Language, Culture, and the Embodied Mind

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xi

   PDF

2. Introduction

   • Joseph Shaules

   Pages 1-5

3. Correction to: FAQ of a Linguaculture Learning Approach

   • Joseph Shaules

   Pages C1-C2

4. Background: Deep Learning, Language and Culture

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 7-7

      PDF

   2. Deep Language and Culture Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 9-28

   3. Globalization and Deep Culture Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 29-42

   4. The Intuitive Mind

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 43-56

   5. Deep Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 57-69

   6. The Psychology of Linguaculture Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 71-85

5. Theory: The Developmental Model of Linguaculture Learning

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 87-87

      PDF

   2. Language and Culture Pedagogy

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 89-103

   3. The Language and Culture Debate

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 105-120

   4. An Embodied View of Linguaculture

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 121-136

   5. A Developmental Model Linguaculture Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 137-154

   6. The DMLL as a Roadmap to Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 155-168

6. Practice: A User’s Guide to the DMLL

   1. Front Matter

      Pages 169-169

      PDF

   2. FAQ of a Linguaculture Learning Approach

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 171-185

   3. The DMLL in Language Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 187-202

   4. Deep Culture Learning

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 203-221

   5. Conclusion

      • Joseph Shaules

      Pages 223-226

There is an odd contradiction at the heart of language and culture learning: Language and culture are, so to speak, two sides of a single coin—language reflects the thinking, values and worldview of its speakers. Despite this, there is a persistent split between language and culture in the classroom. Foreign language pedagogy is often conceptualized in terms of gaining knowledge and practicing skills, while cultural learning goals are often conceptualized in abstract terms, such as awareness or criticality.


This book helps resolve this dilemma. Informed by brain and mind sciences, its core message is that language and culture learning can both be seen as a single, interrelated process—the embodiment of dynamic systems of meaning into the intuitive mind. This deep learning process is detailed in the form of the Developmental Model of Linguaculture Learning (DMLL). Grounded in dynamic skill theory, the DMLL describes four developmental levels of language and culture learning, which represents a subtle, yet important shift in language and culture pedagogy. Rather than asking how to add culture into language education, we should be seeking ways to make language and culture learning deeper—more integrated, embodied, experiential and transformational. This book provides a theoretical approach, including practical examples, for doing so.

• linguaculture
• language and intercultural awareness
• cognitive neuroscience
• second language acquisition
• deep learning
• transformational learning
• complexity theory
• dynamic systems theory
• language and culture

“What is new and thought-provoking in this book is its neurocognitive perspective and its observation that ‘linguaculture’ resides at a deep, intuitive level. Importantly, Joseph Shaules recognizes that both language and culture are comprised of complex dynamic patterns. For this reason, teaching linguaculture is not adding culture teaching to language teaching, but rather integrating them by understanding that the learning of such patterns calls for adaptive, embodied processes.” (Diane Larsen-Freeman, Professor Emerita, University of Michigan)

“Not since Edward Hall’s reflections on culture, and Marshall McLuhan’s ideas on communication, has an author so successfully explained the invisible links of language and culture that bind and define us. With his Developmental Model of Linguacultural Learning, Shaules provides a new lens with which to understand language and culture teaching and learning. To link theory to practice, Shaules explains modern psychological and neuroscientific theories, but rather than being overwhelmed by abstraction, the reader is captivated. Shaules’s makes tough concepts seem like a casual stroll through a botanical garden of pedagogy. Language, Culture, and the Embodied Mind is a must read for anyone who wants a clean, clear and insightful approach to language and culture learning.” (Tracey Tokuhama-Espinosa, Ph.D., Professor at Harvard University Extension School, and Associate Editor of Nature Partner Journal Science of Learning)

• Japan Intercultural Institute, Tokyo, Japan

  Joseph Shaules

Joseph Shaules (PhD) has worked in intercultural education in Japan, Mexico and Europe for more than 25 years. He has been a pioneer in applying insights from the mind and brain sciences to language and culture pedagogy. He is the Director of the Japan Intercultural Institute, and he teaches at the International Center of Keio University, Tokyo, and in the Tsuda University Graduate Program in TESOL. His academic works include: The Intercultural Mind: Connecting Culture, Cognition and Global Living (2015); Deep Culture: The Hidden Challenges of Global Living (2007); and he has published language education textbooks, such as Identity (2003), and Impact Issues (2008, 2011), as well as works for a general audience, including: Beneath the Surface: A Beginner's Guide to the Deep Culture Experience (2010).    

Policies and ethics