The paper is part of a further Critical Discourse Analysis in which culture, politics, power and values as well as their relationships are carefully considered. | Cao Duy Trinh Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ 105(05): 15 - 19 POWER CULTURALLY AND POLICALLY DEFINED Cao Duy Trinh* College of Sciences - TNU SUMMARY The study of power is as important as the study of culture and politics for a successful foreign language teaching. More than just mastering language skills and rules, the students of English language should know what and why they are learning in their language curricula. Being aware of the power and power handling in the English lessons should be part of their jobs. In this paper, the concepts of culture, politics and power are revised before an introduction of power which is then culturally and politically defined. The paper is part of a further Critical Discourse Analysis in which culture, politics, power and values as well as their relationships are carefully considered. Key words: culture, politics, power. INTRODUCTION* Power has much to do with culture and politics as it belongs to them. The what-socalled “hard power” and “soft power” may have rooted from the cultural and political origins. The study of power, together with the study of culture and politics, is part and parcel of foreign language teaching, especially the English Language Teaching. It is power that influence the decision what to teach and how to teach in an English lesson. We need to revise these concepts before looking into power from the cultural and political aspects. CULTURE AND POLITICS What is culture? Apart from academic interpretations, culture can simply be seen as your ways of treating the family members and friends, flying a flag on the national day or celebrating a religious event. This is why Samovar et al. assumed that culture had subjective elements such as: “ values, attitudes, beliefs, orientations, and underlying assumptions prevalent among people in a society the subjective cultural beliefs and values you hold that influence your interpretation of the world and the interaction in it. Your view about American flag, work .
