Culture bound - Culture free

• Responsibility:

• Learning a language / understanding the culture

• Topics and possible consequences.

• Culture bound or culture free? Is the choice possible?

• You have to choose…

Domains which allow both CULTURE-BOUND and CULTURE-FREE treatments

FOOD AND DIETSPORT AND GAMES

EDUCATION AND SCHOOL SYSTEMS

TRAVELLINGENTERTAINMENT

FASHION AND ADVERTISINGHUMOUR AND WIT

ENVIRONMENTWORK

MONEY AND TRADEPOLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

STEREOTYPES

MYTHS OF FOUNDATIONUTOPIA, ANTI-UTOPIA AND APOCALYPSE CLOTHES AND FASHIONCOLONIALISM AND POST-COLONIALISMRELIGIOUS INSTITUTIONSSCIENCETHE LAW SYSTEMMASS MEDIA AND WWWWARINDUSTRY/IESWELFARE AND CHARITYWOMEN’S QUESTION

The mentioned subjects have the advantage of:

• being relevant to contemporary life (= you can start from today’s situation, also for motivational purposes, and then go back in time);

• keeping language, culture and literature tied together;• allowing treatment both from the British and American viewpoints

(the two main Standard varieties spoken by Italian teachers);• promoting interdisciplinary action (in as much as they either are

typically English or present a typically English version to be compared with other cultures);

• allowing different linguistic approaches (text/discourse analysis; corpora studies; history of language; key-words);

• favouring selection for different school specialisation, both in terms of choice of subject and in terms of syllabus materials designing;

• being so wide as to be treated in a restricted form (from one unit to one module to one year plan) or in its total complexity.

BUT…• Question of elementary level.

• Question of your audience.

• Question of method suited to the class.

Italian FOOD.

ENGLISH HABITS

He is English…

Masculine Feminine Young

Ram Sheep Lamb

Boar Sow Piglet

Cockerel Hen Chicken

Culture free?

Spaghetti

Noodles

VS.

CULTURE BOUND?

CULTURE BOUND?

CULTURE AND SOCIETY