Inquiry: Interlinking language and culture
How does my language use reflect cultural identity?
This page lightly explores different aspects of the link between language and culture as well as a soft introduction to exploring the 4 LCS concepts. The activities on this page are prompts designed to get students talking and thinking more globally - more conceptually even - not only about how they see language and culture but how it actually encompasses their values and beliefs about the world.
In what ways are language and culture interlinked?
Intended more as a broad brush stroke, this resources are comprised of four activities that explore language and culture in a way that enables students to interlink global perspectives with their own unique experiences.
Students can collaborate to:
- explore aspects of all four concepts
- consider the place of the Areas of Exploration in their discussions
- use their learning journal to think reflectively and reflexively about their experiences and insights from content and discussions
- connect with the learning outcomes
| Learning outcomes | Concepts | Contexts | Content | Skills |
LO1: Articulate how personal identity is shaped by engaging with languages and cultures and diverse perspective LO2: Identify own strengths and aspirations, set personally relevant goals, and monitor their multilingual and intercultural learning through ongoing reflection LO3: Apply communication skills and understandings to various contexts LO4: Practise reflexivity and develop self-awareness as communicators within and across languages and cultures | Communication Identities Perspectives Power | Areas of Exploration: Career | Determined and co-created by teachers and students in Introductory unit and Areas of Exploration. Content here is suggested to as provocations to open up discussion and exploration | ATL Skill areas PPS, CE, and RP skills Interpersonal skills: communication Intercultural understanding: Reflection and reflexivity |
The learning journal is a place to plan, explore and reflect on experiences and insights into the LCS course and the individual paths the students will forge. More specifically they will:
- evidence the four learning outcomes
- provide the basis of discussion for the three review points over the CP course
- show consistent and sustained engagement.
How the English language would sound if silent letters weren’t silent - BBC
Looking at English from another perspective
Michael McIntyre is a British stand-up comedian, and in this sketch, he explores one of the most well-known quirks of the English language (and in this context, British English) - the silent letter. Just exploring some of the words he mentions here opens the door to seeing English in quite a different way as we start to see the origin of the everyday words we use. They are no longer ‘just English’ but come with a wide range of cultural influences.
Watch and then explore the activity below
What is the origin of these words?
Etymology is the study of the origin of words. There are many ways you can explore this - [1] https://www.etymonline.com/ is just one of many.
Have a look at a random selection of words suggestion in the clip above and make a note of where they originally come from and when they started appearing in the English language. What conclusions can you reach about the English language? Are there any words taken wholly from other languages?
Work with a partner or in a group. Can you research why some letters are silent in English?
half
hour
subtle
Wednesday
Autumn
February
talking
walking
climbing
knitting
knife
buffet
salmon
swordfish
sandwiches
yoghurt
gnome
scissors
cupboard
wrapped
honestly
should
listen
receipt
champagne
knock
school
lasagne
Reflection and reflexivity: How much can we know about a culture by exploring a language? What can you conclude about ‘English’ from the activity here?
How are language and culture interlinked?
‘Languages are windows into the worlds of the people who speak them – reflecting what they value and experience daily’.
Explore 'The Conversation' article on ‘Do Inuit languages really have many words for snow? The most interesting finds from our study of 616 languages’
The Conversation 'Do Inuit languages really have many words for snow'?'
This article summarises the 2025 study ‘A computational analysis of lexical elaboration across languages’ [2] which contains many fascinating discoveries about the concepts inherent in the languages we speak.
Try out the ‘Concepts across languages’ tool to explore the extent to which particular concepts appear in languages around the world. What conclusions can you draw from the article and tool?
Concepts across languages tool
‘Most importantly, our results run the risk of perpetuating potentially harmful stereotypes if taken at face value. So we urge caution and respect while using the tool. The concepts it lists for any given language provide, at best, a crude reflection of the cultures associated with that language’.
Reflection and reflexivity: Consider the quote above from the article. What might be the impact and implications of perpetuating stereotypes?
Initial survey: Place, Values, Relationships, Attitudes
Thank you to Naashia Mohammed[3] from the TESOL International Association for the inspiration here
What is your linguistic landscape?
Make a list of the languages spoken within your school that you know about. Do you think students speak other languages outside of school?
Survey areas in your school or community and how language is evident. Take pictures to form a collage.
- What languages/scripts are included/dominant?
- Does some visual language seem to dominate or seem more important?
- Are some languages that you know are used in your community missing from the linguistic landscape?
Your languages and attitudes towards them
- What language(s) do you speak at home?
- What language(s) do you prefer to read in?
- What language(s) do you most want to learn?
- Which language(s) carry the most importance and prestige in your community/globally?
- Which language(s) do you think are most important to securing a good job?
Reflection and reflexivity: Consider why you responded the way you did to each question and who else might agree or disagree with your view?
Why is the concept of power linked to LCS?
The way we use language reinforces the values we hold as most important. However, it is also the choices we make in how we don't use language that reinforce this too. So the ‘standard’ or formal version of a language such as English can be seen as the favoured and correct form by those with higher social status. And those with less refined use of a language can be seen as having less social standing. It comes down to the simple question: Who gets to speak?
How does language create social hierarchies? This short video is not overly creative in design but has some really detailed bullet points that form the basis of a good discussion about wider attitudes about language use and what is deemed ‘correct’ in places of authority and formality such as government or, even more generally, a place of work. Some of these bullet points form discussion points below.
Discuss as a class points raised in this video.
Feel free to focus on one or more of the points you find most interesting rather than discuss all. What links to your own experiences can you make?
- Different speech patterns such as accents and dialects carry varying levels of prestige
- Standard or formal language is often associated with higher social status and respect
- Those with less refined speech may face discrimination or be viewed as lower in social standing
- How people speak influences self-identity and societal perceptions in subtle ways.
Reflection and reflexivity: Are the perceptions that there is a correct form of a language? Or are all varieties valid? What does this mean for the Area of Exploration you might pursue in your LCS course?
Look back over your insights from these activities in your learning journal. How have you connected with the learning outcomes listed here?
LO1: Articulate how personal identity is shaped by engaging with languages and cultures and diverse perspective
LO2: Identify own strengths and aspirations, set personally relevant goals, and monitor their multilingual and intercultural learning through ongoing reflection
LO3: Apply communication skills and understandings to various contexts
LO4: Practise reflexivity and develop self-awareness as communicators within and across languages and cultures
Footnotes
1. https://www.etymonline.com/
2. Khishigsuren, T., Regier, T., Vylomova, E., & Kemp, C. (2025). A computational analysis of lexical elaboration across languages. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 122(15), e2417304122. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2417304122
3. https://www.tesol.org/blog/posts/how-to-teach-language-and-society-5-practical-classroom-ideas/