Keynote presentation: Teaching Language and Culture in the Post-methods Era

In the complex and dynamic environment of ‘internationalised’ higher education, it is more important than ever for the members of the university community to achieve effective intercultural communication. However, to date methodologies and curricula for foreign/second language education have often assumed simplistic relationships between language, culture, national identity and physical place. The continuing reliance on commodified notions of intercultural awareness is ultimately unhelpful. In this presentation I will consider the important shift that has taken place in recent years within the field of foreign/second language teaching: the movement from a ‘methods’ to a ‘post-methods’ paradigm. I will argue that the ‘post-methods’ focus on basic principles can help us to address the challenges of teaching language and culture in an ‘era of complexity’. In order to illustrate how the principles can be applied, examples will be drawn from current foreign/second language course-books.