Teaching and Learning Language and Culture

The recognition that cultural learning is an integral part of foreign language learning is quickly taking hold among language teachers. This book offers a practical introduction to the issues by providing descriptions of classroom practice, of curriculum innovation and of experimental courses. These are accompanied by chapters on principles of methodology, on problems in assessing cultural learning and on the implications for teacher education and society at large. Michael Byram is the author of several books on language learning and culture, including Cultural Studies in Foreign Language Education (1988), and Investigating Cultural Studies in Foreign Language Teaching (1991).

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.

Carol Morgan (University of Bath) and Albane Cain (University of Cergy-Pontoise) have worked together on intercultural projects in the past and both have been involved in teaching and researching foreign language learning and cultural studies for many years in schools and universities. The research project described here was undertaken by Carol Morgan, and Albane Cain acted as a critical friend in helping to analyse the processes and products of the project.