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“Less‐than‐fluent” and culturally connected: Language learning and cultural fluency as research methodology
Author(s) -
Drozdzewski Danielle
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
area
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1475-4762
pISSN - 0004-0894
DOI - 10.1111/area.12357
Subject(s) - fluency , cultural learning , linguistics , ethnography , cultural identity , value (mathematics) , cultural analysis , language acquisition , identity (music) , sociology , psychology , computer science , pedagogy , aesthetics , social psychology , anthropology , feeling , philosophy , machine learning
The purpose of this paper is to critically explore language learning and cultural fluency as a research methodology. Deploying an auto‐ethnographic approach, I scrutinise my programme of language learning and forays into the cultural to highlight how knowledge of the cultural contexts of a language, and not just the language itself, have provided nuanced insights into Polish cultural memory and identity. The paper's specific contribution is to agitate for a greater recognition of the value of cultural understanding and language learning as a distinct methodological approach. I track how the process of learning the Polish language and its cultural intricacies has included both acts of speaking and comprehending how words are (re)presented in their cultural contexts.