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Understanding Culture, Cultural Identity, and Cultural Heritage in the Post-Digital Age

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  In her article, "Understanding Culture, Cultural Identity, and Cultural Heritage in the Post-Digital Age," Luisa Conti examines the complex notion of these terms amidst the realities of our interconnected and digital environment. Throughout the article, Conti raises questions about the common perception that culture must be preserved without change and will consequently function as 'culture.' She reminds us that culture is not static; it evolves. In our global context, with the ubiquitous engagement in social media, culture (along with identity and heritage) continually shapes and reshapes itself in social activities, social interactions, social engagements, and social connectivity. An important thrust of the article is criticizing the way some researchers perspective cultural groups as being closed, unitary and `homogenous'. Conti argues that inadequately and inaccurately generalizing that cultural groups can be defined this way is problematic, as it bolsters ...
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Bilingual Education in Colombia: Towards a Recognition of Languages, Cultures and Identities

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  In Colombia, bilingualism is usually understood as speaking English and Spanish only. Policies like MEN (2006) state that “Colombian citizens will be able to communicate through English with international standards to contribute to the global economy and cultural openness.” However, this definition excludes Colombia’s multicultural and multilingual reality. Bilingualism, when involving Spanish and either a creole or indigenous language, often has the association with poverty or underdevelopment. A multicultural plurilingual society needs language policies which elicit not only exolingual (foreign) wants but also endolingual (local) wants. There is the need to look outwards to global needs and to look inwards to strengthen local competencies. We ought to be asking: How do bilingual education programs support the development of a more tolerant society during childhood in our country? Indigenous concepts like interculturalism and biculturalism become very important. Interculturali...
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Second Language Acquisition: An Overview and Theoretical Background

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  Second language acquisition encompasses various disciplines including educational linguistics, psychology and education. Second language acquisition, according to Stephen Krashen (1982), concerns the specifics of the learning of a second language outside of, or simultaneous to, the first language. Essentially it pertains to learning any language in addition to the first language / native tongue. Mistakes and errors frequently arise due to interference from the learner’s first language, an influence that tends to be particularly strong in adults learning a second language. One of the most effective skills to develop for acquiring vocabulary, grammar, and writing ability is reading. Moreover, interaction with the second language is a fundamental condition for its acquisition. Interlanguage is a unique linguistic system created in the minds of second language learners. It is important to realize that interlanguage is not simply a set of mistakes. It is a language with its own gove...
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