The Future of Foreign Language Education in the United States PDF Download

Author: Terry A. Osborn
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 0313004056
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
At the dawning of the 21st century, foreign language education in the United States is experiencing a period marked by exciting possibilities. Theorists and practitioners embrace a move from a perceived position of teaching only the elite to a nationally initiated cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural orientation embodied in the latest standards. Given the presence of non-English languages in all parts of the United States, a growing number of scholars are beginning to examine the sociological context in which this educational endeavor is carried out, noting that the figure of professional practice is inextricably linked to issues of cultural and academic context. Theory-informed practice in the coming years, therefore, will include the challenge of examining a broad range of topics related to curricular and instructional principles and procedures. The text is intended to provide a collection of perspectives related to issues of pluralism and reform as they will influence theory-informed practice of foreign language education in the coming century. Drawing from a variety of contributors from both inside and outside of foreign/second language education, this text brings the voices of scholars together focused on issues of contemporary consequence. The chapters center around a focusing theme in the form of the following question: How does the changing social and academic context of language education in the United States impact the future of our discipline?

Author: Fabrice Jaumont
Publisher: TBR Books
ISBN: 194762623X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The emergence of newer international standards and the focus on STEM education are transforming entire educational sectors. Yet, as schools focus more attention to developing global competencies and 21st century skills in their pedagogy, it has become critical to re-engage educators and school communities with the goals of language education, multilingualism, and multiliteracy while promoting interconnectedness, empathy, and mutual comprehension among our youth. With this in mind, it is important to understand the potential of multilingual education as it can serve our societies’ new expectations, and provide the right tools for success to our younger generations. The Gift of Languages: Paradigm Shift In U.S. Foreign Language Education explores the many advantages of multilingual education and sets the stage for a new paradigm in our approach to teaching and learning languages. The book touches on the issue of foreign language deficit in the United States and the changes that need to occur in our schools to better serve our children and our linguistic communities. The book also explores the growth of dual-language education in recent years and explores the connection between both multilingual programming and solving the United States’ foreign language problem. The discussion on language education in the United States has never been neutral; moreover, it has traditionally provided substantive direction and exerted significant authority over educational policy. Yet, this debate needs to move towards viewing multilingual education as an essential approach for our society, and as something that should be prevalent among educational policymakers. The audience for this book includes educators, language teachers, school leaders, school boards, program directors, scholars, and policy makers particularly if they want to join forces in building the future of education and investing in the multilingual capital of our nation. This book is part of The Bilingual Revolution Series. Praises We are at a critical point in our nation in which we can continue to hold on to our monolingual past, or embrace a multilingual and more inclusive future. The Gift of Languages helps us prepare and understand the necessary paradigm shift to adopt and implement a multilingual curriculum and mindset in our schools and communities. Co-authored by two pioneers and experienced experts in the bi- and multilingual education space, the book is a must read for educators, policy makers, community leaders, students, and interested parents who want to make meaningful changes now. – Andrew H. Clark, Ph.D. Chair, Dept. of Modern Languages & Literatures, Fordham University The Gift of Languages should awaken all Americans, especially the policy makers, for the need to raise future generations of multilingual citizens to compete and thrive in our global community. One of our founding fathers and presidents, Thomas Jefferson, spoke to and acted upon the need for teaching languages when he founded the University of Virginia; as a nation, we have not lived up to his words and actions. Let us remind ourselves that we started out a linguistically and culturally diverse group of peoples that came together to build a strong nation over the years. Linguistic diversity is the gift that our nation needs to give itself! – Francesco L. Fratto President, The Foreign Language Association of Chairpersons and Supervisors “Mastering languages is essential for communicating with and understanding others, respecting each other, and appreciating our heritages and our roots. The Gift of Languages offers an invaluable toolbox for policy makers, educators, families and students who are already working in the field of language and those who hope to create the kind of paradigm shift that the authors advocate. The book provides cogent arguments in favor of expanded language learning at all levels, and especially argues in favor of expanding the breadth and variety of multilingual educational opportunities already spreading in public school systems from Utah to Louisiana to New York and beyond. The authors cite examples of the “Bilingual Revolution” already underway and provide the kinds of arguments and examples that resonate for educators and drive policy towards furthering the way we value language education in the United States. The book is indispensable for anyone interested in the future of foreign language education.” – Jane F. Ross, Ph.D. President and Founder, French Heritage Language Program Over 60% of people on the planet are bilingual or multilingual — which suggests that this is the norm for human beings — and multiple studies demonstrate the cognitive, social, political, and financial benefits of bilingualism. Yet in the United States, we regularly hear news stories about people being shamed, bullied, and sometimes violently harmed for speaking other languages, even when they also speak English. Accessibly written, this book offers detailed arguments for both why and how the nation should embrace and promote linguistic diversity. Options for adults are expertly addressed, yet the authors invest even greater passion and detail in promoting early educational programs in which no child is left monolingual. I can think of no better way to shift our nation’s view of itself from “English Only” to “English Plus” and create a more inclusive society. We need a roadmap, and this book clearly lays out the territory and possible trajectories as it motivates us to make the journey. – Kimberly J. Potowski, Ph.D. Professor in the Department of Hispanic and Italian Studies, University of Illinois at Chicago About the Authors Fabrice Jaumont is the author of The Bilingual Revolution: The Future of Education is in Two Languages (TBR Books, 2017), which provides inspirational vignettes and practical advice for parents and educators who want to create a dual-language program in their own school. He has also published several books and articles on philanthropy, higher education, heritage languages, cinema, and the arts. Fabrice Jaumont is Education Attaché for the Embassy of France to the United States, a Program Director for FACE Foundation in New York, and the founder of New York in French. He is also a Senior Fellow at Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris. Fabrice Jaumont holds a Ph.D. in Comparative and International Education from New York University. For more information, visit the author’s blog: fabricejaumont.net Kathleen Stein-Smith is the author of The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit: Strategies for Maintaining a Competitive Edge in a Globalized World (Palgrave-MacMillan, 2016), The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit and How It Can Be Effectively Addressed in the Globalized World: A Bibliographic Essay (Edwin Mellen Press, 2013), and The U.S. Foreign Language Deficit and Our Economic and National Security: A Bibliographic Essay on the U.S. Language Paradox. (Edwin Mellen Press, 2013). Kathleen Stein-Smith is Associate University Librarian at Fairleigh Dickinson University, Chair of the American Association of Teachers of French Commission on Advocacy, and member of the American Translators Association Education & Pedagogy Committee. She has taught foreign languages at high school and college level, taught adult learners, delivered TEDx talk on the U.S. foreign language deficit. She holds a Ph.D. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Union Institute & University. For more information, visit the author’s blog: kathleensteinsmith.wordpress.com

Author: Kathleen Stein-Smith
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 3319341596
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 123

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Book Description
This volume explores why Americans are among the least likely in the world to speak another language and how this U.S. foreign language deficit negatively impacts national and economic security, business and career prospects. Stein-Smith exposes how individuals are disadvantaged through their inability to effectively navigate the global workplace and multicultural communities, how their career options are limited by the foreign language deficit, and even how their ability to enjoy travel abroad and cultural pursuits is diminished. Through exploring the impact of the U.S. foreign language deficit, the author speaks to the stakeholders and partners in the campaign for foreign languages, offering guidance on what can and should be done to address it. She examines the next steps needed to develop specific career pathways that will meet the current and future needs of government, business, and industry, and empower foreign language learners through curriculum and career preparation.

Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309164478
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 414

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Book Description
International Education and Foreign Languages reviews the Department of Education's Title VI and Fulbright-Hays Programs, which provide higher education funding for international education and foreign language programs. This book offers a timely look at issues that are increasingly important in an interconnected world. It discusses the effect of the nation's lack of expertise in foreign languages and cultural knowledge on national security and global competitiveness and it describes the challenges faced by the U.S. educational system and the federal government in trying to address those needs. The book also examines the federal government's recent proposal to create a new National Security Language Initiative, the role of the Department of Education, and current efforts to hold higher education programs accountable. This book provides information and recommendations that can help universities, educators, and policy makers establish a system of foreign language and international education that is ready to respond to new and unanticipated challenges around the world.

Author: Diane U. Eisenberg
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 108

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Book Description
In February 1992, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), in Washington, D.C., convened a 2-day roundtable meeting of education leaders with expertise in foreign language education and community college teaching and administration in order to formulate a foreign language education policy statement for AACC. This report presents the results of the roundtable. Following a preface by David R. Pierce, and a foreword by James Herbert, the "AACC Foreign Language Education Policy Statement" is offered, underscoring the critical responsibility that community colleges have in meeting the nation's new need for citizens who can function in a multi-linguistic world. The statement also details recommendations to community college leaders related to making foreign language education a priority; and strengthening related programs, faculty development efforts, and articulation agreements. Next, the following roundtable background papers are presented: (1) "Foreign Language Education at Community Colleges" by David A. Berry; (2) "Making the Most of the Articulation Process," by Fe Pittman Brittain; (3) "Uses of Technology To Teach Foreign Languages at Community Colleges," by John Underwood; (4) "Foreign Language Instruction Across the Curriculum: A Strategy and Model," by Joyce S. Tsunoda; and (5) "Proficiency Goals and Teaching of Literature in the Foreign Language Classroom," by Bette G. Hirsch and Chantal P. Thompson. Finally, a directory of participants, along with selected quotes from several participants is provided. (MAB)

Author: Gulbahar H. Beckett
Publisher: IAP
ISBN: 1607527162
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
Dewey's idea of Project-based Learning (PBL) was introduced into the field of second language education nearly two decades ago as a way to reflect the principles of student-centered teaching (Hedge, 1993). Since then, PBL has also become a popular language and literacy activity at various levels and in various contexts (see Beckett, 1999; Fried-Booth, 2002; Levis & Levis, 2003; Kobayashi, 2003; Luongo- Orlando, 2001; Mohan & Beckett, 2003; Weinstein, 2004). For example, it has been applied to teach various ESL and EFL skills around the world (e.g., Fried-Booth, 2002). More recently, PBL has been heralded as the most appropriate approach to teaching content-based second language education (Bunch, et al., 2001; Stoller, 1997), English for specific purposes (Fried-Booth, 2002), community-based language socialization (Weinstien, 2004), and critical and higher order thinking as well as problem-solving skills urged by the National Research Council (1999). Despite this emphasis, there is a severe shortage of empirical research on PBL and research-based frameworks and models based on sound theoretical guidance in general and second and foreign language education in particular (Thomas, 2000). Also missing from the second and foreign language education literature is systematic discussion of PBL work that brings together representative work, identifying obvious gaps, and guiding the field toward future directions. This, first of its kind, volume bridges these obvious gaps through the original work of international scholars from Canada, Israel, Japan, Singapore, and the US.

Author: Raúl Ruiz Cecilia
Publisher: Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN: 1527525473
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
Language teaching approaches, methods and procedures are constantly undergoing reassessment. New ideas keep emerging as the growing complexity of the means of communication and the opportunities created by technology put language skills to new uses. In addition, the political, social and economic impact of globalisation, the new demands of the labour market that result from it, the pursuit of competitiveness, the challenges of intercultural communication and the diversification of culture have opened new perspectives on the central role that foreign languages have come to play in the development of contemporary societies. This book provides an insight into the latest developments in the field and discusses the new trends in foreign language teaching in four major areas, namely methods and approaches, teacher training, innovation in the classroom, and evaluation and assessment.

Author: United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Labor and Human Resources. Subcommittee on Education, Arts, and Humanities
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education, Elementary
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Author: Ellen S. Silber
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135766290
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 320

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Book Description
First Published in 1991. This is Volume 22 of the Source Books on Education series. Politically speaking the study of foreign languages and cultures helps maintain a strong competitive position in an increasingly global marketplace. It was hard to imagine in 1957 that the launching of a Soviet rocket would push the United States into its greatest investment ever in foreign language education. As American policy-makers attempted to play catch-up with our brothers and sisters behind the iron curtain, this country infused federal dollars into extensive foreign language teacher training and the creation of new foreign language educational programs. As suddenly as federal support was given, however, so was it taken away; and its withdrawal was responsible for one of the darkest periods in the history of foreign language education in America. Drawing on the expertise of a number of the nation's most experienced and creative foreign language educators, this volume, edited by Ellen S. Silber, addresses some of the crucial problems we face in foreign language education today.

Author: Steven Berbeco
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 1137528508
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
Foreign language teaching in America today falls into three distinct fields of influence and interest: public and private schools, college and other post-secondary programs, and courses for adult learners. At a time when academics and instructors in each of these fields seek to answer similar questions, too few published resources recognize and address the parallels among them. In response, Foreign Language Education in America is an edited book with contributions that represent the diversity in foreign language education today, including perspectives from elementary, middle schools, high schools, university-level courses, summer programs, federal government, and international learning. This is a practical guide to the state of the field that fills a much-needed gap for scholars, researchers, administrators, and practitioners who are looking for a resource that describes effective practices across the field.