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.