This study investigates whether students learn culture embedded in a video-based second language program. Beginning-level French students watched 10 videos as part of the curriculum. A pretest, administered prior to exposure to the videos, and a posttest, given at the end of the semester after exposure to the videos, assessed long-term gains in little "c" culture (practices) and big "C" culture (products). Also, postvideo viewing tests, administered immediately after each video, measured short-term retention of culture in that video. A questionnaire analyzed student perceptions of how well they learned about the foreign culture. From pre-to posttesting, results indicated significant gains in overall cultural knowledge. On the postvideo short-term retention tests, scores of little "c" items were significantly higher than scores of big "C" items. Students perceived that the videos contained more little "c" than big "C," and that they learned more little "c" information. Findings supported using video to teach culture.

This investigation examines whether foreign language (FL) students learn cultural information embedded in videos. Fifty beginning French students participated. They viewed eight targeted videos as part of their multimedia-based curriculum. A pretest and a posttest assessed long-term gains in overall cultural knowledge and in the learning of little "c" culture (practices) and big "C" culture (products). Eight postvideo tests measured short-term retention of culture in each of the eight videos. Oral dialogues tested students' ability to interact culturally appropriately in a communicative setting. A questionnaire analyzed student perceptions of cultural learning. From pre- to posttesting, results indicated a significant gain in overall cultural knowledge. Posttest scores were significantly higher than pretest scores. Pretest and posttest scores were significantly higher for little "c" than for big "C." On the postvideo tests, measuring short-term retention of culture, there was no significant difference between types of culture retained. Regarding oral performance, students performed culturally appropriately more than 60% of the time. Students perceived that the videos contained more little than big "C" culture and that they learned more little "c." Results support using video an effective technological tool for presenting culture in the FL classroom.

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Since the COVID‐19 pandemic has led to nation‐wide school closures, the transition to remote teaching has caused profound disruption to classroom instruction. In this article, I share the impact that this forced transition has had on the redesign of the second half of a French course entitled “Gaming culture and culture of games,” to meet the pedagogical challenge posed by the pandemic, retain the integrity of the course, and provide useful tools to mitigate the circumstances. In particular, I examine how the situation was an opportunity to combine language and culture pedagogy with game design to enable students to think critically about the course content and contribute meaningful solutions to learning languages in the age of social distancing.

Together with its contributions in fields such as sociolinguistics, language policy, and social semiotics, linguistic landscape has become a compelling arena of interest for language learning as well. The diverse and contested nature of languages as displayed and experienced in public space lends itself to study as far more than authentic L2 input. Accordingly, in out‐of‐class settings of all kinds, educators and researchers are exploring pedagogical applications that bridge diverse traditions of language study and literacy education, treating public texts and textual practices as opportunities for learners to develop language awareness, intercultural competence, civic participation, and social critique. After reviewing some of the disciplinary origins and interconnections between linguistic landscape and L2 learning research, this entry introduces several recent studies of language and literacy learning in the linguistic landscape. It then identifies a number of potential areas for future dialogue and reciprocal growth between linguistic landscape and “schoolscape” research methods, on the one hand, and L2 teaching design, on the other.