21, no. 2 (Winter 1990): 1-2
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From the Editor
Judith Ginsberg
OF THE many issues that confront us in the field of foreign language instruction, one that I have given a great deal of thought to over the last year is that of public relations-how we are perceived by those outside the profession. I am struck by how often people in other fields, people who are embarrassingly and often adamantly monolingual, reveal that they think our bag of tricks and methodological sophistication are limited to having students translate five sentences and put them on the blackboard. The many advances in the field that we are so aware of seem to go unnoticed among the general public. Last September, as a good friend of mine prepared to teach elementary French after ten years away from the classroom, he remarked on how much had changed in the profession. He knew he would be able to do what he had done with considerable success and satisfaction before, but he also knew he would need to apply new knowledge and insights about the process of second-language acquisition and the goals of foreign language instruction. Even at the elementary level, he realized, our field presents challenges and complexities.
A historical perspective on languages other than English is also missing from the common notions about language study in America. America has never been monolingual. Long before Columbus and the Mayflower, many different languages coexisted here; throughout our history and up to the present day, language diversity has continued to enrich our society. Certainly our multilingualism can prove a source of social conflict, but it is also a phenomenon of incredible creative potential. Think of the possibilities in the schools of Los Angeles, for instance, where 85 languages are now spoken.
The founders of our nation deemed the study of modern foreign languages a highly important endeavor; both Jefferson and Franklin, for example, included it in their respective curricula for the universities of Virginia and Pennsylvania. We can all point to distinguished Americans whose command of a second, third, or even fourth language contributed significantly to their success, and many adults can attest to the personal enrichment and enhanced cognitive skills resulting from language study. There even seems to be evidence that the study of foreign languages is related to higher SAT scores. But the list of advantages is obvious to most of us in the field.
The MLA Executive Council recently approved a project involving the development of a traveling exhibition about languages other than English in the United States, which addresses historical and methodological facets of our profession. The exhibit will be aimed primarily at young people aged from 10 to 17, the ages when many students first contemplate the study of a foreign language. We expect that many parents and teachers will accompany the children to the exhibit and that school-board members and other community leaders will also attend. The exhibit will therefore address, and be in a position to influence, both young and adult viewers.
The exhibit is planned in five chronological sections representing the years 1492, 1776, 1865, 1920, and 1992. For each of these periods, the role of specific native and immigrant languages in the cultures of major American cities and selected geographical regions will be illuminated through objects of material culture, foreign language newspapers, recordings, videos, maps, folklore, and objects relating to the interests of young people-games, sports, cartoons, holidays, and the like. In addition, the exhibit will point out for each period how foreign languages were taught, how it was believed that language was acquired, and who studied second languages and for what purpose. The contents presented will focus on the cities of New York, New Orleans, San Antonio, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Charleston (SC) as well as on areas of Michigan, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania.
I invite the participation of ADFL member departments in this project. We need your knowledge of local archives and historical societies to help us locate appropriate objects that can be either photocopied or displayed in another facsimile form. We are interested in tapes and videos of languages other than English as they are spoken throughout the United States, as well as in information about the ethnic press anywhere in the country and especially in the areas we have targeted. We need information and ideas about striking and unusual objects of material culture that are related to language study and language phenomena in the United States. We invite linguists, anthropologists, folklorists, curators, and historians to contribute their knowledge and perspectives about the variety of languages other than English spoken throughout the country as well as about some of the special aspects of languages, such as the origins of place-names and surnames in the United States. The ways in which present-day American English evolved from its various sources will also constitute a part of our exhibit. I urge you to call me, at (212) 614-6320, or write to me, at ADFL, 10 Astor Pl., New York, NY 10003–6981, with your ideas and information about relevant materials and projects.
I would like to extend another invitation, to those of you who coordinate language instruction at a college or university or who supervise foreign language teachers in a school district, to participate in the MLA's two-week intensive institute, Current Issues in Foreign Language Teaching, to be offered at Middle-bury College on 8–20 July 1990. The MLA will award fellowships to help defray the cost of attending the institute. Applications are now available from the Director of Special Projects, MLA, 10 Astor Pl., New York, NY 10003–6981. The application deadline is 15 April 1990. Given the great success of the predecessor institutes of 1988 and 1989, held in Texas and Arizona respectively (participants made comments such as “cutting edge,” “changed my whole approach,” “helped me change an entire university curriculum,” etc.), this year's version, taught by Charles Hancock and June Phillips, promises to be a major event in our profession this year. I hope that you will be able to join us and that you will encourage the appropriate colleagues to attend as well.
I have one more invitation to extend to ADFL Bulletin readers. Like the invitations already extended in this issue's column, this one asks for participation, commitment, and talent from colleagues in member departments. I continually receive positive comments from readers of the ADFL Bulletin. Authors are pleased that their work reaches a wide and interested audience. As one author commented to me recently, “Everybody reads the Bulletin. ” And another asserted that regardless of where she publishes, the articles of hers that everyone tells her they read appeared in the Bulletin. And with good reason-our articles are informative, timely, and germane. They reflect the breadth and diversity of the field. In this issue, for example, we touch on topics as wide-ranging as recruitment and training of future members of the profession, oral proficiency, literature in the foreign language classroom, language maintenance, and the problems of the advanced language class. We also include a provocative piece by a colleague in English about how important it is that children learn a second language. But these fine articles don't grow on trees. Everyone is invited to submit articles to the ADFL Bulletin. The articles we receive are subject to both in-house and external review. The review process is rigorous, but its results, as our authors and readers tell us, is worth the effort. Have you heard an exceptionally good presentation? Has a colleague shared a paper with you that would interest our readers? Keep in mind that issues of the Bulletin circulate within departments and remain accessible in departmental and institutional libraries. I invite your submissions.
© 1990 by the Association of Departments of Foreign Languages. All Rights Reserved.
ADFL Bulletin 21, no. 2 (Winter 1990): 1-2 |
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