IMPLICATIONS FOR FOREIGN LANGUAGE PEDAGOGY

Moving toward a critical pedagogy in the foreign language classroom requires fun-damental changes not only to curriculum development, but also to the way we

con-ceptualize what curriculum is. Themes of family, health, and weather or other vocabulary and grammatically driven syllabi will give way to units built around the context in which language education takes place. This process of macro-contextualiztion in the foreign language classroom becomes a genesis for curricula, instruction, and evaluation that are sensitive to the issues of diversity, and optimistic in their regard for social justice.

Curriculum planners desiring to move toward interdisciplinary, thematic units can strengthen educational experiences for students by helping them break down some artificial disciplinary barriers imposed by educational practice. At the same time, however, reaching across disciplines can be approached from a carefully planned and thoughtful attempt to balance the exigencies of academic rigor and sensitivity to realities of cultural pluralism. The politics of school knowledge will continue to influence curricular decisions, and an awareness of the issues raised in developing cross-cultural understanding will empower developers to move for-ward in a most effective and ethical manner.

Teacher educators and teachers can begin to develop a critical awareness of in-structional issues as well. How we present material related to cultural comparisons and academic connections is as important as what we choose to present in terms of achieving the goals of equipping students to live in an increasing diverse society.

Language classes as part of the core curriculum will indeed be faced with challenges as we broaden our own horizons in addition to those of our students. Interdisciplin-ary thematic units can serve as a powerful tool for connections and comparisons as we fulfill the agenda set by the newest and most ambitious standards.

It is unquestionably ironic that second (foreign) language education has seemed to come late to the realm of interdisciplinary unit development, since the foreign language field, unlike any other, is by its very nature concerned with bridg-ing disciplines. The category culture, in common use, has included strong compo-nents of studies of history, political science, food science, literature, economics, media studies, and so forth. Although collaborations with other disciplinary spe-cialists within the academic setting may seem restricted because the fluency re-quired to discuss complex topics in the second language often eludes students, in reality the newest standards and mandates provide multiple opportunities for con-nections and comparisons in the second language classroom. The integration of second language education into the core will be enhanced as practitioners in the field become skilled in the development of integrated, interdisciplinary units in-cluding the language classroom in the core.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. This chapter begins with a quote from the well-known American philoso-pher of education, John Dewey. What in your view are the implications of Dewey’s comments for the development of critical curricula in foreign language education? In other subject areas?

2. The authors assert that, “Certainly the curriculum writ large, as well as our objectives, classroom activities, and so on, cannot and should not be ran-domly and arbitrarily designed and implemented.” Do you agree with this claim? Why or why not? What does the claim tell you about the assump-tions the authors are making about the nature of the foreign language cur-riculum?

3. Explain in your own words what problem posing entails, and how this concept relates to teaching a foreign language. Can you give examples of student-based problem posing in the foreign language classroom?

4. Can you suggest a series of interdisciplinary themes that might tie the for-eign language curriculum to other subjects? What are the barriers to the successful implementation of such interdisciplinary themes? How can these barriers be addressed effectively?

5. How would you distinguish between a foreign language curriculum and a critical foreign language curriculum? How would the differences between the two be manifested in actual classroom practice?

FOCUS ON THE CLASSROOM

1. What kinds of topics are covered in foreign language classes that might also be important in mathematics classes? To what extent might these top-ics provide a foundation for interdisciplinary instruction?

2. What kinds of topics are covered in foreign language classes that might also be important in different science classes? To what extent might these topics provide a foundation for interdisciplinary instruction?

3. What kinds of topics are covered in foreign language classes that might also be important in social studies classes? To what extent might these top-ics provide a foundation for interdisciplinary instruction?

4. What kinds of topics are covered in foreign language classes that might also be important in English or language arts classes? To what extent might these topics provide a foundation for interdisciplinary instruction?

5. What kinds of topics are covered in foreign language classes that might also be important in other classes? To what extent might these topics pro-vide a foundation for interdisciplinary instruction?

NOTES

1. Such advertisements abound, in both printed and video forms, and it is quite easy for the teacher to begin to collect examples of advertisements that make use, in some way, of foreign languages. We have also found, however, that this is a very

useful activity for students in foreign language classes, at all levels, to be asked to engage in. Indeed, it is often an eye-opening experience for students to begin to critically assess advertisements, and understand the hidden and covert messages that such advertisements often convey.

2. For an excellent discussion of the issues raised here, see Lippi-Green’s book, Eng-lish With an Accent: Language, Ideology and Discrimination in the United States (1997).

3. The complex issue of the relationship between language and identity is explored in Dicker (1996, pp. 1–33).

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Foreign Language Teaching