Digital ethnography for culture teaching in the foreign language classroom

Abstract

With the increasing recognition of the importance of developing intercultural competence in foreign language education, there is now much discussion amongst scholars and teachers as to how to move beyond fact-based approaches to teaching culture by promoting more interpretive and reflective learning within a critical frame. Whilst study abroad is often seen as the ideal context for promoting such learning, this paper considers the possibilities of enacting a digital ethnographic approach to culture teaching within the foreign language classroom. Such an approach involves engagement with online resources in the studied language for the purposes of identifying and interpreting diverse linguistic and cultural forms, as well as critiquing problematic cultural representations. This paper begins with a brief overview of Computer-Assisted Language Learning and Mobile-Assisted Language Learning, and then goes on to consider three main approaches to teaching culture with the use of computers and mobile devices. The paper then puts forward a number of concrete pedagogical suggestions for the implementation of a digital ethnographic approach to teaching culture in the foreign language classroom which emphasizes interpretation and critical reflection.