free code, distinct from the way people think and behave, but rather

it plays a major role in the perception of culture (…)” (Kramsch 1998, 8). As a result,

language learning might then be rethought in terms of understanding and accepting the

“Other” before learning how to, for example, spell or conjugate verbs. In this view, a

successful communication might take the form of an exchange where interlocutors would try

to find meanings and reach an understanding beyond what they are offered at first sight,

namely parts of speech, gestures or paralanguage.

The complementarity between language and culture is also mentioned by Ian Tudor

(1996, 278) for whom “language teaching is a complex social and cultural activity. The

teacher therefore needs to understand the students within their sociocultural context, quite

apart from accepting them as psychologically complex individuals”. Thus in multicultural

classes the teacher should pay greater attention to the students’ sociocultural background in

order to facilitate communication between interlocutors and support a friendly classroom

environment. Even if there is not the case of a multicultural class there still exists an element

of interculturality that the teacher can expose and utilized wisely: the contact between the

mother tongue and the foreign language considered at various levels: social, cultural etc.

Language represents social identity

Language provides social identity in the sense of offering a feeling of integration into a

particular group, community or country. Likewise, mother tongue and foreign language

acquisition constitute means of rendering a sense of belonging that some people seek for.



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Language should not be regarded as having a static value, being thus a mere block of

knowledge which one can or cannot comprehend. It is in fact dynamic, in the sense of

providing the learner diverse opportunities of learning and understanding it, with ups and

downs caused by linguistic difficulties or culture shock. Language learning can be compared

from this perspective to a journey of discovering oneself and the others.

As follows, there are going to be presented two types of knowledge: one that supports

the attaining of social identity and the other which does not hinder it, but instead it provides

an incomplete view of it. As regards language learning Widdowson (cited in Alptekin 1996,

53) identifies two types of knowledge: one that is “schematic knowledge” which is acquired

as a condition of entry into a particular culture or subculture, and the other “systemic

knowledge”, which refers to the understanding of the formal properties of language (syntax,

grammar etc). He claims that in native language learning, “the child’s systemic and schematic

knowledge develop concurrently, each supportive of the other. This experience cannot be

replicated in second language acquisition. Here learners have already been socialized into

schematic knowledge associated with their mother tongue: they are initiated into their culture

in the very process of language learning” (Alptekin 1996, 53). Thus, second language learners

have to deal with the disadvantage of lacking a socially acquired knowledge. This is the

reason why some people find it difficult to learn a foreign language. They tend to associate

language with a certain pattern of identity, or better said with a change in their identity. The

latter might be a case that some people are not willing to consider, especially adults, since

these identify themselves with a certain cultural background. The learning of “systemic

knowledge” would not transform them into interlocutors endowed with communicative

competence. They may learn syntax, grammar, word order and an infinite list of words. Still,

this linguistic competence is not sufficient for creating proficiency during a conversation with

a native speaker because “language has no function independently of the social contexts in

which it is used”. (Alptekin 1996, 60)

It is said that when learning a foreign language the learner enters into another world,

which is different from that of his/her mother tongue. Language learning is seen from this

perspective as a quest for a corresponding identity that should be found in the foreign



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language. Since “ language learning is seen as an activity which involves students as a

complex human being, not ‘simply’ as language learners, language teaching should therefore

exploit students’ affective and intellectual resources as fully as possible and be linked into

their continuing experience of life”. (Ian Tudor 1996, 272)

It is not an easy task as a language learner to grasp quite rapidly the social context in

which the language emerges. This requires skill and training but above all, a constant contact

with native speakers and the authentic teaching materials. Therefore, the classroom

environment should be created in such a way that it would provide learners with the

opportunity to be faced with situations that resemble those from a natural setting. These

activities should have as main purpose the understanding, from the learners’ part, of the idea

that “language is not only a functional, but also a form of social behaviour”. (Littlewood

1995, 43) Learners can integrate in another culture through language, but this, as

demonstrated above, is not the single possible answer. These social interactive activities

should focus on two directions. The first refers to the fact that “the learner is expected to let

social as well as functional considerations affect his choice of language” Littlewood (1995,

43) and the second states that the language produced by the learner “will be evaluated in terms

of its social acceptability as well as its functional effectiveness”. Littlewood (1995, 43)

Andersson and Trudgill (1992, 157) also state that language, above all, is social. They

claim that “the fact that there are these barriers to communication means that different groups

of human beings can support and sustain different cultures, different values and different ideas

and survive as different communities”. Thus, there is an intricate link between language and

culture residing in the fact that one cannot live or sustain itself without the other. They either

develop and prosper together or disappear and undergo radical changes..

Language as conventional usage

The gap between the mother tongue and the target language bares the name of the inter-

language. The inter-language could be characterized as the middle distance between mother

tongue and foreign language, when knowledge of vocabulary and grammar is in its early

stages. The term ‘inter-language’ was coined by Selinker in 1969 to refer to the interim



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grammars constructed by second language learners on their way to target language

(McLaughlin 1987, 60). It is considered that inter-language is different from the learner’s

mother tongue and target language. This stage is characterized by the discovery that even if

grammar rules are applied, communication lacks consistency because “grammatically correct

‘sentences’, have no status as potential ‘utterances’ within discourse, since they would never

be used by native speakers” (Richards 1990, 52). This represents a turning point for many

learners who get discouraged because their utterances fail to conform to patterns of

conventional usage.

There can also be mentioned the discrepancy between the language depicted in course

books and the genuine language spoken ‘in the street’ by natives. Step by step, learners have

to grasp and remember the contexts in which language is being produced; they have to be

acquainted with different communicative styles and with small talk. Gestures, paralanguage

and nonverbal language provide a sense of smoothness in conversation, since interlocutors

have to take breaks for understanding the new information and to take turns in order to speak.

From this perspective “these small words are not meaningless or useless in language. They are

meaningful without carrying a heavy load of meaning”. (Andersson, Trudgill 1992, 105)

Another observation is made my Jack Richards (1990, 55) who claims that “non-native

speakers who lack the ability to use small talk and to exploit the interaction aspects of

communication may find many encounters awkward and may avoid talk where talk would be

appropriate”. Small talk is not so insignificant after all, since it manages with success to create

a bond between the non-native speaker and the native speaker.

Language varies not only in terms of context, but also in terms of the speakers who

take part in the conversation. The same speaker can use different linguistic varieties in

different situations and for different purposes. Consequently, the learner can find him/herself

at a dead end. It is impossible for the teacher to prepare students for all the contexts they will

be faced with in a natural language environment. Still, there are activities that can involve

students and help them to acquire proficiency in a foreign language. Role-plays, debates or

the use of authentic materials could increase awareness of pragmatics.



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There have been presented some aspects related to the intricate bond between language

and culture or language and the social background. The findings highlight the fact that

language cannot be learnt in isolation, by neglecting its connections with various external

elements. The applicability of these findings does not relate only to the area of sociology or

linguistics but also to the domain of foreign language acquisition. By neglecting these causal

connections there might appear the risk, from the part of a non-native speaker, to deliver a

speech in a foreign language that does not sustain a proper communication across cultures.

The research proposal

The research proposal contains detailed information regarding the planning and arrangement

of the study that has been conducted.

Location: the location chosen for conducting the research was The Department of

Scandinavian languages within the Faculty of Letters, Babeş-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca.

Span of time: the duration of the research covered an amount of four weeks starting from the

1st of March until the 29th of March. The case study discussion and brainstorming sessions

have been carried out in the last two weeks of the above mentioned period. Both the

observation period and the material evaluation have been extended over the entire research

period.

Respondents: there have been five respondents, three students and two adults. They have

chosen Swedish as an optional course. The students are enrolled at the Faculty of Letters and

the adults have already finished their studies but who want to learn Swedish for various

reasons. For most of the respondents Swedish is the third or fourth language learnt. This could

constitute a solid argument in suggesting that the respondents have already defined their

learning styles, i.e. they know how to tackle a new language, which is the convenient way for

them to acquire knowledge or even how to produce a positive transfer from one language to

another. The duration of the courses is of two semesters in order to fulfill the beginner course.



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At this research there have been observed beginner students who have been studying Swedish

for a semester.

Recruitment: the respondents have been recruited by the researcher from the above mentioned

group. All the students volunteered to take part in this research after they have been informed

about the details of the study. Although the group of students was larger, only the students

who participated to the last two courses have taken part in the case study, focus group and

brainstorming session.

Unpredictable situations: not all students came at the courses with the same frequency during

the research period.

Approvals: the research has been approved by the Head of the Scandinavian Department, Prof.

Dr. Sanda Tomescu Baciu.

Assumptions: the findings of the research are based on the assumption that what respondents

have answered is valid and reliable. The results cannot be generalized due to the small number

of respondents.

Anticipated problems: the interviewer intended to conduct an objective research but there are

some details that might have altered the analysis of the data obtained. The first and most

important detail is that there has been a single observer, namely the teacher who is also the

researcher. This could lead to subjectivity when analyzing information. The second issue is

raised by the aspect of familiarity with the students. The observer has known some of the

students for 3 semesters and has even taught them other subjects. The correct term to

characterize the observer would be that of an involved participant.

Research procedure

As follows it is going to be delivered a description of the research procedure that has been



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used in the study. All these details constitute the framework of the research. Taking into

consideration the research question and the perspectives that were aimed at, the suitable

research method has been the qualitative method. Moreover, the small number of students

who participated in the optional Swedish course could not have been relevant for a

quantitative research. Due to all these reasons it has been decided that a holistic approach,

conducted through description and exploration, would provide an in-depth understanding of

the respondents’ viewpoint on the implications that language learning imposes. The reader is

presented in this qualitative research the respondents‘ thoughts as regards the contact between

the Swedish and the Romanian culture. There are no references in this research as regards the

degree of lexical, communicative or intercultural competencies acquired in Swedish. There

could be stated that this research only provides a closer insight into how participants relate to

the Swedish culture. The design and procedure for gathering data consists of personal

observation, brainstorming, case studies and feedback sessions

There are named as follows a few details regarding the background of the Swedish

optional course. First of all there has not been conducted until now a thorough analysis of the

teaching materials used during the Swedish courses. It is worth mentioning that teaching

materials can favour or can easily interfere and block any attempt towards achieving cultural

awareness. Secondly, the established teaching strategy within the Department of Scandinavian

Languages does not focus so much on cultural awareness and is not based on the Inter-cultural

Language Learning Method. Thirdly, it is also a matter of courses and students. The students

from the beginner level, more than often, have not previously had any contact with the

Scandinavian languages. The students who have Norwegian as minor or major have a real

advantage over the other students, due to the fact that these two Scandinavian languages are

related to each other. The course presents general elements of Swedish language with a

frequency of two hours per week. The course focuses on providing a general perspective on

Swedish language and civilization and does not intend to teach specialized vocabulary

pertaining to a certain domain. Even though some students are interested in economics or

medicine the objective of the course is to acquire communicative competences in a general

field, not in a specific one. In this view, it is beneficial that the two layers, namely the



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language and the culture, overlap.

Research presentation

There are presented, in chronological order, the stages that have formed the research.

All in all there are five stages.

The first stage of the research has focused on analyzing the teaching materials used

during the teaching sequence. According to the syllabus, the Swedish optional course should

make use of the following materials: På svenska edited by the Swedish Institute, Svenska

utifrån edited by R. Nyborg, N. Petterson, B. Holm and Svenska för nordmän, edited by

Mårtenson Per.

The second stage was called the dissemination stage. The respondents have been given

detailed information regarding the research stages and the focus of the study. They have been

given handouts containing data about why cultural awareness is important when learning a

foreign language. This stage has been conducted in the form of a presentation followed by an

open discussion session. The students have shown interest in this topic and were eager to find

more pieces of information about that topic.

The third stage has been organized in the form of a brainstorming session where

students had to gather data about the way in which culture influences thought, the relationship

with other people, the nonverbal language etc. In order to compare and identify some patterns

in the Swedish and the Romanian culture there has been taken into discussion Geert

Hofstede’s (Hofstede 1984, 11) model of cultural dimensions which relates to Power Distance

Index (PDI), Individualism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS) and Uncertainty Avoidance (UAI).

Michael Harris Bond added in 1987 another dimension, known as short-term versus long-term

orientation. (Littlejohn, Foss 2009, 249) The students have received information only about

these five dimensions during the brainstorming session. They have worked in pairs in order to

find values that would characterize the Romanian and the Swedish culture. When the

discussion and the brainstorming session have ended the students received some tables

containing the results obtained by Geert Hofstede. The purpose of the brainstorming was to

raise awareness regarding the existing cultural differences which might influence



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communication and in our case, foreign language learning. The students have worked in pairs

because the intention was to create a friendly atmosphere in which they should not be afraid to

give answers. An assignment conducted individually could have lead to silence and

nervousness from the part of the students. On the other hand a group work involving two or

three students could have diminished to a great extent the important role played by each

student’s belief.

The fourth stage of the research has contained a case study that was meant to raise

awareness regarding cultural differences existing between the Romanian and the Swedish

culture. The students had to identify which of these cultural differences might have the effect

of increasing or diminishing culture shock. The main resource that has been used in

implementing the case study was based on the book called Swedish mentality, written by Åke

Daun (Daun 1995). There have been taken excerpts from the book that reflected to some

extent the cultural dimensions stated by G. Hofstede. The following pages have been analyzed

and discussed from the edition translated into Romanian: p.65-68 depicting the topic of

independence, p. 68-75 describing solitude, p. 71-77 discussing about independence – a must

in educating children, p. 82-92 reflecting on conflict avoidance, p. 141-142 observing order

and discipline. This task has been constructed as an individual assignment and the students

had to provide feedback regarding what they have read.

The case study concluded with a feedback session that has been organized as a focus

group. Its purpose has been to gather the students’ answers as regards all the stages of the

research and to discuss if there have taken place any changes in the way they perceive the

Romanian, namely the Swedish culture, in light of the information found. The discussion

consisted of seven open-ended questions. These have referred to the degree in which the

students’ cultural awareness undergone some changes during the research, whether these

findings are going to influence Swedish language acquisition or if students have ever been

faced with a culture shock. This focus group represents, alongside with the researcher’s

personal observation, the main method of gathering data for conducting the interpretive stage

of the research.



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The fifth stage of the research has contained the researcher’s personal observation regarding

the students’ level of cultural awareness. The purpose of this research stage has been to

inquire if the students’ attitudes towards Swedish language and culture have changed during

the research period. The observer has tried to identify situations and elements that emphasized

the students’ willingness or unwillingness to appeal to culture when the situation required it.

In order to understand the texts the students had to make associations between Swedish and

the other foreign languages they knew and even appeal to general background. It has been

questioned also the students’ level of motivation since this represents an important element

when learning a foreign language. In this view “a learner who regards a particular language as

gibberish and who cannot stand any speaker of that language will prove less successful in

learning it (…) than a learner with a positive attitude”. (Klein 1990, 38)

This observation stage has also had the purpose of getting acquainted to the

participants involved and to review the literature in the field as regards aspects of cultural

awareness and foreign language learning. There have been collected data about the

participants’ attendance rate, characteristics of the classroom and classroom bonding. As

regards the attendance, out of a total number of ten students only seven of them came with a

certain frequency and just five of them became respondents. On the walls of the classroom

there are many posters, maps and other pieces of information that relate directly to the

Scandinavian culture. Moreover, it can be found there a large amount of books and magazines

written in Swedish or in the other Scandinavian languages. All in all, it could be stated that the

classroom environment favours a close contact with the Swedish culture.

Interpretation of results

Because the qualitative research in general emphasizes more depth than breath, the

results of the interpretation are not going to provide a general theory or generalize an

assumption. The process of interpreting the results is going to be one based on narrative

reporting from the part of the observer. The purpose of interpreting the qualitative data

collected is that of providing an insight into the respondents’ level of understanding and

interest as regards the topic of cultural awareness and its relation to foreign language



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acquisition. The interpretation concerns all the five stages of the research.

The first one dealt with an evaluation of the teaching materials used. The evaluation

has been performed by Raluca Petrus. The teaching resources have been marked and have

received grades that range from: good and satisfactory to unsatisfactory. The evaluation has

been conducted by choosing at random two units from each book. The teaching materials have

been analyzed from various perspectives mentioned below:

appropriateness (i.e. if these present reliable and consistent information suitable for a

particular situation)

interaction patterns (i.e. if there are included exercises or learning sequences that

require pair group or group work organization, if teacher talking time is reduced, if

these resources give the students the possibility to be active and get involved in the

teaching sequence)

availability (i.e. if students can find these books in the library or can obtain them from

the university)

enhancement of cultural awareness (i.e. if the texts presented are deeply rooted in the

culture they are presenting or if there are made connections between the students’ own

culture and the Swedish culture, if resources enable the students to relate what they

are learning to real situations outside the classroom)

unit structure (i.e. if the unit combines grammar exercises with speaking, listening and

writing skills)

language development (i.e. if the teaching resources influence in a positive way the

students’ language development, if the students’ skills are developed)

The results are presented in the table below:

The title of the book Book no. 1 -

Svenska

utifrån

Book no. 2 -

På svenska

Book no. 3 -

Svenska för

nordmän Perspectives

Appropriateness good satisfactory Satisfactory



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Interaction patterns good unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory

Availability good satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Enhancement of

cultural awareness

satisfactory good Satisfactory

Unit structure satisfactory unsatisfactory Unsatisfactory

Language

development

good good Satisfactory

Results

Average grade Good Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

Table no. 1 Evaluation of teaching materials

The teaching resource that has scored the highest grades was Svenska utifrån, followed

by På svenska and Svenska för nordmän. Although Svenska utifrån is not a book that focuses

on cultural awareness, it does contain some texts that depict Swedish culture and civilization.

There are various exercises in the units that allow the students to find comparisons between

the Swedish and the Romanian culture and even brainstorm ideas about both countries. The

vocabulary is not specific or targeted towards a certain domain and thus students acquire

general knowledge of Swedish.

Concerning the dissemination stage, where the participants have received various

pieces of information regarding cultural awareness, it could be stated that the respondents

have shown interest in this topic. They were eager to find more pieces of information about

the tight relationship existing between language and culture. They have understood that the

learning of a foreign language cannot be separated from its culture.

The aim of the brainstorming session was not to obtain any results. In fact the

evaluation consisted in a group discussion that had as main points: the understanding cultural

differences, the ability to identify some cultural patterns and the identification of aspects that

would facilitate or hinder intercultural contact. The discussion has pointed out aspects in a



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subjective manner. Still, the respondents provided correct answers and were able to identify

specific characteristics that characterized both the Romanian and Swedish culture.

The fifth stage of the research containing the case study provided deeper

understanding as regards the respondents’ view on Swedish culture and mentality. The pieces

of information that have been analyzed have not been regarded in terms of: good or bad

aspects, suitable or not suitable etc. The outcome was one that could be characterized in terms

of: understanding and accepting other cultures, instead of judging and labeling them. The

focus group has focused on three main points: 1) if the discussions have been useful and

interesting; 2) if the learning of Swedish would be influenced in the future by the new pieces

of information discovered about cultural awareness and 3) if the respondents consider as an

obstacle the acceptance of a new culture.

The table below presents the answers to these questions in terms of: positive (if

respondents agree with the affirmation), negative (if respondents do not agree with the

affirmation) and uncertain values (if respondents are not sure what to answer). In this way the

content of the answers is oriented towards three directions.

Questions Questio

n no. 1

Question

no. 2

Questio

n no. 3

Follow-up ideas

Students

Student no.

1

positive positive negativ

e

Student no. 1 is aware of the

relevance of culture when

learning a foreign language.

Student no. 1 is already

familiarized with the Swedish

culture.

Student no.

2


e

Student no. 2 has understood that

culture can explain many patterns

of communication. Student no. 2



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is willing to pay more attention

to Swedish language spoken in

various contexts.

Student no.

3

uncertai

n

negative negativ

e

Student no. 3 does not have

stereotypes as concerns the

Swedish culture and does not feel

influenced by the findings of this

research. Lack of knowledge

about language or culture is

replaced by much optimism,

motivation and determination.

Student no.

4


e

Student no. 4 thinks that grasping

knowledge about the Swedish

language is going to be more

difficult than being accustomed

to the Swedish culture. Student

no. 4 states that there is a genuine

connection between language and

culture.

Student no.

5


e

Student no. 5 knows various facts

about the Swedish culture and is

aware of the fact that language

cannot be learnt separately from

the context in which it appears.

Table no. 2 Focus group results

As regards the researcher’s personal observation of the respondents it has been

observed that the majority of students have shown interest in grasping some bits of Swedish



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culture and have responded positively to the culture based texts that have been presented to

them. Even if at first sight they have been surprised by some aspects of Swedish culture (for

example the repetitive way of thanking someone) they have embraced warmly the new idea,

without being biased. The resources from the classroom are often used in order to create a

closer contact with the Swedish culture and civilization. Making use of authentic materials

represents an important stage when learning a foreign language since these materials are not

graded according to the students’ level of understanding. As regards classroom bonding there

can be observed a friendly atmosphere in which participants collaborate willingly, share ideas

and provide explanations to each other. Likewise the information pattern is not solely teacher -

student directed.

In order to provide some follow-up directions and to present some general and

particular conclusions it is more appropriate, in view of the qualitative research conducted, to

create a study case for each respondent. This study case would provide a detailed background

useful for providing an understanding and a diagnosis of each respondent. This study case

provides data on: the respondent’s age, his/her educational background, motivation for

learning Swedish and the acquired skills.

Student no.1

Gender: feminine Age: 22 years old

Educational background: enrolled at the Faculty of Letters, field -

Applied Modern Languages

Motivation for learning Swedish: to become a translator

Knowledge of other languages: English, French, Spanish

Short characterization: sociable, communicative person, very diligent,

showed real interest in learning Swedish

Acquired skills: reading and speaking skills, interpersonal and

intrapersonal competence

Skills to be acquired: writing and listening skills, linguistic competence,



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interpersonal competence, intercultural competence

Summing up some particular directions: the student should continue to

use authentic materials that provide a closer glimpse of the Swedish

culture, she should pay more attention to grammar rules and be willing to

allocate two or three years for becoming proficient in Swedish.

Student no.2


Educational background: enrolled at the Faculty of Letters,

specialization Philology

Motivation for learning Swedish: to become fluent in Swedish and other

Scandinavian languages

Knowledge of other languages: English, French, Norwegian, Finnish

Short characterization: a communicative person, hard working, very

good at learning Norwegian which this represents an advantage when

learning Swedish

Acquired skills: reading, writing and speaking skills, communicative

skills, self-management skills

Skills to be acquired: listening skills, linguistic competence, intercultural

competence

Summing up some particular directions: the student should learn how to

set personal objectives, to learn how to make a positive transfer of

knowledge from Norwegian into Swedish and to develop interpersonal

and intrapersonal skills

Student no.3


Educational background: enrolled at the Faculty of Letters,

specialization Philology

Motivation for learning Swedish: to become fluent in the Scandinavian



21

languages

Knowledge of other languages: English, French, Norwegian,

Short characterization: a communicative person, quite sensible, hard

working

Acquired skills: reading skills, intrapersonal competence, ability to reflect

on and learn from experience

Skills to be acquired: reading, writing, speaking, listening skills,

linguistic competence, intercultural competence, intrapersonal

competence

Summing up some particular directions: the student should learn how to

set personal objectives, to allocate more time to learning Swedish if this

represents a true goal; the student should be willing to discover the

Swedish culture from other sources outside the classroom, she should be

more demanding with herself and try to find both external and internal

motivation.

Student no.4

Gender: masculine Age: 27 years old

Educational background: graduated the Faculty of History and

Philosophy

Motivation for learning Swedish: to become fluent in Swedish

Knowledge of other languages: English, German, Hungarian

Short characterization: a communicative person, very open, friendly and

hard working,


skills, interpersonal skills, critical thinking


competence

Summing up some particular directions: the student is probably going to



22

learn Swedish faster because he has knowledge of English and German;

he should pay attention to the linguistic differences that exist in these

three languages; he should establish some long term goals as regards

Swedish language learning because in this way he keeps motivation high.

Student no.5

Gender: masculine Age: 32 years old

Educational background: Faculty of Medicine

Motivation for learning Swedish: to become fluent in Swedish and move

to Sweden

Knowledge of other languages: English, German, Hungarian

Short characterization: a communicative person, hard working, open and

friendly, critical thinking


skills, self-management skills


competence

Summing up some particular directions: the student should try to be more

open towards embracing a new culture; he should struggle to acquire in a

short span of time the necessary vocabulary in order to be fluent in

Swedish; he should continue to listen to and read various authentic

materials because these provide additional knowledge of language and

culture.

Table 3 Case study analysis

Conclusions for the study case

The purpose of the case study has been to provide some particular directions for the students

who learn Swedish as an optional course. These findings are useful for the teacher in

identifying each student’s needs as regards Swedish language learning. The information

provides understanding of how students relate to foreign language learning from a cultural



23

awareness perspective. Another objective that has been attained is the fact that these students

have understood that culture and language cannot be separated from each other. The general

direction that could be drawn as a conclusion is that in order to learn a foreign language

students should be exposed, as much as possible, to the culture of that language. There have

been observed advantages in exposing students to texts that contain cultural background.

Final conclusions

All in all, it could be concluded that this research has been conducted on a small scale,

reflecting just some aspects related to the teaching and learning of the Swedish language. The

results obtained are relevant on one hand for the teacher, who had the chance to understand

better her students, and on the other, it was the students’ gain because they have become aware

of the role played by culture in the process of foreign language learning.



24

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