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Article published In: Policy and practice in early language learning:
Edited by Janet Enever and Patricia Driscoll
[AILA Review 32] 2019
► pp. 64–90

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CLASSROOM PEDAGOGY

Cultural threads in three primary schools

Introducing a critical cosmopolitan frame

 | Canterbury Christ Church University
 | Canterbury Christ Church University
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Available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC) 4.0 license.

For any use beyond this license, please contact the publisher at rights@benjamins.nl.

Published online: 7 April 2020
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https://doi.org/10.1075/aila.00021.dri
Abstract
This paper explores headteachers’ and teachers’ perceptions of foreign languages(FL) and cultural learning in three primary schools in areas of disadvantage in England. Drawing upon a new theoretical frame for primary languages, Critical Cosmopolitanism (Delanty, G. (2006). The cosmopolitan imagination: Critical cosmopolitanism and social theory. British Journal of Sociology, 57(1), 25–47. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Beck, U., & Sznaider, N. (2006). Unpacking cosmopolitanism for the social sciences: a research agenda. British Journal of Sociology, 57(1), 1–23. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar) and The Grammar of Culture ( (2018). Understanding intercultural communication: Negotiating a grammar of culture (2nd ed.). London: Routledge. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar), we argue that the grand narrative of a target language inhabited by a target culture is outdated and approaches to cultural learning in primary schools could lead the way. There is substantial evidence that most learners find language lessons fun, particularly activities such as songs, stories and intercultural events (Driscoll et al., Driscoll, P., Jones, J., & Macrory, G. (2004). The provision of foreign language learning for pupils at key stage 2 (DfES Research Report RR527). Nottingham: Department for Education and Skills. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar, Driscoll, P., Rowe, J. E., & Thomae, M. (2014). The sustainable impact of a short comparative teaching placement abroad on primary school language teachers' professional, linguistic and cultural skills. The Language Learning Journal, 42 (3), 307–320. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar; Cable, C., Driscoll, P., Mitchell, R., Sing, S., Cremin, T., Earl, J., Eyres, I., Holmes, B., Martin, C., with Heins, B. (2010). Languages learning at key stage 2: A longitudinal study research report No. 198. London: DCSF. Retrieved from: <[URL]> (21 November, 2019).). The discourse on conditions for inclusive practice is less commonplace and little is known about FL learning in areas of high deprivation (Nikolov, M., & Mihaljević Djigunović, J. (2011). All shades of every color: An overview of early teaching and learning of foreign languages. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 311, 95–119. Google Scholar logo with link to Google Scholar). Teachers and headteachers in this study were committed to cultural learning and staff adopted creative approaches to teaching. The findings, however, also indicate that traditional notions of a mono or homogenised national culture with associated stereotypes linger in teachers’ framing of FL. There exists a need for a more personalised approach to cultural learning drawing upon children’s own cultural experiences. Data was analysed thematically following strict ethical guidelines and all names were anonymised to ensure confidentiality.
Article outline
  • Introduction
  • Context of the study
  • Essentialist language and culture narrative
  • Critical cosmopolitan narrative
  • Ideological construction
  • Cultural prejudice
  • The monolingual, monocultural fallacy
  • Moving from blocks to thread
  • A richer picture
  • Searching for threads
  • Interculturality
  • Methodology
  • Findings
  • Profile of foreign languages
  • A prevailing sense of national culture
  • Connecting cultural threads across the curriculum
  • Global issues
  • British values
  • Conclusion
  • References
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Cited by two other publications

Søgaard, Karoline
2024. Intercultural encounters through two picturebooks in the lower primary EFL classroom in Denmark. Language Teaching for Young Learners 6:2 ► pp. 173 ff. DOI logo
Read, Carol
2022. Creating a Model for Intercultural Competence in Early Years and Primary ELT. In Innovative Practices in Early English Language Education, ► pp. 57 ff. DOI logo

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