Rethinking Culture: Toward a Pedagogy of Possibility in World Language Education

This article advances a pedagogy of possibility for world language educators based on a redefinition of culture. To better link culture and language, the following qualities are proposed: being a conscienticized and reflective individual, seeking cultural and linguistic legitimacy, and developing intercultural communicative competence. By exploring the multiple ways that culture has been discussed in various fields, this study arrives at a conceptual understanding of culture that extends beyond products, practices, and perspectives (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project, 1999) by looking closer at elements of power.