ABSTRACT
There are two ways that we generally understand ‘culture’. The first is as ‘high culture’, or what I will call ‘enrichment culture’, that is often considered ‘elitist’ and not relevant to most foreign lanuage learners; the second sees ‘culture’ in a broader sense, focusing on daily life, customs and traditions which are more relevant and accessible to young people. This is what I will call ‘ethno-culture’. I want to argue that these interpretations are not mutually exclusive, but that only through exposure to enrichment culture will learners of foreign languages move beyond their parochial, subjective experiences to appreciate cultural achievements that have spread beyond national boundaries and are part of universal human culture. So, yes, it is important for pupils in English secondary schools to know about school life in France, about Italian food, Spanish traditional festivals or German home life, but cultural awareness should not stop there. Nor should enrichment culture be ‘saved up’ for the minority of pupils who continue studying foreign languages at A/S and A-level on the basis that it is too difficult for younger learners.
