Module 3: Language and Culture

"Most people are fascinated by the various languages and dialects, especially those we encounter in our travels. As we will see later, language and culture are interwined and inseparable. Many cultural groups believe that to lose one's language is to also lose one's culture.

Through language and culture contact, languages and cultures are certainly affected. Carlos Fuentes, the Mexican novelist, states in The Buried Mirror: Reflection on Spain and the New World (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992) that 'Cultures only flourish in contact with others; they perish in isolation.' Taking Fuentes' notion further, languages also flourish in contact. Many teachers working in multilingual and multicultural school contexts observe this phenomenon daily. In this module you will explore the languages and dialects globally and locally. Definitions and the processes of pidginization and creolization in language contact will also be introduced.

Objectives:
1. To become aware of the number and variety of languages and dialects in the World
2. To become aware of the number and variety languages and dialects of the World are represented in the United States.
3. To become aware of the number and variety languages and dialects of the World are represented in Arizona schools
4. To be able to define language, dialect, accent, pidgin and creole
5. To become aware of the need for Bilingual and ESL Intruction in the US and in Arizona

Topics

This module is divided into 4 topics. To complete this Module successfully, please complete the topics in the order shown below:

1. Languages of the World
2. Dialects and Languages
3. Pidgins and Creoles
4. Languages in American Schools

Go on to Module 4: Second Language Acquisition
or
Go back to Cultural Component of Bilingual and ESL Instruction