Teaching Civilization at The University

Abstract

The current thesis examines the realistic teaching situation of civilization courses to English as Foreign Language (EFL) students at the University of Mascara. It aims to explore and analyze the teaching process of civilization in EFL context and examine its inclusion as a cultural subject in respect to the evolution of language-culture teaching approaches, and to analyze its teaching methodology under the Algerian higher educational Licence Master Doctorate (LMD) system reforms which came to modernize the Algerian higher education as well as to cope with modern education standards. In order to obtain the required data, a case study research was conducted by targeting second year EFL students and teachers who are specialized in teaching civilization at the University of Mascara. Accordingly, three main instruments were opted including classroom observation, teachers’ interview, and students’ questionnaire. The main research findings elucidate a complicated teaching situation of civilization in EFL context in respect to the case study which has been characterized with mono-culture teaching model and knowledge based instructions with classical teaching glances which do not correspond to Algerian higher educational LMD system reforms from one side, and to EFL learners’ interests, needs, and preferences as digital natives, especially within this new digital era. Thus, a real reconsideration of teaching civilization have to be announced to alternate the shift from the civilization approach towards alternative culture teaching models in respect to the status of the target language as an international language and the integration of culture teaching by advocating the intercultural teaching and learning models taking into accounts the Algerian higher education reforms which support modernity, learner-centeredness, and technologies’ integration inside and outside classroom.