An Exploration of Learners' Conceptions of Language, Culture, and Learning in Advanced-Level Spanish Courses

Autor/inn/en	Drewelow, Isabelle; Mitchell, Claire
Titel	An Exploration of Learners' Conceptions of Language, Culture, and Learning in Advanced-Level Spanish Courses
Quelle	In: Language, Culture and Curriculum, 28 (2015) 3, S.243-256 (14 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0790-8318
DOI	10.1080/07908318.2015.1078347
Schlagwörter	Spanish; Advanced Courses; Second Language Learning; Second Language Instruction; Questionnaires; Cultural Awareness; Reflective Teaching; Teaching Methods; Language Usage; Behavior Patterns; Correlation; Student Attitudes; Undergraduate Students; Online Surveys; Communicative Competence (Languages); Intercultural Communication; Qualitative Research + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Spanisch; Fortgeschrittenenunterricht; Zweitsprachenerwerb; Fremdsprachenunterricht; Fragebogen; Cultural identity; Kulturelle Identität; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Sprachgebrauch; Korrelation; Schülerverhalten; Communicative competence; Languages; Kommunikative Kompetenz; Sprache; Interkulturelle Kommunikation; Qualitative Forschung
Abstract	This article reports on an exploratory study, which examines learners' rating of culture in relation to other concepts in advanced Spanish courses and their justification of the ratings attributed. Open-ended responses, elicited from a questionnaire completed by 179 respondents, were analysed line by line using an interpretive approach. Data analysis revealed that culture was often conceptualised as a set of products, behaviours, historical events, and customs tied to a country. A majority of the participants demonstrated an interest for cultivating cultural knowledge in the classroom with only a minority questioning the teachability or relevance of culture. Learners' perspectives thus either aligned with an instrumentalist view of language study, an in-between, or a constitutive view and approach to culture. The examination of the responses suggests that learners possess an understanding of culture as only useful in context, specifically when travelling or studying abroad. Findings also point to a need in advanced-level courses to devise instructional activities that adopt a "reflective, interpretative, historically grounded, and politically engaged pedagogy" [Kramsch, C. (2014). "Teaching foreign languages in an era of globalization: Introduction." "The Modern Language Journal," 98(1), 296-311, p. 296]. Such activities aim at learners interacting, experiencing, and examining how beliefs, values, and frames of reference affect cultural behaviours, language choices, and can encourage an understanding of the interconnection between language and culture. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01