What are the competencies required of a responsible member of a global society, and how will he or she acquire them (see Hinton, this volume)? The answer offered here is explored through non.native language learning. Research by socio-linguists has focused on language and socialisation and tells us that competencies required of a community are passed on through language; hence through learning a second language, one can also learn a new set of competencies. This chapter reviews theories of language acquisition as a basis for pedagogy. It examines the idea of interlanguage, the linguistic system used by learners of a second language, and the idea of an interperspective, the perspective developed through interaction with non.native language and culture. It offers an example of what a curriculum focused on teaching language through culture might look like, using the indigenous language of Guam.