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The Significance of Culture in Language Teaching

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Teaching Culture in Introductory Foreign Language Textbooks

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Abstract

This chapter outlines the rationale for studying how culture is presented in beginning-level foreign language textbooks, explains the choice to focus on cultural narrative and politics, and defines textbook analysis as an area of inquiry in applied linguistics. Beginning with a discussion of culture teaching goals, Chapelle demonstrates the need to improve culture teaching and the role of language textbook analysis in doing so. Having introduced the interest in cultural narrative and politics, she develops an argument for their importance based on the nature of intercultural or transnational cultural competence, students’ developmental needs, and social impact. She defines textbook analysis as inquiry that needs to exhibit strong cultural and historical grounding, theoretical and practical relevance, and methodological credibility. The current study investigating Quebec’s cultural narrative in beginning-level French textbooks in the USA is introduced within these parameters.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA

    Carol A. Chapelle

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  1. Carol A. Chapelle
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Chapelle, C.A. (2016). The Significance of Culture in Language Teaching. In: Teaching Culture in Introductory Foreign Language Textbooks. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49599-0_1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-49599-0_1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-137-49598-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-137-49599-0

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