Time for a Paradigm Shift in U.S. Foreign Language Education?

Abstract

In this chapter, a critique of the traditional justifications offered for the study of foreign languages in the United States, especially in the K-12 context, is offered. It is suggested that the justifications and rationales used to support foreign language education programs conflate two very different things: foreign language study , and bilingualism in a second language. The articulated rationales for foreign language study generally presuppose that the outcome of such study will be bilingualism, while in point of fact that is simply untrue for the overwhelming majority of Anglo-American students in the United States. We argue that in the neoliberal world in which we live it is time for a paradigm shift in foreign language education to reconceptualize the rationale for foreign language study. Further, we argue that there are some fundamental benefits to foreign language study for all students – benefits related not necessarily to bilingualism, but rather to the general enlightenment goals of education. At the same time we also suggest it is essential that serious and effective foreign language study, leading to meaningful bi- and multilingualism, be offered as an option to some students who are so inclined.

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