Transcript Is there a place for languages in education? Towards a new framework for the role of languages of the wider world in.

Is there a place for languages in education?
Towards a new framework for the role of languages of the
wider world in the global university
Anne Pauwels
Languages in Crisis?
 “ a sad day for languages” Andrew Hall, CE -AQA
exam board, August 2010
 Relatively low % of students who undertake any
form of foreign language learning beyond the
compulsory stage
 Decrease in number of students who include a
foreign language in their final secondary level exam
 Growing linguistic diversity in societies around the
world is not reflected in language offerings at school
and universities
 Contraction and closure of language departments in
universities
 ‘There is an oversupply of Language Depts in our
universities’
Malaise in University Language
Departments
ÒThe consultation revealed a community which feels itself t o be vulnerable -and, indeed ,
beleaguered. There is a strong sense that the importance and the value of languages are not
properly underst ood and recognised either by Government or by potential students. It was
also clear that different language groups, and , indeed, different disciplinary groups, often
argue from different perspectives and with different views of the fut ureÓ(Wort on 2009:3)
Reshaping Language Education in
University Language Departments
ÒIn the context of globalization and in the post 9/11 environment , then, the usefulness of
studying languages other than English is no longer contested. The goals and means of
language study, however, continue to be hotly debated.ÓÉT he MLA is prepared t o lead the
way in the reorganization of language and cult ural educationÉ Õ(MLA 2007:1)
A new shape for languages education in
the 21st century
Abandon the discourse of crisis
Engage through a discourse of renewal
and change
Willingness to engage critically with the
current state of play in order to
understand how to move forward
 Probing questions around main
components of the study of languages
The Learner
What do we know
about learners of
languages?
How do we
accommodate them
in our teaching?
Change in Profile of Language Learners
Much greater diversity than a
few decades ago
Increased diversity in linguistic
background
Diverse levels of linguistic competence
Diversity in educational achievements
Increased diversity in socio-economic
background
Accommodating to the new profile?
 Diversity is perceived in many departments
as presenting obstacles
 For discussion:
 Should we consider reorganisation of language
learning structures according to language
competence rather than year of study?
 How can we gain a better understanding of the
linguistic capacities AND limitations that
background speakers bring to language
learning?
 What are the particular challenges for dealing
with ‘dialect’ speakers?
Language learning at university: goals
and purpose
 Desired outcome of language learning - skills
component?
 Native-like proficiency in target language
 Near - native competence
 For discussion:
 Is the ‘native speaker’ an appropriate reference point
or model for language learning in the 21st Century?
 Is NS - NSS interaction still the dominant context for
language learners: are changes occurring?
 Does the romantic notion of one language=one nation
still underlie our concept of ‘foreign’ language
learning?
 Should language teaching and learning practices in
universities accommodate these changes in
communicative contexts? How?
Moving towards a plurilingual language
pedagogy
 ‘Une didactique plurilingue dans le sens
profound du terme… viserait moins ce qui est,
et plutôt ce qu’on fait et comment accéder à
une position qui permet de faire. Donc, moins
un enseignement de la langue, de la culture, de
l’identité, mais plutôt une formation qui tient
compte des pratiques langagières, ainsi que
des idologies, des intérêts et des relations de
pouvoir qui les sous-tendent’ (Heller 2003)
Accommodating new communicative
cultures
Impact of the digital
revolution on
communication
modes and cultures
Texting - SMS
On line chatroom
Facebook etc.
Audio and
videophone
Beyond traditional modes of
communication: Questions to ponder
 To what extent are new communicative modes,
practices and cultures reflected in the language
learning curricula of universities?
 Are students familiarised with these new practices
as they affect the cultures associated with the target
language?
 Many new communicative practices rely on writing
skills, how is that accommodated in the curricula?
 Do these developments in the technologisation of
communicative practices affect different languages
in different ways?
The state of the discipline of languages
in universities
 ‘In the context of globalization and in the post -9/11
environment, then, the usefulness of studying languages
other than English is no longer contested. The goals and
means of language study, however, continue to be hotly
debated. Divergent views concerning language and its
many functions are reflected in differing approaches to
the study of language. At one end, language is
considered to be principally instrumental, a skill to use
for communicating thought and information. At the
opposite end, language is understood as an essential
element of a human being’s thought processes,
perceptions and self-expressions; and as such it is
considered to be at the core of translingual and
transcultural competence.’ [MLA 2007]
The state of the discipline of languages
in universities
 ‘The two-tiered configuration has outlived its usefulness
and needs to evolve. The critical moment in which
language departments find themselves is therefore also
an opportunity. Replacing the two-tiered languageliterature structure with a broader and more coherent
curriculum in which language, culture, and literature are
taught as a continuous whole…’
 ‘In our view, foreign language departments, if they are to
be meaningful players in higher education—or, indeed, if
they are to thrive as autonomous units – must transform
their programs and structure. [MLA 2007]
Dealing with new knowledges emerging
out of language departments
 New knowledges associated with the cultural and
literary component in the study of languages
 Cultural studies
 Film and media studies
 Textual Studies
 Moving new knowledges out of language departments
 Loss of language-specific focus
 Loss of research training and language specific research
Implications for Languages of the Wider
World in Universities
 Precarious state of LWW
 Chequered history
 Small enrolments
 Limited ‘Nachwuchs’
 Precarious state requires creative and innovative thinking and
initiatives
 Pioneering role in the reshaping of the study of languages in
universities
 Curriculum
 Delivery and design
 Teacher training