Co-Constructing Representations of Culture in ESL and EFL Classrooms: Discursive Faultlines in Chile and California

• Published in: The Modern language journal (Boulder, Colo.) Colo.), 2009-04, Vol.93 (1), p.30-45
• Main Author: MENARD-WARWICK, JULIA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: British culture; California; Chile; Classroom Communication; Classroom observations; College English; College instruction; College Students; Cultural Differences; Cultural Education; Culture; English (Second Language); English as a second language; English teachers; Foreign Countries; Foreign language instruction; Language Teachers; Latin American culture; Nonnative languages; Qualitative Research; Second Language Instruction; Second language learning; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Two Year College Students
• ISSN: 0026-7902; 1540-4781
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-4781.2009.00826.x

Based on qualitative research conducted in 3 university English as a foreign language classrooms in Chile and 3 community college English as a second language classrooms in California, this article examines the approaches used in teaching culture in these classrooms, the differences in how particular cultures (usually national cultures) were represented depending on teaching context, the processes by which these representations of culture were co-constructed by teachers and students, and the extent to which the observed cultural pedagogies seemed to cultivate interculturality. In particular, this article focuses on discursive faultlines (Kramsch, 1993), areas of cultural difference or misunderstanding that became manifest in classroom talk. Although teaching culture was not the primary goal in any of these classes, the teachers generally provided space for students to problematize cultural issues; however, this problematization did not necessarily lead to interculturality. The article concludes with implications for cultural pedagogies based on the observed interactions.