Balancing the amount of typical cultural themes in language learning materials Fryslân is a province in the north of the Netherlands where the two official languages are spoken: Dutch and Frisian. Of the 620,000 inhabitants of Fryslân about 55% consider Frisian as their mother tongue. Frisian language is an obligatory part of the curriculum in primary education and in early secondary education. Afûk is the publisher of educational materials for Frisian language learning in education. They provide coherent packages of subject-related paper based learning materials, but also a digital learning environment. Looking at theme’s within these materials, it is clear that typical cultural themes of the Frisian culture - such as typical sports, the history and the environment - take an important role. On the other hand many themes within the educational materials do not have that specific emphasize on the Frisian culture. In this session the presenters will argue pros and conns of using typical cultural themes for language learning. The dilemma between conserving and passing thru culture versus the use of language that is focused on present and future will be the focus of debate. There will be room for discussion as the presenters are curious about how other regions deal with this and how a balance could be found. Drs. Willy van der Meer is a language specialist and working as a project coordinator on secondary and adult education within Afûk. Dr. Wim de Boer is an educational specialist and working as a project coordinator on primary and secondary education within Afûk, see www.wimdeboer.nl.