There is a very close association between language and culture. Thus, cultural values should be prioritized in language training and cultural knowledge should be concurrently instructed. Turkish culture should also be introduced to learners of Turkish as a foreign language. Therefore, it is important to determine the attitudes of learners of…

Increasing numbers of Asian international students are choosing to undertake their tertiary studies in English-speaking countries. For universities, international students are an important source of revenue. However, Asian international students face multiple challenges in adapting to a foreign culture, understanding the expectations of their…

An American student reports on her studies at Peking University, where students do not expect, and do not receive, much luxury in their education. Two modes of education in China, the academic learning of the university students and the mental conditioning of the workers, are discussed. (MLW)

Discusses the importance of cultural education in the FL classroom, three techniques for teaching culture are discussed: (1) the culture capsule, (2) the culture cluster, and (3) the culture assimilator. Examples are given, and values and drawbacks are discussed. (AM)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE STUDY IN SCHOOLS SHOULD BE PREDICATED ON THE NEED OF SOCIETIES TO COEXIST WITH OTHER CONTEMPORARY NATIONAL CULTURES. IN A WORLD THAT CONSISTS OF A LARGE NUMBER OF HISTORICALLY DETERMINED, SEPARATE CULTURES, LANGUAGE ALONE CAN PRESENT THE LINGUISTICALLY CONDITIONED THOUGHT PATTERNS, THE "REALITY," OF A SPECIFIC CULTURE. LANGUAGE…

Problems encountered by American students engaging in overseas foreign language study programs, frequently generalized as "culture shock," prompt the author to propose a plan for preparing students for foreign study. Remarks are directed to the preparatory program and the reentry program. The role of the foreign language department is described in…

How are nonnatives evaluated when committing cultural faux pas, and how does their fluency in the language of the foreign culture affect the evaluation of their culturally inappropriate behavior? I address these questions in the context of Russian professionals learning to interview for jobs in the United States, an arena of strong cultural…

This guide is intended to be a resource for teachers of the newly arrived Hispanic immigrant child. The number of children who enter U.S. schools without knowledge of English or whose first language is Spanish is growing and will continue to grow. Teachers will need to meet the challenge of educating students whose native language is not English…

Introductory remarks, critical of teaching methods in language programs, lead the author to explore the concept of "culture" and its place in the curriculum. Several definitions of culture are proposed and followed by contrastive examples in French and Spanish. The teaching of culture through language instruction is suggested to be a means of…

Discusses the importance of learning about Asian languages and cultures, and suggests ways in which colleges and universities can introduce these languages. (AM)

The author feels that there is no reason to suppose that adults are less capable than children in learning a second language, given adequate opportunity and motivation. In terms of amount learned in comparable time, the adult is about five times as efficient as the child. This is what would be expected of any other kind of intellectual or rational…

Considerations for identifying the stages of cultural learning of individual students of English as a second language (ESL) are discussed. It is suggested that culture shock, or the shock of the new, is a common experience for those learning a second language in a second culture, and that anger, unhappiness, frustration, and even illness may…

Enjoyment of ethnic food can be the "point de depart" for tracing the heritage of the people being studied and for broadening students' horizons. This article outlines a study of food throughout the centuries, particularly in Europe. The "gastronomic route" begins historically with the Minoans around 2000 B.C., continues with…

This teacher's handbook delineates core features of Vietnamese culture, identifies conflicts Vietnamese children may face as students in American schools and provides suggestions for accurate school records, grade placement and assessment and instruction in English. Part I outlines religous beliefs and practices, indicates basic values (filial…

This study delineates the interaction of language and culture as it relates to foreign language instruction and describes appropriate teaching strategies for the implementation of culture in the foreign language classroom. The study is based on the thesis that language and culture are not separable; the teaching of culture is properly a part of…