Faculty participate in conference on future of language instruction

By Steven Beeber, News Office staff

aculty from across the curriculum will speak on the future of foreign-language instruction at the annual meeting of the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) Nov. 17-19 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston. The event, which is expected to draw nearly 5,000 foreign-language instructors from around the world, comes on the heels of a renewed national effort to increase foreign-language instruction in the United States.

     According to Theresa Austin, associate professor of Teacher Education and Curriculum Studies, the national effort to create new directions for foreign-language instruction was initiated by President Clinton earlier this year. In a memorandum issued April 19, Clinton said: "To continue to compete successfully in the global economy and to maintain our role as a world leader, the United States needs to ensure that its citizens develop a broad understanding of the world, proficiency in other languages, and knowledge of other cultures."

     In response to this memorandum, approximately 160 foreign-language educators from across the country gathered in Leesburg, Va., June 15-18, Austin says. This group of college professors, secondary school teachers, publishers, and government agency representatives developed an action plan for the promotion of foreign-language education in the United States. Among the principles they advocated were the following:

• To begin educating all children in at least one foreign language as early in the school system as possible;
• To continue educating, through the University level, those Americans who need more specialized language skills. (For example, business majors headed toward careers with multi-national corporations);
• To increase research into how children and adults best learn to speak and understand a foreign language;
• To increase research into how to train enough teachers to fill the nation's classrooms as all children begin to study another language.

     At the ACTFL convention, University faculty will speak on a variety of topics including: foreign language and African-American students; French and Caribbean culture; and the future of study-abroad programs.