Cultural Globalization and Language Education

We live in a globalized and globalizing world that is marked by the twin processes of economic globalization and cultural globalization. In this thought-provoking book, Kumaravadivelu explores the impact of cultural globalization on second- and foreign-language education.

Kumaravadivelu examines in detail how the cultural component of second- and foreign-language education has been informed by the Western notions of cultural assimilation, cultural pluralism, and cultural hybridity. Drawing insights from international and interdisciplinary sources, he argues that they have only a limited and limiting relevance to language education in the era of cultural globalization.

Grounded in Western as well as non-Western perspectives, and written in an easily accessible style that combines personal narrative and academic genre, this book is indispensable for graduate students, practicing teachers, teacher educators, researchers, and others who are interested in exploring the complexity of cultural globalization and language education.

B. Kumaravadivelu is professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL at San José State University. His previous book, Beyond Methods: Macrostrategies for Language Teaching, was published by Yale University Press in 2002.