Language and Culture: Taking a wider view

Language learning has two distinct personas, an idealistic one and a real one. In some cases the two are very closely matched but more often than not they are very different. The ideal language learning experience might be argued to be a deeply personal one that takes the learner through a process of self-discovery and into the wider world with fresh eyes that are able to appreciate difference, recognise common ground and forge new understandings. However, it is often the case that the more functional motivations for which we learn a language intervene and detract from the idealistic nature of the experience making it a more mundane and limited one. So what is it that makes language more than a simple list of words and grammar rules?