Business Languages: Teaching Culture through a Regional Focus.

One method used to examine a target culture is to focus on a single region of a target language country, approaching all the issues normally raised in a culture class through the perspective of that region. The coherence this adds to class activities and overall class structure, the manageability of topics, and the opportunity to work with a range of authentic materials are advantages of the regional focus. A course using Brittany, a French province, as its selected region illustrates the method. An early class activity is the study of the region's geography and its implications for commerce and economic development in various directions. The course also focuses on a variety of issues in agriculture, the future effects of the European Community's single market, cultural problems in marketing and advertising Breton products, and banking and commercial identity in the context of a centralized government. There are challenges in structuring such a course, including the choice of an appropriate region, additional preparatory work for the instructor, and acquisition of adequate and suitable authentic materials for instruction. (MSE)