Abstract
Foreign language education has traditionally been textbook-focused and restricted in its vocabulary and topics. Although these topics, including family, culture, sports, food, etc., are invaluable for equipping students with language proficiency, they do not fulfill students’ needs to express and engage with pressing personal, social, and moral topics. Providing students with the linguistic competence for this type of expression is arguably more important than ever in a contemporary global society populated with competing, contentious, and sometimes inhospitable worldviews. For global citizens in a connected world, this includes vocabulary that can reflect diverse beliefs, ideals, and identities. Exposure to foreign languages and cultures can be argued to automatically advance diversity. However, reiterations of narrow and inaccurate representations, exacerbated by the limited range of available curricula, are a form of tokenism disguised as diversity. Therefore, engagements committed to equitable representation of diversity, vis-à-vis foreign language curriculum, are an unmet need. Furthermore, the implementation of sidelined representations constitutes an important step towards attaining a more just society. Funded by the Lytton Center for History and the Public Good, an engagements-style series of talks is being installed for Spring semester 2024 to expose students to stories, individuals, and movements—in the target language fully or partially—in which they find themselves represented and can find a foothold of identity in their new language. This study investigates the impact of grounding foreign language learning in moral, societal, and political topics on increasing student confidence and language competency for greater social impact.
Presenters
Weihsun MaoAdjunct Professor, Language and Communication, Ohlone College, California, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Vectors of Society and Culture
KEYWORDS
Global Society; Equitable Representation; Identity Foothold; Just Society; Linguistic Competence
