Classical and modern foreign language studies no longer have a well-defined subject area, and language and culture can no longer be defined according to nations and national identities. New approaches are being developed with theoretical and methodological points of departure in new areas of research: for example, culture studies, anthropology, sociology, pragmatics and conversation analyses. The aim of modern language studies must therefore be redefined, and be more open for variation and diversity, both in culture and communication. The book discusses the relation between language and culture and is a direct result of the conference Culture in Language Learning, organised under the auspices of the Danish Language and Culture Network, which assembles researchers from language disciplines in Denmark. The aim is to examine how culture comes into the actual language code; into the use of language; and not least, into the learning and teaching of language.
One of the book's main problematic areas thus concerns the learning and teaching of foreign and second languages in a globalised world where languages play a new roll, both for the individual person, by virtue of internationalisation of education and work-life, and for co-operation across national borders. The articles elucidate these problematic points in relation to the historic development of foreign language disciplines, the meeting of language and culture, teaching traditions and language appropriation theories.