Cultural Onions

by

Fern Sakamoto


1. Objectives and Overview

Activity Overview:

This activity introduces students to the onion model of culture and facilitates community-building in a safe environment. Students learn a little about their classmates, about themselves and about the concepts of identity and culture.

General Learning Objectives:

  • to deepen sense of community and reflect on their own identity/culture and on the concept of culture itself

Specific Learning Objectives (optional):

Keywords:

concepts of culture, identity, community-building, intercultural awareness, hand-crafted materials

2. Activity Context

Activity context description

I have used this in intercultural communication courses. It would also be effective as an introduction to a “culture" themed unit in a FL class.

Students

Suggested range of students:
1
2
3
4
5
8
10
15
20
30
40
50
75
100
101+
Do students need to use a second language?
Yes
What is the second language?
English
Level(s) in target language:
Pre-intermediate | CEFR A2 | IELTS 2.5-3.0 | TOEIC 225-500
  • These levels are approximations 
Comments

This activity can of course be completed in any language, if the teacher provides instruction and questions in that language. It is also possible to have students answer the (English) questions in Japanese or another common classroom language and allow them to have their discussions in any language they please. This will depend on the goals of the course.

3: Activity Duration

Estimated duration (multiple ranges possible):
30-45 minutes
How many sessions?
1
Any homework?
Yes

4. Download PDF

PDF document Sakamoto, F. - Cultural Onions (ICLE AI #4).pdf



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