Aspects of Culture in Second Language Acquisition and Foreign Language Learning

✍ Scribed by Janusz Arabski, Adam Wojtaszek (auth.), Janusz Arabski, Adam Wojtaszek (eds.)

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
• Year: 2011
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 286
• Series: Second Language Learning and Teaching
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

In recent years language learning has been increasingly viewed by some SLA researchers as an essentially social-psychological process in which the role of a wider sociocultural context should not be marginalized. This volume offers a valuable contribution to this growing body of research by providing theoretical considerations and empirical research data on themes such as the development of intercultural communicative competence, the role of English as a lingua franca in intercultural communication, and the place of cultural factors in SLA theorizing, research, second/foreign language teaching and teacher training. The volume also contains contributions which share the linguistic interest in the culture-related concepts and constructs such as time, modesty, politeness, and respect, discussing the culture-dependent differences in conceptualization and their reflection in particular language forms and linguistic devices.

✦ Table of Contents

Front Matter....Pages i-vii
Introduction....Pages 1-4
Front Matter....Pages 5-5
Understanding Culture Through a Lingua Franca....Pages 7-20
Sensitizing Foreign Language Learners to Cultural Diversity Through Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence....Pages 21-33
Do We Need to Teach Culture and How Much Culture Do We Need?....Pages 35-48
The Contribution of FL Learning Experiences to the Development of Multicultural Identity....Pages 49-62
The Attitudes of English Teachers Towards Developing Intercultural Communicative Competence....Pages 63-73
Front Matter....Pages 75-75
Cultural Differences in Perceptions of Form-Focused Instruction: The Case of Advanced Polish and Italian Learners....Pages 77-94
Multilingual/Multicultural Perspective on the Identification of Dyslexia....Pages 95-106
Is Teaching Culture-Bound? A Cross-Cultural Study on the Beliefs of ELT Teachers....Pages 107-120
Australian Experience of Culturally Diverse University Classrooms....Pages 121-137
Culture Through Literature in Foreign Language Teaching....Pages 139-147
Front Matter....Pages 149-149
Time as Cultural Construct: Some Preliminary Remarks on the Conceptualization of Time in L1 and L2....Pages 151-165
Getting Rid of the Modesty Stigma....Pages 167-181
Language Distance Across Cultures as a Way of Expressing Politeness and Not Only....Pages 183-191
Ethnic and Disciplinary Cultures and Understatement: Litotic Constructions in Polish and English Linguistics and Biology Research Articles....Pages 193-216
Ways of Expressing Birthday, Christmas and New Year’s and Easter Wishes in L2 and L3: Cross-Cultural Transfer and Interlanguage Pragmatics....Pages 217-231
Front Matter....Pages 233-233
Willingness to Communicate in L2 and Self-Perceived Levels of FL Skills in Polish Adolescents....Pages 235-250
The Ideal L2 Self and International Posture in the Polish Educational Context....Pages 251-262
Pragmatic Aspects of Culture in Foreign Language Learning....Pages 263-272
Strangers in Paradise. The Role of Target Language Culture in Foreign Language Teaching Materials....Pages 273-285
Back Matter....Pages 287-291

✦ Subjects

Linguistics (general); Sociolinguistics