Cultural Studies in Foreign Language Education: 46 (Multilingual Matters)

Written by the winner of the 1987 BAAL book prize, this book deals with the acquisition of understanding of foreign cultures and peoples. It is also a study of the philosophy and purpose of language teaching in all its facets, in the context of foreign language teaching in secondary education. The book is written for language teachers and, though it draws on disciplines not usually included in their education and professional training, it does so from within the profession's own perspective. It is an attempt to raise teachers' and learners' awareness of the full educational value of foreign language learning.

Michael Byram is Professor Emeritus at Durham University, England. Having studied languages at Cambridge University, he taught French and  German in school and adult education and then did teacher education at Durham. He was adviser to the Language Policy Division of the Council of Europe and then on the expert group which produced the Reference Framework of Competences for Democratic Culture. His research has included the education of minorities, foreign language teaching and intercultural competence, and more recently on how the PhD is experienced and assessed in a range of different countries.