Second Language Sociocultural Norms
How can teachers make learners aware of second language sociocultural norms without simply offering lectures or texts on them?
Consider the following example of a sociocultural norm in American English:
Situation: Your friend Mary looks distressed and says to you: "Oh, I have an awful headache and I have an interview today."
Your first response is to say:
- It must be allergies.
- I'm sorry to hear that.
- Don't feel badly, lots of people do.
- What bad luck.
Discussion of a sociocultural norm in American English.
Duration: 02:15
In summary, then, we can say the following about sociocultural norms:
- They are the rules that a society uses to guide appropriate behavior in the community.
- They can differ widely between cultures.
- They can lead to great misunderstandings by speakers of different cultures.
- They are difficult to change.
- They are intricately tied to pragmatics.