Abstract

How can we envisage a new language and culture pedagogy that breaks with the tradition of viewing language as part of a closed national universe of culture, history, people and mentality, and begins to see itself as a field operating in a complex and dynamic world characterised by transnational flows of people, commodities and ideas? Initially, to understand the field and its current challenges, we must understand its history, and the first part of this book contains a critical analysis of the history of the international field of culture teaching – the first historical treatment of this field ever written. The next part of the book focuses on how we can build a framework for a new transnational language and culture pedagogy that aims at the education of world citizens whose intercultural competence includes critical multilingual and multicultural awareness in a global perspective.

"Risager's book offers us not only an excellent overview of the history of culture teaching, but also a new transnational perspective on language education. Within the Danish context, Risager's work has been highly influential in developing our reflections on language teaching and learning. I am very happy that this is now made available to a wider audience!"

Karen Risager is Dr.Phil. and Professor in Cultural Encounters at the Department of Culture and Identity, Roskilde University, Denmark. She has conducted interdisciplinary research for thirty years within the fields of language and culture teaching, cultural studies and sociolinguistics, internationalisation and intercultural competence, and the language and cultural learning of adult migrants. She is one of the initiators of an interdisciplinary Master’s programme in Cultural Encounters, focusing on culture, language, identity and power in a global perspective. Selected publications: Language Teachers, Politics and Cultures (Multilingual Matters 1999, with Michael Byram) and Language and Culture: Global Flows and Local Complexity (Multilingual Matters 2006).