Michael Byram

Culture and language learning: teaching, research and scholarship

This review of work on the cultural dimension of language teaching updates one from 1986 and shows that there has been a considerable growth in interest since then. The focus has been largely on the elaboration of conceptual models and theories and the development of teaching and training approaches; much less effort has been devoted to empirical research investigating the impact of such developments and building up a body of knowledge.

Foreign language education and cultural studies

Abstract Some basic definitional and theoretical issues concerning the role of cultural studies in foreign language teaching are discussed. The paper is critical of the tourist‐consumer model of intercultural contact and of the agnostic or minimalist approaches to cultural studies often associated with allegedly culture‐free classifications of language functions. Assumptions of some existing approaches to cultural studies are examined. Four key areas for further work on cultural studies are identified, (1) definition, (2) didactics, (3) teaching methodology, and (4) assessment. Three needs of cultural studies are discussed, (1) an adequate conceptualisation of human culture in social and psychological terms, for which the paper proposes a social anthropological approach, (2) guidelines for research, and (3) a programme of teacher training. The paper concludes with a theoretical model of cultural studies.

Language awareness and (critical) cultural awareness – relationships, comparisons and contrasts

The vexed question of the relationship between ‘language’ and ‘culture’ will be the starting point. I do not propose to ‘resolve’ the question but to consider some ways in which relationships between cultural awareness and language awareness might be conceptualised and then have some impact on language education. By ‘language education’ I refer to the teaching and learning of all languages in a curriculum, whether this be the synchronic experienced curriculum of a learner at a given point in time or the diachronic curriculum of their lifelong learning. I will draw on the Council of Europes concept and platform for ‘Languages in Education, Languages of Education’ and plurilingual and intercultural education to provide an overview of the issues involved. Finally, I will consider the impact on teaching and learning in practice by suggesting that, in the best cases, language and culture teaching produces, through the development of linguistic and intercultural competence, alternative conceptualisations of the world and contributes to the education/Bildung of the individual in society.

Twenty-five years on – from cultural studies to intercultural citizenship

At the editors invitation this article was written as an analysis of the development of the intercultural dimension of foreign language teaching over the last 25 years. It is in part a personal reflection based on an article written for this journal 25 years ago, but it also draws on comments and insights from a network of researchers with whom the author has worked over much of the period in question. Four areas are selected for comment: ‘the value of cultural studies’, ‘pedagogy and didactics’, ‘methodology’ and ‘assessment and evaluation’. It is argued that in the intervening period, the value of a cultural or intercultural dimension in language teaching has been widely recognised in policy documents and approaches to pedagogy developed. The picture with respect to methods of teaching for intercultural competence is mixed and the question of assessment remains insufficiently developed. Looking forward, the conclusion is that the most important area for development is in teacher education. There is still a lack of understanding among teachers with respect to the significance of intercultural competence and its relationship to linguistic competence.

Culture and language learning in higher education

The case of Landeskunde - a vicious circle?, Dieter Kerl cultural studies and student exchange - living the ethnographic life, Celia Roberts civilization/cultural studies in Grenoble, Jean-Paul Revauger cultural studies in English studies - a German perspective, Juergen Kramer documentary analysis in civilization studies - the French approach, Francois Poirier new cultural studies at Warwick University, Peter Green international cultural studies at Roskilde University, Karen Risager from NIMBY Landeskunde to IMBY cultural studies, Harald Husemann British studies in English language teaching, Edward G. Woods communicating in foreign lands - the causes, consequences and cures of culture shock, Adrian Furnham.

‘But when you are doing your exams it is the same as in China’ – Chinese students adjusting to western approaches to teaching and learning

Investigations of Chinese students and their approaches to learning have emphasised a dichotomy in ‘western’ and ‘Confucian’ approaches to education but in a longitudinal study of Chinese postgraduate students’ academic adjustment to a British university the dichotomy is less than real. The focus of this research was on an in-depth study of students’ own conceptualisation of their learning and the vocabulary they used to describe their adjustment. Ethnographic interview data were collected from 14 participants studying different disciplines at three points during their first 10 months of study in a British university. The data show how students brought certain concepts of learning with them, acquired new ones, and found ways of combining the two. Students are aware of the contextual nature of their new learning processes, and the relationship between the two sets of ideas is not one of substitution but rather of extension and interaction. The implications for teaching and learning are discussed.

Intercultural communicative competence in foreign language education: questions of theory, practice and research

Language teaching and learning has undergone a ‘cultural turn’ since the emergence of ‘the Communicative Approach’ and ‘Communicative Language Teaching’ in the 1970s. The earlier study of language, which involved the study of literary and other texts, had neglected the need for ‘communicative competence’— the ability to use language in socially appropriate ways, often operationalised as ‘politeness’. However, perhaps as a consequence of globalisation, new technologies, and mass economic and refugee migration, it has become clear that communicative language teaching too, with its focus on sociolinguistic appropriateness and politeness, is inadequate to the task of teaching for communication. This new social context requires consideration of the ways in which people of different languages — including language learners themselves — think and act, and how this might impact on successful communication and interaction. The ‘cultural turn’ – the introduction of ‘intercultural competence’ to complement ‘communicative competence’ – has further refined the notion of what it is to be competent for communication with speakers of different languages. Teachers and learners now need to be ‘aware’ of other people’s ‘cultures’ as well as their own, and therefore, the term ‘intercultural (communicative) competence’ has emerged, along with other terms such as ‘cultural awareness’ and ‘transnational competence’.

Familiarising the Stranger: Immigrant Perceptions of Cross-cultural Interaction and Bicultural Identity

As contact between cultures continues to increase, the impact that this has on cultural identity and belonging is unclear. Cross-cultural or bicultural identification remains a relatively unexplored phenomenon. Is it possible, natural or potentially good to have an identity rooted in more than one culture? If so, how is cross-cultural identity negotiated? Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with nine women who have lived as immigrants in the UK or the USA for at least 20 years. The focus was on the experience of cross-cultural identification, including its benefits and drawbacks. The variety of experience does not permit generalisation at this stage, but the main characteristics of being bicultural in their experience include heightened self-awareness and understanding of difference, and a potential for critical, objective perspective on their environment. It is argued that emphasising the benefits of bicultural identity can be an important step toward improving cross-cultural interaction.

Foreign language education as political and moral education — an essay

By preferring “foreign language education” to “foreign language teaching” in my title, I want to emphasise the importance of language learning as part of general education in any education system. In Britain in particular, where the usefulness of learning a specific foreign language is often questioned, the significance of the educational purposes of language teaching/learning needs to be recognised, not least by teachers. For, although parents and politicians may focus on the utility of language learning and the belief that early language learning will produce the best results in terms of proficiency, teachers responsible for the education of young people — and for the constant debate about what education should be as circumstances in the world change — should engage with educational issues as part of their work. It is thus encouraging and important that a debate has recently begun in the Language Learning Journal (Pachler, 2000; Williams, 2001), and though not written as a direct response to that debate, this article may be seen as a contribution.

Standards for foreign language learning and the teaching of culture

Standards for Foreign Language Learning were released to the U.S. public in November, 1995. The product of a collaborative effort among four major language professional associations, the standards represent a milestone in the history of education in the U.S. National standards in a number of disciplines mark the first time in the history of U.S. education that the federal government has taken a leadership role in promoting guidelines that delineate what students should know and be able to do at various points in their precollegiate schooling. In this article, we provide information on the Standards document as well as perspectives from the U.S. and from Britain. First we explain the genesis and context of the new national standards for foreign language learning and describe the standards document. Then, more specifically, we discuss the role of culture learning within the new standards and analyse this role from a European perspective on the teaching of culture. Lastly, we provide some observations on the...