culture n
the set of practices, codes and values that mark a particular nation or group:
the sum of a nation or group’s most highly thought of works of literature,
art, music, etc. A difference is sometimes made between “High” culture of
literature and the arts, and small “c” culture of attitudes, values, beliefs,
and everyday lifestyles. Culture and Language combine to form what is
sometimes called “Discourses”, i.e. ways of talking, thinking, and behaving
that reflect one’s social identity.
The cultural dimension of language learning is an important dimension of
second language studies. Education is seen as a process of socialization
with the dominant culture. In foreign language teaching the culture of the
language may be taught as an integral part of the curriculum.
culture fairadj
also culture freeadj
(in language testing) a test which does not favour members of a particular
cultural group, because it is based on assumptions, beliefs, and knowledge
which are common to all the groups being tested, is called culture fair. For
example, the following test item is not culture fair:
Bananas are — (a) brown,(b) green,(c) yellow.
The item is culturally biased because for some people bananas are thought
of as yellow, but for others green bananas are eaten, and cooked bananas
are brown. If only one of these answers is marked as correct, the test favours
a particular cultural group.
culture shockn
strong feelings of discomfort, fear, or insecurity which a person may have
when they enter another culture. For example, when a person moves to live
in a foreign country, they may have a period of culture shock until they
become familiar with the new culture.
curriculum^1 n
1 an overall plan for a course or programme, as in the freshman composition
curriculum. Such a programme usually states:
a the educational purpose of the programme, in terms of aims or goals
b the content of the programme and the sequence in which it will be
taught (also known as the syllabus)
c the teaching procedures and learning activities that will be employed
(i.e. methodology)
d the means used to assess student learning (i.e. assessment and testing)
e the means used to assess whether the programme has achieved its
goals (i.e. evaluation)
curriculum