Teaching Culture in Adult ESOL in the UK

Teachers of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in the UK are expected to teach students about daily life, to equip them to join the labor market, and to prepare them for British citizenship. These three conditions form the cultural content of much publicly funded English language provision for adult migrants. In this entry various approaches to teaching culture are identified: avoidance of culture as an explicit focus; culture as heritage, history, and emblems; culture as daily life and institutions; multiculturalism which values the home cultures of students as well as the UK. Teachers rarely approach culture critically in ESOL but some recent initiatives have attempted to place students' needs at the center of the curriculum, addressing students as analytical new citizens who are engaging with British culture in a dynamic process.