“Domesticating the foreign”: An introduction to the Concept of Localisation as a Strategy of Teaching Culture in Foreign Language Learning

Abstract

Considering that cultures are rapidly undergoing evolution and that they have become more fluid than before, teaching culture in foreign language classes has become more challenging than before. First, this development challenges the traditional methods of teaching culture which have emphasized on imparting what is understood as a homogeneous target language culture to the learner without considering how this knowledge is transferred and how it benefits the learner community. Secondly, the multiplicity of cultures within the target language communities and their ever-changing nature in relation to the global world questions the very notion of what we call the “target language culture”. With this in mind, it may be better to teach culture in foreign language classes from a cross cultural perspective and using the learner’s cultural and local environment as a platform. This method is introduced in this article as localisation. This method of teaching culture can be considered most appropriate for a localised education system such as the tertiary education system in Zimbabwe, which is championed by the education 5.0 initiative, where every academic area including foreign language learning is expected to contribute to the development of local communities