Globalization and Language Teaching
May 1, 2015
4:00 PM - 5:30 PM
Globalization and Language Teaching: What does “global” really mean for national-language teaching and learning?
Glenn Levine, Professor of German, University of California at Irvine
Issues of language and globalization are presented and described, ranging from (aspects of) the international geopolitics of language, the steadfastly provincial place of the U.S. in a multilingual world, the educational and institutional hegemony of English around the world relative to the status of national languages other than English, the role of digital media and the Internet in the teaching and learning of languages, among other considerations. It is argued that in order for language teaching to meet the needs of students today in the coming years, our pedagogy must expand beyond the largely interactive-functional and grammar-driven curricula that determine a good deal of what happens in two or four semesters of university instruction. In light of the pressing need for international and cross-cultural communication for conflict mediation and resolution, and for pedagogies that are geared toward more expansive ideas of language and language learning, proposals are made for bottom-up curricular considerations, as well as for longer-term systemic changes in university language programs.
Date posted
Jun 10, 2020
Date updated
Jun 10, 2020