the study of Shakespearean quotation in popular culture (Drakakis, 1997),
to a description of the multiplicities of identity masked by the single term
denoting a nation, in this case ‘Scotland’ (Crawford, 1997). The relevance of
such topics to the foreign language learner is also explored (Byram, 1997a;
Durant, 1997). In her introduction, Bassnett (1997: xiv) paraphrases
Williams by asserting that culture is ‘always . . . fragmented, partly
unknown and partly unrealized’ and calls for an inquiry into cultural
practices that respects no disciplinary boundaries. Such an inquiry would
draw upon literary studies, sociology, history, anthropology and linguis-
tics, and it could as easily stand alone as form part of a foreign language
curriculum.
Both Harrison’s and Bassnett’s anthologies represent a critical strain in
the teaching of culture to learners: the curricular goal is less ‘acculturation’
and more to do with sociopolitical education, specifically an increased
awareness of how various social and political pressures shape their own
and others’ national identity. This ‘cultural turn’ in British ELT has not
been without institutional backing. In 1992, the British Council began pub-
lishing a newsletter called
British Studies Now
, which aimed in part to
encourage:
the multidisciplinary study of contemporary Britain calling on history,
literature and the social sciences to explore the distinctive features of
British culture and society. (Wadham-Smith, 1992; reprinted 1995: 12)
To this end, the British Council also published course materials (Edginton &
Montgomery, 1996; Montgomery and Reid-Thomas, 1994; Raw, 1994) and, as
well as
British Studies Now
, it supported journals such as the
Journal for the
Study of British Cultures
(Germany),
Perspectives
(Czech Republic) and
LABSA Journal
(Latin American British Studies Association), all dedicated
in whole or in part to developing the connections between ELT and the
critical study of British and other cultures into social groups, which
negotiate
and share common beliefs, attitudes and practices.
The British Council is financed by the British government to promote
cultural, educational and technical links between Britain and other
countries; it forms policies and then seeks to influence teachers’ behaviour
by supporting educational initiatives and publications. It has its own
agenda, which has come under intensive critical scrutiny (Phillipson,
1992), and which may or may not coincide with the agendas of individual
teachers and students or of the overseas institutions with which it co-
operates. Having Britain and the British as the focus of attention (even
critical attention) of academic subjects in schools, colleges and universities
across the world can be seen as indirectly promoting British trade and com-
mercial interests. The British ‘brand name’ is at least kept alive among
An Intercultural Approach to Second Language Education
29
C:\Documents and Settings\Stephen Cracknell\My Documents\corbett\corbett.vp
13 August 2003 16:39:00
Color profile: Generic CMYK printer profile
Composite Default screen
educated overseas elites. However, during the 1990s it undoubtedly did
much to stimulate and sustain interest in culture, in a broad sense, through
materials production, and the support of short and longer-term courses in
Britain and overseas (see, for example, Raw’s description of the first
months of a British cultural studies course in Turkey in Byram
et al.
, 1994:
125–34).
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: