Whose property?

Milky wrote:

<When you teach a language you need to teach the learner to think like a native speaker of the language. >  Most of the English that is taught around the world is Standard English. So, please define the culture of a Standard English speaker.

The point I am trying to make is that there is no culture of a Standard English speaker, but that does not mean that all Standard English speakers do not, at least when they are speaking English, have a particular way of seeing the world which is defined by the fact that they speak Standard English.

(Of course language and culture are not alway entirely separable, but that is a different question.)

Milky wrote:

<When I speak Spanish I become a slightly different person - not a Spaniard, but an Englishman in Spanish clothes.> When I speak Spanish, I'm myself speaking Spanish.

But only up to a point. You will be making/not making distinctions that you do not/do make in English.

To take a fairly trivial example, there is no word in Spanish for afternoon, but there is a word for the early hours of the morning. When you use the word "tarde" which cover both the afternoon and the evening and the word "madrugada", which means the early hours of the morning, you are dividing up the day in a different way and, to that extent, you are "thinking like a Spaniard".

Milky wrote:

You can tell me how the Spanish think, but I do not need to adopt their cultural values in order to communicate successfully.

Agreed.

<...No need for an imposition of Spanis culture or social values...>

To learn about Spanish culture because you want to learn the language is one thing. To have Spanish language and culture imposed upon you when you don't want to learn the language is quite another.

I don't think anyone here is talking about the latter case.

MrP

You're either or your guard as an ESL teacher, or you are not.

"Experienced teachers of adult English as a Second Language (ESL) know that learning about culture is part of learning English. Adult ESL learners themselves understand that language learning consists of more than the ability to understand new linguistic structures. Indeed, the coding and decoding of communicative acts requires an understanding and appreciation of the cultural context in which they occur.

Yet criticisms and words of caution by Auerbach (1993), Canagarajah (1999), Phillipson (1993), and Skutnabb-Kangas (2000) regarding the teaching of culture should not be overlooked. These scholars have criticized ELT professionals and materials alike for their hegemonic tendencies, particularly in their representations of the target culture. They claim many ESL pedagogical practices are hegemonic in that mainstream American and British cultures are portrayed as dominant and superior to the culture of the second language (L2) student. The ramifications of these criticisms go beyond simply being culturally sensitive; they can affect acquisition efficacy and ultimately the proficiency levels attained in the second language. >"

http://writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej33/cf.html

<<Unfortunately, teaching culture necessitates exclusionary practices that could be interpreted as hegemonic. >>

The key word there is "intepreted". Sure there are many instances when a student will interpret discussions/topics about the target culture as an imposition or hegemonic, but in my 25 years as a teacher and trainer I have seen many instances where the intentions of the academies and their teachers are indeed hegemonic. Many. I believe that approach is wrong and feel that students have the right to demand change.

Milky wrote:

I have seen many instances where the intentions of the academies and their teachers are indeed hegemonic.

Well that is plainly wrong. Saying to Japanese students "In England we eat with forks" is perfectly acceptable, whilst saying "In England we eat with forks and that is far more civilised" is unacceptable. Equally though, students should not be oversensitive and take offence if they are told that in England people eat with forks.

< I fail to see why you are pressing this onus onto English teachers at such length in this thread unless you are nursing some particular personal grudge against them.>

I talk about that which I know best. I have no information about teachers other languages. Glad that you added such information.