From Deep Culture to Peak Culture

Although in many cases scientific terminology used in Modern Japan was originally coined in the West and then imported and translated, there are certain original terms. Among them this paper focuses on two humanistic and sociological terms, shinso-bunka and choten-bunka. The former indicates the initial condition of culture, the latter its achievements. As they are not imported terms, we need to translate them into Japanese. The deep culture and the peak culture are their respective translations, both proposed by the author. We may observe and discuss the forms of deep culture and peak culture everywhere in the world. Concerning Japan, there are many contemporary sub-cultures with high reputation such as anime, but here, five classic forms of culture shall be mentioned as peak cultures, that is, No-drama, Sado-tea-ceremony, Bushido-warrior’s-way, Shinto-religion and Waka-poetry. After analyzing deep culture roughly, its peaks shall be depicted rather ideally

Exploring the proper cultural content in Indonesian EFL textbooks viewed from intercultural perspectives

This research aimed to find out and to describe the cultural content of two Indonesian Senior High School EFL textbooks namely Buku Bahasa Inggris Kelas XII and Pathway to English 3 from the content of cultural information, the elements of surface and deep culture of Hall’s (1976) Iceberg theory and the dimension of intercultural communicative competence of Byram’s (1997). This study is a document analysis, and the writer used descriptive qualitative analysis. The data were collected by reviewing document and were analyzed based on the concept of Miles, Huberman, and Saldana (2014) which covered data condensation, data display, and drawing conclusion. The findings showed that the cultural information in both textbooks mostly presented by elements of surface culture. This research also showed that both textbooks had facilitated the three dimensions of intercultural communicative competence (knowledge, skill, and attitude), while the last dimension (critical cultural awareness) had not been achieved yet. In conclusion, the textbooks are still providing and facilitating the material in improving learners' language competency and cultural knowledge.

Helping EFL Students Avoid Socio-pragmatic Failure: Focus on Nonverbal Intercultural Competence

This article examined the vital importance of conjoining between such notions as ‘formal culture’ and ‘deep culture’ as two inextricable aspects of EFL teaching and learning. There is a tacit assumption here that if Moroccan learners of EFL are not assisted through recognizing some aspects pertaining to English ‘deep culture’, many intercultural difficulties and misunderstandings may result. The two aspects of English language learning and teaching should in no way be looked at as being mutually exclusive. Rather, they are two intertwined facets of the same coin. The examination of many instances of intercultural misunderstanding demonstrates that a holistic vision of deep culture (nonverbal behaviour along with some extra-linguistic features of the target language) ought to be incorporated as a basic course supplementing the existing teaching materials geared to foster Moroccan university students’ intercultural nonverbal competence. This paper ends up discussing the implications for the implementation of some strategies to foster foreign language students’ nonverbal communication skills as an integral part of a broader concept of ‘intercultural nonverbal competence’.

PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION AND ITS STRATEGIC PURPOSE - FORMATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE PERSONALITY

The article deals with the new philosophical and ideological foundations of the philosophy of education. Education reform in Kazakhstan today is characterized by many innovations, some of which are focused on Western educational systems and projects, the introduction of innovative technologies in the learning process, etc. As for the formation of worldview, this issue has not yet been fully discussed, it is only in the early stages of discussion. Education reform programs and practices still address civic responsibility and flexibility in developing knowledge, developing professional skills, and adapting quickly to transition. Of course, such tasks are proven, but modern education lacks a worldview, including the Kazakh education system. Any education reform is, first of all, a reform of the content of education. In today's globalized world, the Republic of Kazakhstan demands that young people strive for knowledge and skills, work hard and grow. In this regard, it is worth noting the words of the President: “If you are the son of your country, if you are passionate about your country, if you have civic honor, work hard to strengthen and prosper the Kazakh state. Remember that you are the owner of the land and the country. " The main purpose of spiritual and moral education is to bring up a generation that has awakened a sense of national consciousness, high spirit, deep culture, wisdom, conscience and other good qualities.

Developing Students’ Intercultural Competence among Moroccan EFL students: Focus on raising their Cross-cultural Awareness

The goal of this paper is to consider alternative ways to incorporate an intercultural communication course as an integral part of the curriculum designed for Moroccan learners of EFL. Some aspects of what comes to be dubbed as ‘deep culture’ should find room in the contents of the EFL course so as to alert Moroccan learners about the potential intercultural barriers they are far more likely to face. It is proposed that for an effective intercultural communication to take place, the English course should help foreign language learners explicitly understand what target linguistic forms might be and how their meanings may differ across cultures. The analysis of some instances of intercultural misunderstandings may surely give more credence to the vital importance of implementing a multicultural approach to education. This paper offers some teaching strategies to assist Moroccan learners of EFL overcome these intercultural barriers.