Language and Culture Pedagogy

A Hidden Curriculum in Language Textbooks: Are Beginning Learners of French at U.S. Universities Taught About Canada?

“…As Schulz (2006) pointed out, existing frames of reference have not helped to address such questions. I therefore draw upon a more complex transnational perspective on the teaching of culture along with the foreign language (Risager, 2007) to interpret the results of this study and to suggest a stronger, more consistent presence of Canada in beginning French materials used in the northern United States.…”

“…A transnational perspective recognizes the linguistic and cultural complexity emanating from the transnational flow of people and communication (Risager, 2007). From this perspective, the teaching and learning of culture is intended to expand learners' worldviews in terms of cultural knowledge and to lead them to reflect on their own cultural positions, thus helping them to become multiculturally aware world citizens.…”

“…For the present study, 2 raters, a Québécois student and an American student of French, found that, on average, 15.3% of the analyzed sections of the textbooks, 6.5% of the workbook sections, and 29.9% of the sections in the CD-ROMs contained Canadian content. Based on a transnational view of culture, which suggests that cultural content in language materials should be chosen in view of local issues (Risager, 2007), I argue that Canada should play a larger role in French teaching materials used in the northern United States. In particular, increased Canadian content might help to create needs for and interest in French, foster learning about the nonneutrality of language, and stimulate discovery of local historical linguistic and cultural diversity.…”

Culture in Textbook Analysis and Evaluation

“…The frame of description has been the nation-state, most often presented as "the country," seen in isolation as expressed by the metaphors "society in a nutshell" or "panorama of the culture." Prior to this period, the content of language textbooks typically had a much broader, almost encyclopedic character, encompassing for example the elements, the earth, the body, the economy, grammar, music, geography, history, and angels (Comenius, 1649; see also Risager, 2007). A number of analyses of textbooks conceived in the national tradition have appeared, particularly in Europe, where the integration process following World War II raised awareness of the importance of cultural knowledge and understanding.…”

“…The problem is illuminated by Risager's (2007) analysis of the international history of culture pedagogy since the 1880s, which includes discussion of discourses on language, culture, and nation, and which traces the transition from a national paradigm to the beginnings of a transnational and global paradigm, not only for English, but for any language taught as fi rst, second, or foreign language.…”