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This paper reflects on the need to include the arts in the teaching of English as a Foreign Language, thus strengthening the students' imagination. The article begins by defining the concepts of "the arts, "imagination," and "emotion." It goes on to examine the perspectives and claims of studies from different disciplines on these concepts and their ensuing interrelationships. Based on these observations, the paper discusses how the arts and the use of imagination can contribute to intercultural understanding. Finally, the article ends by reflecting on the possible impact of including the arts in English language programs and by posing the question, "Exactly how can the arts widen your horizon?" (SM)

This article, written in Spanish, proposes to incorporate the subject "Anglophonism" into the curriculum of English as a Foreign Language (EILE) with a view to providing universities with an intercultural division. It provides a brief summary of John Dewey's philosophy with regard to anthropology, politics, and education. It explains the term "anglophonism," the study of the English language in a cultural context, and its relevance for EILE in setting up anglophone studies. Finally, emphasizes the importance of postcolonial English-speaking literature for providing students with thoughts on intercultural issues. (AS)

This paper, written in Spanish, focuses on the instruction of English as a Second Language in the context of cultural understanding, rather than from a purely linguistic point of view. It argues that foreign language instruction should include lessons in the field of sociology, anthropology, history, geography, politics, the arts, and popular culture to foster not only academic learning, but also a level of "social empathy." Through the study of postcolonial literature, new perspectives are provided vis-a-vis the formerly dominating nation and the students' own culture to allow the student to develop his own "voice" and accept his own diversified identity. (AS)

This paper discusses how the introduction of Anglophone popular culture in the English-as-a-foreign-language class can serve to foster critical aesthetic experiences. It is argued that the popular culture of the hegemonic Anglophone countries is already part of students' lives and for that reason should be included in any critical Anglophone studies curriculum. Contemporary theories of popular culture, literary criticism, and foreign language pedagogy are reviewed and a dialogue is established between these perspectives and Deweyan philosophy. The study of popular culture offer students opportunities for critical reflection, while allowing them to exercise their imaginative, emotional, and creative faculties. These aesthetic encounters also have the power to improve cross-cultural understanding. (Contains 64 references.) (BD)

This paper discusses a framework for teaching English as a foreign language that incorporates significant cultural content and fosters critical encounters with Anglophone culture. It reviews relevant contemporary perspectives for understanding cross-cultural processes within the foreign language teaching environment with emphasis on the issue of identity formation. A dialogue is created between Anglophone culture and students' native culture, leading to development of intercultural intelligence. One element of such an approach might be the creation of Anglophone studies, which would draw on sociology, anthropology, history, and other disciplines in addition to linguistics. The study of postcolonial literature is recommended. (Contains 64 references.) (DB)

This paper argues that a hermeneutic perspective--the art of interpreting and understanding across differences--should be considered in any educational discussion about leadership. It explains that hermeneutics searches for understanding and creates meaning, not explanation. The paper goes on to examine the educational philosophy of John Dewey, noting that he regarded science and the scientific method as a matter of hermeneutics of shared interpreting and meaning-making. Dewey, instead of favoring narrow specialization, desired those qualities, such as initiative, inventiveness, and readaptability, that would enable education to be a life-long process of growth. It is concluded that hermeneutics and a Deweyan educational philosophy point toward a leadership paradigm in which work groups move toward a horizontal rather than vertical decision-making process, with collegiality--democratic cooperation--instead of a marked polarity between leaders and followers. Authority will be shared because meaning-making and inquiry are shared experiences, and leaders will emerge situationally in a community respectful of individual and communal growth. (Contains 27 references.) (MDM)

Drawing on writings by recent post-modernist thinkers and semioticians, this paper focuses on a combination of hermeneutic and semiotic viewpoints and applies them to defining the nature of interpretation in an educational setting (e.g., text interpretation), the interpreter, and the essence of the act of comprehension and interpretation. The main examples discussed come from English as a foreign language and blend aspects of Dewey's educational thinking with the hermeneutic approach. (Contains 15 references.) (CNP)

This paper discusses Wilga Rivers' seven language teaching objectives. Particular focus is on the following three language teaching objectives: (1) giving students the experience of expressing themselves linguistically and culturally in a context different from that in which they grew up; (2) fostering students' understanding of other peoples' viewpoints; and (3) endowing students with the abilities that enable them to communicate orally and in writing in both personal and professional contexts with speakers of other languages. (CNP)

This paper argues that current "postmodern" conditions demand a rethinking of higher education, especially in countries like Mexico. This would involve the rapprochement of science, technology, and the humanities, based on the belief that the chasm separating them, apart from being artificial, is no longer socially viable. Through a critical perspective that reviews the work of various authors and examines several theories, the paper proposes guidelines for a dialogue to reconcile these currently separated disciplinary domains, with the hope that it will be of aid in the timely formation of open, multidimensional, and critical university graduates. (Contains 36 references.) (Author)

This essay proposes instances of how Anglophone popular culture can offer a place for nurturing critical encounters in the context of learning English. It delineates the theoretical bases that reveal popular culture as a fundamental indicator of society and, using Anglophone movies and stories, analyzes the pedagogical possibilities for stimulating appreciative and self-reflexive responses in students on the path to transcultural Hispanic-Anglo understanding. It also emphasizes the radical potential of popular culture for evaluating the preoccupations of contemporary society. In order to understand a foreign culture, one must see it from the viewpoint of that milieu. This "outsideness" provides a creative understanding of the foreign culture. Two recent films of the African American, Spike Lee, "Do the Right Thing" and "Jungle Fever," uncover the hostility among urban ethnic/racial groups. The first film makes viewers wonder if something analogous could happen in Mexico, and what would be the reaction of the government and society. The second film can stimulate discussion on the pressures in Mexico to establish relationships circumscribed within one's own social class. Stories and other films reveal other realities in popular culture. Final comments advocate a transcultural agenda in Mexican universities that is constantly updated. (Contains 35 references.) (CK)

This paper examines the rationale for introducing popular culture into college-level English-as-a-Second-Language instruction in Mexico, drawing on research and theory in second language instruction, and it offers specific suggestions for classroom presentation of popular cultural content. It is argued that content in popular culture can enhance both the appreciation of Anglophone culture in general and contemporary culture in particular, improve cross-cultural understanding, and provide opportunities for critical examination of the language and critical thinking about cultural issues. Films such as "Breaking Away,""Do the Right Thing," and "Jungle Fever" are recommended as vehicles for introducing popular Anglophone culture and examining of these issues. Several short stories are suggested as a means of opening discussion of feminist, ethnic, and other current social issues. Contains 37 references. (MSE)

Foreign Language education will play an important role in the broadening and globalization of higher education for the 21st century. Where else will educators find the tools to "dialog" with--to engage--the "other" as part of the enriching process that accompanies cultural exchange, cultural broadening? This paper sheds light on these issues, and offers insights into the future of foreign language education. It is suggested that the new approach to foreign language education in the next century will rely heavily on postmodernism. Contains 18 references. (CNP)