Longuageond Content-' aa/b-( Discipline-ond Content-Based Approachesto LanguogeStudy Merle Krueger, Editor Frank Ryan, Editor BothoJ the Center Jor ktnguageStudies, BrownUniversity D. C. Heathand Comltatty Lexingtor.i,N'lassachusettsToronto Ml&-Z F Ghapter I Resituating Foreig n Lang ua g es in the Curriculum Me e Kruegerond FrcnkRyan CentetJot languageStudies, Bt own Untuersi|y In the over two hundred years since rhe eshblisbmenr ot fie country's firsr modem languagedeparam€nt ar rhe College of william and Mary foreign language curricula at American coll€ges and universities have become righlly linked wirh pr€paring stud€nb to read and interpret liteEry masl€rwork. Today,joining lan- guagestudy and literaturesludy within the sameacademic depanmenr is lagely iaken for granted. "knguage" departmenrs typically struclure rheir requirem€nts for th€ Ilujor, and hence most courses after the fourth or liffi semester,around yql literary history and lheory To be sure, definitions ot rhe canon have chang€d dramatically in responseto evolving crirical merhods and h€ightened sensiaivity to issu€sof gender,Iace, class, and erhnicily.Still, studenr who wish to pursuelan- guagestudy beyond the int€rmediatelevel must generallychoose from courses organizedon the basisofliterary genres,perio&, or criricalapproach€s, regardless of their major or fi€ld of interest.This arrangementassumes thar, beyond the intermediatelevel, literary texts provide the most appropriatesubject marter for developingin all studentsthe communicarivecomperence now widely acceptedas lhe primary goal of languag€instruction. This is a problematicassumplion for severalreasons. As we becomemore and more consciousof the imDortanceo[ foreignlanguaSe compet€nce In dlsclpllnesLhroughout lhe unilersily,we needro ask whetherstudents would prolit mor€ from combining lor€ignlanguag€ srudy with rh€subj€ct matter of thosefields. Al rhesame rime, we needto examinemore closelyrhe didacticimplicarions lor learningany subjectmarrer (including lir€n- ture) in fte m€diumofa secondlanguage and rhe secondlanguagc rhrough orher disciplines.The purposeol tbis book is to summarizewhar knowledgewe haveof theseissues and !o stimularefunher discussionof rhem in rhe furure. Callsfor curricularaltemarives lo rhe lmditional ori€rlarion towardsliterature havebuilt to crescendoin recentyears. Several conrribLuors ro lhis volumesuggesl lhat thereis much to be gainedby openingthe foreigr languagecurriculum to a kriirxdrintFo,r,tr tnnSx!8$D rr,rCxnrrrlnxr 3 lb -t broader array ot disciplines.tf srudenrscan study a foreign languagerhtough lot greater {1 literary texts and lireraturein a loreign language,can they not alio siudy othir probably ne subjecrsthrough alorcign languageand foreign Ianguagethrough orher subjecrs2 time they c Whar are the ben€lirsand delicirsof such "conlenl ba;d" insr-rucrion?How can sP€akersin I ihis idea be implenenredin univcrsily coursesand study malerials?Inleerarins Behind foreign languagesrudy and arademic discipline., whi(h for reasonsdisiussei dppltcations furth€r on we reler to as "discipline-based"approaches to languagestudy poses cation betw, qu€srionsthat go ro the heartol our professionalenterptise aid c-hallenqeslone functional ir establishednotions about the academicdisciptine in which *" thi seventies al esays.in thii book des.ribe .everal ongoing experimentsin "."Ameri;a; "ng"j"d. higher l€aming lan Foucauonwnrch sugjafst some lenrative answers. lntellectual Good reasons . undoubledlyexisl tor rh€ tradilionatmarriage ot languageand understandl literarysrudies in modem languagedepaitmenrs. rhe accenton individualiiy and mountrnS (l crealivily in iilerary expressionreveals the potenrialiry,Ilexibilit, and aesihetic nomrc Pr€o h"aut) ol l:!ngua8eusc much moreeftecrivety rhan, say. ihe rvpi< at iusirre.s repon leaders argt The purvicwo[]irerirrre embr:l.c< vi Uallyjll of hunlanexperience and imagi_ part at leas narion, a criti.al anridotelo rhc alienatingelfecrs of arad€micand professional cems and b speiializarion I uflherrnore,a country! hest aurhors are k€enly <ensitive observ.r. of lhe cusroms,freiudices. idioslncra.ies. and (oncerns of its people.I h€irworks ability to st (r€)crearerhe uniqu?.ullure of their tirneand place,and assuch are invaluable for occupat documents for developingcro.s-culural a*aieness and an apprecialion lol humanisticvalues The quesrionis not whether liretarurehas a_lieyplace in a tinue to [o. liberal education.nor wherherleatning a foreign languageis necessarylot Inre -eue"n understandingo[ the lireraturein rhat-languagi,not wherher the srudy ol political are literatureis a legilimarer€ason lor learninga loreignIanguage. As languageeduca- as rmpottar tors we mustask ourqelves rarher, whether pFparing <ruden6lo read,disiuss, and cative" aPl_ interpretliterary t€xtsshould continue to be the overridingprinciple b€hind the include pr, organization_o[ the cuniculum and the governanceo[ modem languagedepart- guages," as ments at collegesand universities- ments at m Sinceat leastrhe earlyseventies, foreign languagescholars have beenadvo_ r€s€rrch h cating virtually unisonothat classroomlnstruction stressthose skills leamers matedals,I actuallyneed in order to communicateellectively *ith adult native sDeak€rsin ment of ar, real.lile siruations.The emphasisupon "communicariuecompetence" ilas served to dillerentiateuse-oriented, student-centered. contexr-embedded instruction trom d€termine what was perceived as an inordinate concem with formal structures and Eram promote s mari(al rules. presenredwith minimal allenrion ro communicativefuncttoi and wotld cou drilled wirhout relerenceto discemibly meaninglul conrexts.Foreign language l pf staggednSr lacully havr quile righlly rej.cted pedagogicalapproaches and methodologles ' drawn iml whrchlaughl sluden6 how lo conjugaleconecrly rhepast subjunctir,e ol irregulal which culr slem-changingverbr but l.k rh€mar a tossro buy a prlr otsocks.Sruns bv cri"tical (Krarnsch sludies and gov€mmentalreporrs ihat documentedrhe deplorableslre of lan- guaSeproticiency among high school and college srudenrs (ct Grossel99t: 195), in the pas and even amongundergraduare language majors (Canoll 1967), educarors dc facd and restructured their courses,de-emphasizing rote memorizationof abstract$ammar effectivel) principl€sand concentraringinstead on the ability to convey and comprehend meaninglulutterances. Lowering demands for grarnmaticalprecision in e;change tence for 4 Chaprcr1 60/64 uge throuSh for greaterlluency teacherslearned to acceprlh€ norion thar deir srudenrswould I stqdy other probably never b€ laken for nalive speakerso[ the rarg€r language;at rhe same her subjec6? time they came ro expec! them ro be able to negoriaremeaning wirh native )n? How can sp€ak€rsin the lar8etlanguage. ? lnt.graling Behindrhis shifr in perspecrivelay a renewedemphasis upon lh€ real-world n5 discussed applicationsof foreignlanguages, rheir usevalue as a meansofgenuine communi, study, poses carionbetween people of diflerenr linguisricand cuhural communiri€s,and their tllenges long funcrionalimporlance in $e corporale,govemm€n!, and academicworlds. In rhe rnSaged.The sevenliesand eighties, educarorsincr€asingly invoked pragmaricpurpos€s for rican higher leamin8languages, rather rhan suchbroad jusrilications as lheir importanceas an inrellectualexercise, as exposure lo a foreign cuhure, as paths r; inrernarional anguageand understanding.or as a pillar of a humanisriceducarion. The VieroamWar and /iduality and mountlng rradedeficirs brought home rhe point rharAmerica's polilical and eco, nd aestheric nomic predominanceafter World War II waswaninq. GovernDrenrand business iinessreport. leadersarguerl thar rhe naron! erodnrgcompeurivines" couU bc arrnbur(Jrr 3 and imagi part al leastto the poor languageskills o[ irs cirizens.Spuned on by th€secon- professional cernsand by slumpingenrollmenrs in languageclasses, educalors launched inlia- tivesro improv€language instrucrion in schoolsand universities.Increasingly, lhe Their works abilily to speakone or more loreign languageswas routed as an imponant asser € invaluable for occuparionaland professionalsuccess. eciation for World events--and the presenlationof theseevents in lhe ma55media-con- f place in a dnue !o foslerth€ conviction (hat our societymust developgreater international sry for lrue awarenessin order ro competeefl€crively in fie globalmarketplace and rhe world &e study of politicalarena. In this environmenr,loreign languages ar€ viewedmore and more iuage educa- as imponanr,even essenlialskills tor professionalsin many fields. ..Communi- discuss,and cative" approachesrecognize and promorelanguage in use. Addirional effons : behind lhe include programsto expand the srudy of so-called"less commonly taughr lan- rage depart- guages," as well as the reinsritution and righrening of foreign languag€ rcquire- mentsat manycolleges and universiaies.A substandalamounr ofscholarshiD and b€en advo- r€searchha been devored lo developtngclassroom m€lhodologtes, r.rihing ills leamers materials,and lechnologicalinnovalions rhar expos€l€amers ro a rich environ, speakers in ment of aulhenriclanguage and crealemore opporruniri€sfor praclcing genuine ' has sewed communicadonin the second languag€.Research sludies havebeen desiqned ro uction fmm derermineuhrch rnsrrucrional lechniques, envrronmenls, and nulerials eff;crvely I and gram- promotesecond language acquisition as nreasuredby proticiencyskills in real- world communication tasks (s€e Fre€d l99l). From caretul analysisot th€ In Enguage staggetln8lyromplex