Culture as the Core: Perspectives on Culture in Second Language Learning

CULTURE AS THE CORE: PERSPECTIVES ON CULTURE IN SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING. Dale L. Lange and R. Michael Paige (Eds. ). Greenwich, CT: Information Age, 2003. Pp. xvii + 362. 67. 50 cloth, 34. 95 paper. It may be presumptuous to assume that all foreign or second language (L2) teachers agree that language instruction must involve some degree of learning about the culture of the native speakers of the language. However, it is next to impossible to deal with L2 education without taking culture into account. Because the goal of most L2 learning is communication, culture is inevitably involved in the curriculum. Yet, many language teachers are uncertain about what kinds of cultural aspects to include in the curriculum and instruction. In fact, we are sometimes puzzled about why L2 learners find it difficult to comprehend certain linguistic features that seem apparent to native speakers. If you are a language teacher and have ever had to deal with such questions, you will be attracted by the title of this volume. Lange, one of the editors, even asserts that “culture is the driving force in the process and the content of language learning” (p. 272).