I was born in a middle class family. My mother was a secretary for a government institution and my father was a driver. I am the oldest of three children. My parents could not afford private education for any of us. That means I received my first English lesson at age 13 when I started high school at Liceo de Moravia. Before that, my only encounter with English had been "Alice in the Wonderland." I studied the language for several years until I acomplished my Bachellor degree in English teaching at UNA in 2000.
I have taught for several years now and I finally realize that I have overlooked a crucial aspect: the target culture. I thought my classes were good because I included a lot of grammar, vocabulary worksheets and vast conversation practice. However, one question has haunted my mind lately "What have I done with culture?" Not much, I am afraid. I started to wonder why that had happened. I believe I have never been accultured. I am 34 years old and I have never had the experience of being in an English speaking country. That lack has definitely affected my classes.
I am very proud of the English level I have accomplished . It took me a lot of time and hard work to achieve it. My first years at the university were really frustrating. I just could not perform the way my classmates did. God's help, my family support and a professor that I will never forget for her encouragement and patience were the strength that I needed. That educador was Sherry Gapper. Nevertheless, I do not manage to include culture in my classes due to my insufficient experience. Even though throughout my life I have talked to many Americans and I have learned a lot from them, I do not seem to be able to incorporate those cultural encounters into my teachings. Not only I want to feel the taste of being acculturated but also I desire to help my students understand the priceless value of comprehending and learning about another culture.
I enjoyed the description that William R. Acton and Judith Walker give to the steps of acculturation. When looking at them I understand what the authors mean, but at the same time their words resemble a "foreign language" to me. The first one is "tourist", it reminds me of my first days at UNA when I was completely new in the language and the American culture was a very far concept. I remember most of my classmates had some sort of fluency in English. As I recall all of them had at least visited the United States. There was a lady who had worked in England for several years. She decided to go back to Costa Rica to obtain a degree. Back then, I was not even able to keep a basic conversation using the verb to be. The first class I was asked what my name was. Obviously I did not understand what I had been told. I really lived what the word "tourist" meant. I was new not only in the language but also in a culture that I will never stop learning.
The second stage described is called "survivor". According to Acton and Walker that is "the stage of functional language and functional understanding of the culture." That is I where I would place myself. I believe I am aware of the American culture until certain extend. I have watched its television programs , listened to its music, observed its movies, even eaten some of its widely known food. However, that cultural awareness cannot be compared to the experience of living there and "breathing the culture" on a daily basis. Even though I know I handle standard English that would help me to communicate, I realize that if I were there for any period of time, that knowledge would be limited because I am not culturally literate. What I am trying to emphasize is the fact I have studied the language for many years and I know grammar, spelling rules and vocabulary. The problem is that my weakness lies in the lack of living the language as a way to survive in the society day by day.
Please do not take me wrong. I am very proud of my education background. I am a product of Costa Rican public education. I believed I learned English at the best school in the country. However, every time a student or collegue tells me about their trips abroad I feel there is a big hole inside. I have a student who is taking a Pharmacy major. Even though she speaks broken English, she is completely able to communicate and understand everything is said in that language. Once I asked her where she had learned. She said she had worked as a baby sitter in the United States. Besides, she also told me she had visited most of the states in that country. I listened to her amazed and in wonder as I did not know what that cultural experience could taste like. That is my lack, something I have to work on. I believe it is never too late for learning. At age 34 my cultural voyage has not begun yet.
There are two more stages in the acculturation process. Acton and Walker claim that "inmigrant" and "citizen" complete the acculturation process. For achieving the earlier, one must live for an long period of time in the target culture. The later is hardly ever conquered by a second language speaker. My expectation is to live for some time in the United States and reach the state of an inmigrant from the cultural point of view. The authors state that the last one is almost like a native speaker, not only in pronunciation but also in gestures as well. I have heard of many Spanish speakers who have lived for decades in English speaking country and they become so acquainted with the target culture that it becomes their own. They even state that when they come to the country where they were born they feel like foreigners.
This is where my acculturation process is. I know there is a long way for me to go. I am also aware that I have learned something from the American Culture. I want learn much more so I can become the best English teacher I can be.
