Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
There are 6 products in Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures
Cultural Studies in the Curriculum
Cultural studies has shifted the focus of language and literary studies to concerns previously excluded from the classroom: the perspectives of marginal groups, the expressive forms and social practices of popular and mass cultures. Among Latin Americanists, this academic approach is strongly contested, for reasons both philosophical and political. In their introduction, the editors examine this conflict, relating the history of cultural studies in Latin America to later developments in Britain and the United States. The nine essays in this volume probe the tension and interdependence between the literary and the cultural, and they demonstrate the relevance of cultural studies to a new generation of language learners in an era of globalization.
Some of the topics discussed in Cultural Studies in the Curriculum are Chicano/a writing; Caribbean film, music, religious expressions, and sport; colonial Spanish perceptions of indigenous life; ethical issues in United States and Latin American business relations; and assumptions about gender and sexuality in Mexico before machismo. The wealth of material considered includes history, novels, poems, photographs, criminology texts, ethnography, anthropology, jokes, corridos, urban architecture, and movies.
An appendix of sample course syllabi is supplied.
Foreign Language Teaching and the Environment: Theory, Curricula, Institutional Structures
At a time when environmental humanities and sustainability studies are creating new opportunities for curricular innovation, this volume examines factors key to successful implementation of cross-curricular initiatives in language programs. Contributors discuss theoretical issues pertinent to combining sustainability studies with foreign languages, describe curricular models transferable to a range of instructional contexts, and introduce program structures supportive of teaching cultures and languages across the curriculum. Exploring the intersection of ecocritical theory, second language acquisition research, and disciplinary fields, these essays demonstrate ways in which progressive language departments are being reconceived as relevant and viable programs of cross-disciplinary studies. They provide an introduction to teaching sustainability and environmental humanities topics in language, literature, and culture courses as well as a wide range of resources for teachers and diverse stakeholders in areas related to foreign language education.
Learning Foreign and Second Languages
This inaugural volume in the MLA series Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures provides an overview of second language acquisition research. Is language a system of linguistic forms to be acquired by the study of grammar, or is language a means of communication, where students learn not by studying rules but by engaging straightaway in the use of language to convey meanings? Which approach is better in the classroom? The vibrant field of second language acquisition research is now carefully examining questions like these.
Written for a nonspecialized audience—for readers who share an interest in foreign language teaching and learning—Learning Foreign and Second Languages addresses both theory and methodology. Administrators, department chairs, curriculum and materials developers, teachers, and graduate students will find this collection of essays enlightening.
Modern French Literary Studies in the Classroom
Modern French Literary Studies in the Classroom: Pedagogical Strategies investigates how teaching practices can address the changing status of literature in the French classroom. Contributors consider questions about the scope of French studies, the validity of the canon, and the viability of interdisciplinary studies to rethink the teaching of literature.
The essays collected here demonstrate strategies developed by teachers in diverse institutional settings. The first section focuses on how to choose texts that will inspire creativity in students and make a language course thrive. The second set of essays examines ways to bring culture into the study of French literature through attention to different genres and media. The challenge of teaching across disciplines is the emphasis of the third section, which explores the differences sexuality, gender, and race make in canonical and francophone literature. The final series of essays examines how to adopt these new pedagogical strategies to a variety of curricular contexts—general education, combined undergraduate and graduate classrooms, and study-abroad programs.
Remapping the Foreign Language Curriculum
Janet Swaffar and Katherine Arens offer a holistic approach to postsecondary language teaching that integrates the study of literature and culture into every level of the curriculum. By studying multiple genres ranging from popular to elite, students gain an understanding of multiple communicative frameworks—and develop multiple literacies. Swaffar and Arens propose the use of a sequence of template-generated exercises that leads students from basic grammar patterns to a sophisticated grasp of the interrelations among language use, meaning, and cultural context. One example of their approach is the teaching of Laura Esquivel’s novel Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate). From exercise to exercise, students
- consider use of tense, narrative strategy (the connection between recipes and plot), and the social codes in the novel
- compare the novel with the Hollywood film version (different imagery for different audiences)
- critique promotional descriptions of the film on the Internet
- examine a magazine interview of Esquivel (to expose the interviewer’s assumptions)
The authors combine theory and practice, research and personal experience, to present a new, interdisciplinary curriculum that should strengthen the teaching of foreign languages in junior colleges, four-year colleges, and universities.
Study Abroad: Traditions and New Directions
Thanks to an increasingly interconnected global economy, the role of study abroad in twenty-first-century education has expanded. Student participation continues to grow as disciplinary offerings broaden; meanwhile, programs face persistent challenges to maximize access, strengthen language learning and multicultural awareness, reduce research bias, ensure funding, and maintain safety and security.
Designed as a resource for use in creating and conducting courses and programs overseas, Study Abroad: Traditions and New Directions presents a diverse picture of options for study abroad. Contributors’ experiences teaching in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, and Central America inform analyses of global trends, recommendations for enhanced learning, and course models that can be adapted for a variety of programs and locations. Essays discuss current policies, procedures, and formats including language immersion, interdisciplinary studies, mentored research, professional training abroad, service learning, and institutional partnerships.
