Chapter 12: “The Piñata of Discovery”: Culture in the World Language Classroom

The complex concept of “culture,” especially as it is commonly used in the context of world language education, is the focus of Chapter 12. The chapter begins with an examination of the distinction between the conceptions of aesthetic culture (C) and anthropological culture (c). It identifies some of the major components of anthropological culture, including language, values and beliefs, history, family and kinship systems, foods, traditional art and music, and taboos, and discusses the relationship among culture, language, and identity, especially as this relationship is manifested in the world language classroom. It considers the nature, purposes, and goals of teaching about culture in world language education. It describes what have been labeled the “four Fs” of culture (foods, fairs, folklore, and statistical facts), as well as the “three Ps” of teaching about culture (practices, products, and perspectives) in the world language classroom. The chapter offers an analysis of some of the challenges presented by the essentialization and reification of culture in the context of the world language classroom. It also offers a way to distinguish between cultural diversity and cultural pluralism, and presents a conceptual and historical model identifying different “ideologies of cultural diversity,” with particular focus on how each has been manifested in the US context. Finally, the chapter closes with a discussion of the central characteristics of multicultural education, and explores the implications of such an approach to educational practice for world language education.