Transforming Postsecondary Foreign Language Teaching in the United States

Download or read book Transforming Postsecondary Foreign Language Teaching in the United States written by Janet Swaffar and published by Springer. This book was released on 2014-07-25 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume addresses critical challenges and issues facing foreign language departments in colleges and universities across the U.S. It presents the insights of individuals who have built or are in the process of building foreign language curricula during a major transition period in postsecondary institutions. The authors of this volume come from various language departments and institutional experience from across the U. S., including private and public postsecondary foreign language teachers, researchers and administrators. The chapters address issues and provide templates for curricular change at all learning levels. The five sections of this book explore: Changing Perceptions about Foreign Language Learning; The Case for a Multi-literacy FL Curriculum in Concept and Assessment Praxis; Curricular Transformations: Historical Hurdles and Faculty Heuristics; Rethinking the Graduate Curriculum; Foreign Languages' Integration into the Interdisciplinary University. “This thought-provoking and timely volume addresses the question of how historic and current disciplinary, institutional and political conditions affect curricular transformation in collegiate foreign language programs. Responding to the issues raised in the 2007 MLA Report, this collection of nine essays presents a diversity of curricular models and approaches from different theoretical perspectives focusing on the integration of language and content. The book will undoubtedly be of great interest to a broad audience, such as foreign language educators, curriculum designers, administrators, graduate students and researchers.” Nelleke Van Deusen-Scholl, Yale College, CT, USA.