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Culture and Vocabulary Acquisition: A Proposal
Author(s) -
Halverson Rachel J.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
foreign language annals
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.258
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 1944-9720
pISSN - 0015-718X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1944-9720.1985.tb01810.x
Subject(s) - vocabulary , notional amount , syllabus , context (archaeology) , foreign language , curriculum , linguistics , psychology , pedagogy , computer science , business , philosophy , paleontology , finance , biology
Two vital elements of effective communication in a foreign language, the understanding of the foreign culture and the acquisition of vocabulary in a cultural context, often receive inadequate or inappropriate attention in the classroom. The goal of this investigation and its proposal will be to provide concrete suggestions about the effective handling of time currently available in a curriculum which hopes to produce students who are able to communicate with a more sensitive control of linguistic and cultural subtleties. In order to address the question of culture linked with vocabulary acquisition in the classroom, I will first examine the problems in current research and classroom practice, and then delineate a proposal for the alleviation of the associated difficulties by modifying the existing notional/functional syllabus.