"Less‐than‐fluent" and culturally connected: Language learning and cultural fluency as research methodology. Issue 1 (15th June 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Drozdzewski, Danielle
• Is Part Of: Area. Volume 50:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 109
• Page End: 116
• Publication Date: 2017-06-15
• Subjects: cultural fluency -- foreign language(s) -- language learning -- methodology -- Polish -- reflexivity; Geography -- Periodicals; 910
• DOI: 10.1111/area.12357
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0004-0894

Abstract

Abstract : 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.