DESCULTURIZACION VERSUS CULTURIZACION EN LA ENSEÑANZA DEL INGLES COMO LENGUA EXTRANJERA: PLANTEAMIENTOS DIVERGENTES Y SOLUCIONES CONCILIADORAS

Abstract

In the last years there have been two main tendencies regarding the integration of cultural connotations in the teaching and learning of English as a foreign language. On the one hand, a vast majority of professionals acknowledge the unchallengeable ties that bind language and culture in the learning processes. However, on the other hand, we find the opinions of some scholars who support that the teaching of English must be emptied of the English-speaking countries cultural content, and confined to the students' own cultural context, so as to avoid ideological colonization or alienation that could affect their cognitive and affective behavior. Taking the two attitudes into account, this paper will draw the main aspects of each position, and, far from any confrontation, will try to merge them into a streamlined compromise to the advantage of the students.