The Future of Foreign Language Education in the United States

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Terry A. Osborn

Book Code: H719

ISBN: 0-89789-719-6

ISBN-13: 978-0-89789-719-8

DOI:

208 pages, figures, tables

Bergin & Garvey

Publication: 1/30/2002

List Price: $95.00 (UK Sterling Price: £54.95)

Availability: In Stock

Media Type: Hardcover

Also Available: Ebook

Trim Size: 6 1/8 x 9 1/4

Subjects:

Series Title: Contemporary Language Education

Reviews:

[c]overs everything you might want to know about foreign language education, from research about the physiological effects on a brain learning a new language to descriptions of programs effective in helping immigrant children retain fluency in their native language.
—American School Board Journal September 2003

Endorsement From John L Watzke
Assistant Professional Specialist
Graduate Program in Education
Fellow, Institute for Educational Initiatives
University of Notre Dame: The Future of Foreign Language Education in the United States challenges our profession to look beyond the issues of pedagogy and standards to the social and educational changes in our country. The book presents a set of issues in-depth that the foreign language profession has only begun to consider. It is a challenging body of work, which will serve students and professionals alike as we move forward into the next century. I recommend this work for its relevance to the history, policy, and future of foreign language education.
Endorsement From Carol Saunders
Department of Modern and Classical Languages
Georgia State University: The Future of Foreign Language Education offers a variety of thought-provoking chapters of great interest to all foreign language educators. It addresses the historical, socio-political, epistemological, psychological and multi-cultural dimensions of foreign language education. Osborn's book is not so much about the future of teaching foreign languages as it is about the future of learning foreign languages. It directs us to consider the how and why foreign language learning will be restructured to emphasize not language for tourism or traditional literary/linguistic analysis, but language for life within an ever more international and complex American society.

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?

Table of Contents:

Introduction by Terry A. Osborn
"Our Patriotic Duty": Insights from Professional History, 1890-1920 by Deborah Herman
The Entangled Future of Foreign Language Learning by Stephen W. Kercel, Alenka Brown-VanHoozer, and W.R. VanHoozer
"Knowing" and "Learning" a Foreign Language: Epistemological Reflections on Classroom Practice by Timothy Reagan
Responding to Literature in the Foreign Language Classroom: Aesthetic Dimensions of Fluency by Philip M. Anderson and Terry A. Osborn
Challenging the Monovocal Narrative: Interdisciplinary Units in the Foreign Language Classroom by David Gerwin and Terry A. Osborn
Enabling Teachers Through Type Theory: Nurturing the Pluralistic Persona by A.J. Vogely
Professional Renewal: The Role of Teacher Education in Multicultural America by Terry A. Osborn and Jacqueline Davis
Toward a Political Economy of the Less Commonly Taught Languages in American Public Schools by Timothy Reagan
Reversing Language Loss in a Multilingual Setting: A Native Language Enhancement Program and Its Impact and Claire Sylvan and Migdalia Romero
Authentic "Migratory" Experiences for Language Learners: Macrocontextualization as Critical Pedagogy by Xae Alicia Reyes

LC Card Number: 2001043012

LCC Class: LB1580

Dewey Class: 418


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