Remapping the Foreign Language Curriculum: An Approach through Multiple Literacies (Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures)

Swaffar and Arens (both Germanic studies, U. of Texas, Austin) examine foreign language (FL) programs for adult learners, positing a critical need to rethink the types of programs and pedagogies that currently dominate FL teaching in junior colleges, colleges, and universities in the U.S. Coverage includes the culture of social sciences and humanist disciplines; linking meaning and language in FL teaching; holistic curriculum design; using a short work of literature in beginning and intermediate classes to move from reading to greater language command; using multiple genres and divergent discourse practices with advanced students; sequencing learning keyed to learner stages; using the genres of different texts to teach an FL culture; and professional responsibility in FL teaching. Annotation ©2006 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Katherine Arens is a Professor of Germanic Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. She is also a Professor in the Center for European Studies and the Center for Russian and East European Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of five books, including "Empire in Decline" (Peter Lang, 2001) and "Austria and Other Margins: Reading Culture" (Prentice-Hall, 1996). She has been the recipient of a number of awards, including the Plato Award from the International Biographical Centre, Cambridge, UK.