Teaching of Culture in English As an International Language ― An Integrated Model

The importance of integrating the teaching and learning of language and culture has been widely recognised and emphasized. However, how to teach English as an International Language (EIL) and cultures in an integrative way in non-native English speaking countries remains problematic and has largely failed to enable language learners to meet local and global communication demands.

Developing students’ intercultural competence is one of the key missions of teaching cultures. This book examines a range of well-established models and paradigms from both English-speaking and non-English speaking countries. Exploring questions of why, what, and how to best teach cultures, the authors propose an integrated model to suit non-native English contexts in the Asia Pacific. The chapters deal with other critical issues such as the relationship between language and power, the importance of power relations in communication, the relationship between teaching cultures and the national interests, balancing tradition and change in the era of globalisation. The book will be valuable to academics and students of foreign language education, particularly those teaching English as an international language in non-native English countries.

Shen Chen is a multi-lingual teacher educator at University of Newcastle, Australia. In his teaching career of 35 years, he taught in Nanjing Normal University China, Melbourne University and Deakin University in Australia before he moved to University of Newcastle in 1993. Since then, he has been a research fellow and a visiting professor in Cambridge University, Warwick University, UK, University of California, Berkeley, USA, University of British Columbia, Canada, University of Hong Kong, Nanjing University, Beijing Language and Culture University, China. He has published widely in language education.

Thi Thuy Le is currently teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language), EIL (English as an International Language), and Intercultural Communication at the University of Languages and International Studies, Vietnam National University, Hanoi (ULIS-VNU). She received her PhD from the University of Newcastle, Australia. She was selected for the Solidarity Award by the Conference Committee at the 18th World Congress of Applied Linguistics held in Rio de Janeiro in July 2017. She was one of the 14 award winners, and the only winner representing Australian universities. Her research interests lie in the areas such as intercultural communication, EFL/ESL teacher education, and curriculum development.