Let's define culture!

Since this blog aims to share information about what culture and ESL teaching are, shouldn't we first define, or at least try to define what culture is?

According to CARLA's website (center for advanced research on language acquisition) culture is defined as:

"the shared patterns of behaviors and interactions, cognitive constructs, and affective understanding that are learned through a process of socialization. These shared patterns identify the members of a culture group while also distinguishing those of another group."

Also; Useem, J., & Useem, R. (1963). Human Organizations, 22(3).

"Culture has been defined in a number of ways, but most simply, as the learned and shared behavior of a community of interacting human beings" (p. 169).

When the question is asked, the definition of culture will often turn around things that are obvious for the eye and might let issues, like behaviors or beliefs aside. People thing, and they are not totally wrong, that culture is restricted to national food, songs, traditions and costumes. In fact, this is just the tip of the iceberg, the explicit and obvious part of it. However, beneath this important part exist what Moran calls tacit culture. Tacit culture is the mix of what are the underlying perceptions, values, beliefs and attitudes.