Transformative Language Learning and Teaching

Description

Transformative learning has been widely used in the field of adult education for over twenty years, but until recently has received little attention in the field of world languages. Drawing on best practices and the research of distinguished international world language experts, this volume provides theoretical and classroom-tested models of transformative education in world languages at major university, state and governmental programs. Chapters outline theoretical frameworks and detail successful models from cutting-edge programs in a wide range of languages, with plenty of examples included to make the theory accessible to readers not yet familiar with the concepts. Classroom teachers, program administrators and faculty developers at every level of instruction will find support for their courses. With its innovative approach to the teaching and learning of languages, this volume is a seminal text in transformative language learning that will stimulate discussions and innovation in the language field for years to come.

Betty Lou Leaver, former Provost of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, where her programs earned the American Association of University Administrators' 2016 Khaladjan International Award for Innovation in Higher Education. Author of over twenty books, she provides workshops for the US Embassy Speaker program, served as a US government liaison to the NATO-Bureau of International Language Cooperation, and has administered programs for NASA's International Space Station, NYIT in Jordan, and the Foreign Service Institute. Dan E. Davidson, Director of the American Councils Research Center (ARC) and Emeritus Professor of Russian at Bryn Mawr College, has written extensively on the impact of immersion learning on the linguistic, cultural and intercultural development of young adult learners. He was appointed in 2015 to the Commission on Languages, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an elected foreign member of the Russian and Ukrainian Academies of Education, and Vice-President of the International Association of Teachers of Russian (MAPRIAL). Christine Campbell is President of Campbell Language Consultants and Professor Emerita of The Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center, where she was Associate Provost. She is former President of the American Association of the Teachers of Spanish and Portuguese (AATSP) and recipient of its 2020 Distinguished Leadership Award. Named a Distinguished Alumna by Purdue University in 1994, she recently served as Chair, AATSP Task Force Committee, which oversaw the revision of the World Readiness Standards in Spanish.

'This volume will prove itself as the leading book on transformative language learning and teaching. It is comprehensive, examines an extensive array of contexts and issues, and its authors write with authority and precision. Methods instructors, directors of language programs, graduate program pedagogues, language center directors - all will find this book a valuable resource for all aspects of this new perspective on language learning and teaching.' Catherine Baumann, The University of Chicago 'Kudos to authors and editors! This is an ambitious, inspiring, and superbly organized volume that will undoubtedly become a standard for pre-service language educators and in-service language professionals. Each chapter provides a concise history of where the profession has been and how the principles of transformative language learning and teaching can provide a road map for ensuring competent, reflective, and committed language users.' Elvira Swender, Director, Emerita, ACTFL Professional Programs