Since language teaching in modern-day society is closely linked to cultural instruction, this study employs the model of a cultural learning analysis based on the earlier work of Paige and Lee. Using this model, the authors analysed the cultural content of six B1 and B2-level textbooks for teaching English to adults in Spain, and carried out a comparative study of the results, contrasting the two levels. Findings show that the subjective aspects of culture receive less coverage in textbooks, despite being fundamental to an understanding of the values of a society. Regarding the comparison between B1 and B2 levels, the data indicate that the number of big “C” Culture occurrences is similar for both levels, although there are differences in other cultural aspects. So, for example, culture in general is dealt with more at the B1 level, whereas small “c” culture is dealt with more at the B2 level.

This paper is a reflection on the influence of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on acts of learning and new ways of teaching. After offering a brief review of the literature that concerns this article (Communicative Language Teaching [CLT], lexicology, ICTs), it reports on the design and outcomes of an experiment carried out in the Faculty of Education at the University of Córdoba with a group of twenty third year students studying to be English teachers. The results are revealing, as these students show learning differences in their command of the terms related to assessment before and after our intervention.

En los últimos años, se ha retomado la conexión que siempre ha existido entre lengua y cultura. Esta investigación se suma a los estudios sobre el contenido cultural de materiales de enseñanza de inglés aportando el diseño de una lista para examinar los elementos culturales en los libros de texto. Aplicando esa herramienta y empleando la metodología de análisis de contenido, hemos analizado tres ediciones de un mismo manual para determinar qué tipo de destreza es la más empleada para desarrollar el aprendizaje cultural y si ha habido una incorporación gradual de aspectos culturales a los libros de texto, puesto que el Marco Común Europeo de Referencia precisa que la adquisición de la competencia cultural es imprescindible para desarrollar ciudadanos interculturales. Los resultados del estudio indican que, aunque sí se ha producido una progresiva incorporación de aspectos culturales al manual, no todos los aspectos están presentes por igual, lo que sugiere que el aprendizaje cultural no es completo.

Con la implantación casi generalizada de requisitos lingüísticos en los grados de las universidades españolas, la acreditación de los niveles de competencia en lenguas extranjeras ha tomado una relevancia esencial. Dentro de este trabajo, presentaremos una visión global del estado de la cuestión en España, para más tarde centrarnos en el análisis de la acreditación lingüística del alumnado de la Universidad de Córdoba. Nuestro estudio estadístico, basado en un grupo de más de dos mil alumnos, nos proporcionará datos con los que dibujar un panorama aproximado del nivel de acreditación idiomática en nuestra universidad, teniendo en cuenta variables tales como la nota de acceso, la macroárea, el sexo o el idioma seleccionado para cumplir con el requisito a la hora de egresar. Asimismo, podremos dilucidar si caminamos hacia una Europa más plurilingüe o no.

The requirement that students achieve accredited foreign language proficiency at B1 level in order to graduate from university or enrol for some postgraduate courses has prompted changes in language teaching in higher education in Spain. Given the clearly ineffective tuition received at earlier stages of their education, Spanish university students are finding it difficult to meet this new requirement. Society does not see language learning as a priority, and the aforementioned lack of effective teaching places Spaniards in a weak position with regard to language learning. Motivated by the Bologna Process, which seeks to foster the acquisition of multiple skills by students, the B1 requirement comes at the end of students’ education, regardless of what they were actually taught at primary and secondary level. This article examines the perceptions of a group of students enrolled in the master’s degree in secondary teacher training and analyses data on accreditation in general in order to draw relevant conclusions. The article focuses particularly on the options chosen by students at the University of Córdoba in order to meet the new foreign language requirement, and more specifically on the role played by the university’s language centre. Data was collected through a survey based on a validated