Foreign Language as the Culture

¶ … Foreign Language

As the culture in which we live becomes increasingly diverse and highly focused on globalization, concepts of foreign language teaching and learning at all levels of education becomes increasingly important. (Gerwin & Osborn, 2002, p. 80) (Whitt, Edison, Pascarella, Terenzini & Nora, 2001, p. 172) Yet, statistics of enrolment and success in post-secondary foreign language education do not seem to play out this growing necessity. "In recent years, the language-instruction profession has seen alarming declines in enrollment in languages other than Spanish (Brod&Huber, 1992; Van Cleve&Willson, 1993; Siskin, Knowles,&Davis, 1996). " (Moser 3) Creating systems that promote retention of individuals in foreign language learning programs at the post-secondary level is therefore crucial to the development of educators and individuals who are fully prepared for a multi-lingual community and work environment. There are many theories associating foreign language retention at primary and secondary levels as gatekeeper type courses for success in four-year institutions, in both enrolment and degree completion. (Atanda "Do Gatekeeper Courses Expand Education Options?" Education Statistics Quarterly) it has in fact been determined by statistical analysis that the higher the level of foreign language retention in secondary education, with the highest goals being three years of retention, as well as other rigorous courses is correlated to success in a four-year college, and more importantly the original college applicants enter, no matter their chosen field of study. (Warburton, Bugarin, and Nunez "Bridging the Gap: Academic Preparation and Postsecondary Success of First-Generation Students" Education Statistics Quarterly) With this information, on elementary and secondary completion of foreign language courses one can safely assume that further success in foreign language programs at the postsecondary level will also have some correlation to success and completion of degrees as well as more long-term goals, such as employment in a field that utilizes one or more foreign language as a basis for initial employment and on a daily basis as part of the job task set. This work will attempt to demonstrate the need to analyze existing data and formulate new research on foreign language retention, why it occurs on a post-secondary level and what obstacles contribute to reduced retention in foreign language programs.

Statement of Problem:

There has been a great deal of emphasis on primary level foreign language education, as many researchers and educators have come to understand the nature of human development, and yet this early learning has not yet caught up to today's college aged individuals, nor has it been entirely entrenched in current lower level curriculum, to benefit future students, outside of intrinsic specialized schools and coursework. (Herman, 2002, p. 21) (Christian, Pufahl & Rhodes, 2005, p. 226) Therefore students that do choose to embark on post-sec degrees in foreign language programs are either innately capable through other means of learning and retaining foreign language materials or they are simply driven to work very hard to do so. This motivation must be reinforced and engendered in others if foreign language learning is to grow its ranks and keep contributing to a dire social need.

Furthermore, students, who have complete one or more years of foreign language learning in elementary and secondary settings as well as others interested in foreign language study must be shown the importance and relevance of retention in foreign language programs included in diverse liberal arts curriculum of a post-secondary four-year institution that will foster their ability to function in a global environment, be it in business, education or even social services. In short imparting relevance as well as broadening the foreign language curriculum, through collaberation are two proposed keys to creating greater retention in foreign language programs in four-year institutions.

A university language programs for teacher candidates must create the conditions for language learning and use in their own classrooms that will facilitate the learners' successful appropriation of the means needed for participation in a range of intellectual and practical activities in the target language. Likewise, we must provide learning opportunities in language education courses that help develop language teacher candidates' understanding of and ability to create effectual learning communities of their own, to assume responsibility for their own learning, and ultimately, to maintain themselves as lifelong learners in their chosen profession. (Hall & Verplaetse, 2000, p. 295)

Post-Secondary education is the clear culmination of diverse educational goals, earlier in life, and yet it is sometimes thought of by students and potential students as an adjunct to other post-secondary degrees. Though this is not to be discouraged, as a solid foreign language minor or double major will enhance any educational pursuit or degree the retention of students in foreign language exclusive post-secondary degree programs can sometimes be a challenge.

One problem we face as a discipline stems from a broader misunderstanding entrenched both in higher education and in the general population: unrealistic expectations about the complexity and speed with which one can acquire a foreign language. This leads to the misconception, even in well-intentioned discussions of internationalizing the curriculum, that making room for two to four semesters of a foreign language should be sufficient to allow students to use the language in work settings or, conversely, that language courses themselves are at fault if students do not emerge "fluent" after two years.

(Moser, 2001, p. 5)

This proposal will seek to understand, through analysis in the proposal, as well as the much longer proposed dissertation, the manner in which retention in foreign language post-secondary education programs can be enhanced and expanded upon in the future. The work will address the research question: How can retention be improved in foreign language programs in post-secondary four-year institutions. The proposal will seek information on success and/or failures in such institutions and perform preliminary data collection as well as a comprehensive review of literature dealing with the subject matter. The proposed research will then express the results through a framework of original research on retention tools, perceived as successful by educators and learners in current foreign language programs.

Review of Literature

Herman points out that the politics of foreign language curriculum advocating has been set aside or never picked up by foreign language educators. Something he believes is lacking in the filed, as it leaves programs at risk for reduction and even elimination of diverse options.

Foreign language educators have traditionally been less active than others in responding to language politics, often leaving such work to TESOL (Teaching of English to Speakers of Other Languages) educators. We must begin to examine the connections between the modern language classroom, the ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom, "English-only" attitudes, anti-immigrant attitudes, and language rights, as well as our own attitudes about patriotism, nationalism, and the role we play in the politics of language. It is an old sales pitch that the study of foreign languages means access to cultural understanding (primarily through literature study), or to power in international business or political relationships (primarily through oral- or proficiency-oriented models). The problem with both of these approaches is that our enrollment numbers over the past forty years clearly indicate that they do not attract a majority of school-aged students to our classrooms. (Herman, 2002, p. 20)

Improving such enrolment is detrimental to the engendering an environment where cultural and language learning are foundational to education and success. Creating a system that creates relevance for students, will bring foreign language back into core curriculum ideals and improve retention in post-secondary foreign language programs as well as keeping them truly diverse through course and language offerings.

We must find new approaches that have broader appeal and convince parents that modern language study is part of a core educational experience, not just part of the "college-prep" track or a means to (unprovable) economic gains. (Herman, 2002, p. 21)

According to Herman the key to successful reinvigoration of foreign language success and retention in post-secondary education is collaboration between culture-based courses, ESL teaching and foreign language curriculum courses. On the Post-secondary level this is a challenge, as many programs and departments are insular and therefore difficult to collaborate with, and yet some of the same students take courses in all these areas simultaneously to fulfill their chosen degree

Hall and Verplaetse stress the importance of increasing the body of empirical data available with regard to post-secondary foreign language learning, as basis for understanding and improvement and go on to say that the limited data available indicates the need for increased classroom interaction, to facilitate better results and retention. This rather large volume stresses again that collaboration between ESL and foreign language as well as history and social studies contexts is essential, as culture is not transmitted through language alone and these resources have yet to be tapped, as effectively as they could be. (Hall & Verplaetse, 2000, p. 296)

In chapter 10 Boxer and Cortes-Conde look at two university ESL content-based classrooms taught by two different instructors, exploring the issues of classroom identity, the development of relational identities, and the forming of community within the classroom. Although both teachers described their role as facilitator, and both expressed the goal to generate community within the classroom, one of the two was considerably more successful in promoting student interaction and student relational identity. For both teachers, however, Boxer and Cortes-Conde highlight moments where the teacher talk lends itself to greater student interaction. At these moments, the teachers often fostered group discussions by asking students about their own cultural norms. When teachers took on the role of information brokers, students resumed the role of passive learners. The authors argue that open dialogue is crucial to fostering pragmatic and sociocultural competence, and that teachers can create this open dialogue and a place of comfort and still encourage pragmatic awareness. (Hall & Verplaetse, 2000, p. 15)

Stressing among new and existing foreign language educators the importance of classroom interaction as well as cultural expression is essential, as the manner in which context is delivered, as apposed to content lectured upon creates foundational interest and potential independent motivation to learn. Curriculum, must be inclusive and collaborative to engender individual motivation, which is essential to foreign language learning, and this is especially true with adults who are at a proven biological disadvantage and therefore require more motivation to learn and retain information.

As learner motivation is crucial to the development of foreign language skills as well as any academic endeavor the results of motivating through context teaching and conversational, collaborative functions may be one of the greatest assets the foreign language academy can develop. Moser has developed a line of reasoning, based upon empirical qualitative and quantitative data with regard to collaborative and diverse foreign language programs at a minority of universities in the U.S.

A on campuses where the support for foreign language study is especially strong, programs of foreign language across the curriculum have been developed to expose students to content courses in other disciplines offered all or in part in the foreign language (Knecht, 1999; Rivers, 1994).

(Moser, 2001, p. 4)

Sadly, Moser also points out that the recent historical emphasis on the growing Spanish as first language minority in the U.S. has created a system that is divergent to true diversity in language learning. This is despite the fact that many universities in the nation are also stressing the need to internationalize curriculum to meet new global environmental needs, of all kinds. "... On the majority of campuses, foreign language study is hardly a strong component of the university's mission to internationalize. This clearly needs to change." (Moser, 2001, p. 5) One very strong point that Moser makes is that within universities there is a large body of formal as well as informal structures that could embellish foreign language learning. What is meant by this is the there is a culture of diversity upon college campuses, that can be found almost nowhere else and creating systems where interactions are easier to facilitate could help all language learners better accommodate the needs and interests of their courses and programs.

A it is equally important to create among our colleagues a community of scholars across campus, so that the broader university context supports the extended study of foreign languages by students over time. Though derived from the broader vision that foreign languages are central to the curriculum of an internationalized campus, the focus here is on describing tangible, tried-and-true strategies to make this a reality. (Moser, 2001, p. 5)

The tangible strategies Moser speaks of are indicative of contact points as well as discussion groups, either informal or electronic that facilitate conversations and context that are conducive of foreign language practice and participation. Though some universities clearly have developed such organizations, sometimes through extracurricular clubs and informal gathers that feed a system of context conversation, if such programs were made open to more students, through structured awareness campaigns as well as common interest opportunities they might be more effectively utilized to facilitate cultural as well as language learning opportunities, in a diverse set of languages. Moser also points at that college curriculum plans are saturated, making foreign language a difficult aspect to include if they are not in the direct goal of the student and expectations of being able to add two years of instruction in a foreign language course will make them effective speakers and users of the language are false and dangerous to some degree as they deter from the goal of life long foreign language learning. (Moser, 2001, p. 5) (Lightner, Bober & Willi, 2007, p. 5)

Christian, Pufahl & Rhodes discuss a recent study that was conducted to better understand how other nations have conducted their foreign language stressors to create success in foreign language learning, over a lifetime. The researchers found that there were several commonalities in many cultures that added to the cohesiveness and effectiveness of the programs

In 2000, to gain a better idea of what other countries were doing in foreign language education, the Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) collected information about policies and practices in 19 countries in diverse regions of the world. (5) This exploratory study found that successful language programs shared several common features

An early start. In most of the countries surveyed, the majority of students are required to begin learning additional languages in the elementary grades, whereas U.S. schools typically do not even offer foreign language classes until secondary school.

A coherent framework. Language educators in other countries stress the importance of a coherent, well-articulated framework for instruction. Such a system builds on students' skills from one level to the next, with aligned standards and a proficiency orientation. The framework is clearly understood by teachers and students and indicates when students start studying a foreign language, how much instruction they receive, and what levels of proficiency they are expected to achieve.

Strong leadership. Fostering successful language education programs requires leadership at all levels of government and solid partnerships among key stakeholders. The nature of the partnerships varies from country to country, but government leadership is critical.

Language as a core subject. Countries that take languages seriously treat them as important core subjects. In many countries, at least one foreign language is compulsory for all students. Often, foreign languages are accorded the same status as mathematics, reading, and writing and are required for school exit examinations and university entrance.

Rigorous teacher education. Teacher education is critical to excellence in foreign language education. In some countries, university teacher education programs are highly selective, drawing from among the best high school graduates.

Language through content. In many countries, foreign languages are used to teach such school subjects as geography, history, and physical education, once students have achieved a measure of proficiency in the language.

Creative use of technology. Language programs around the world make creative use of technology to increase the interaction of learners with native speakers and to improve classroom instruction. The Internet is becoming the technology of choice, with students accessing authentic materials in the target language -- both text and audio and video files -- and interacting with native speakers in online chat rooms. These tools can increase students' motivation and decrease their anxiety, as well as provide more practice in using the language.

Support for heritage languages. Linguistically diverse countries have established policies and practices that foster the maintenance and development of heritage languages -- the native languages of their diverse populations. This works to the benefit of the learners, the heritage communities, and the society as a whole. (Christian, Pufahl & Rhodes, 2005, p. 226)

The value of this list of successful strategies is twofold, of coarse the list includes serious persuasive arguments for the establishment of learning foreign language as a life long endeavor, but they also make clear that the value of foreign language learning in general must be increased and expanded in the U.S. For post-secondary language learning to be effective on many levels.

According to Healy the importance of creating systems that are effective for post-sec level students is essentially a demonstrative task that will involve a shift in the ideals of the programs. The success, of programs and individuals is defined, as optimal when it effectively,

Minimize[s] the time to reach a criterion level of performance, ensure[s] the long-term retention of the acquired knowledge and skills that underlie performance, and provide[s] for maximal transfer of what has been learned from the training context to other environments. (Healy, 1998, p. 4)

Another issue that is essential to a greater understanding of the means of necessary change in foreign language teaching and learning and eventually retention in the post-sec environment is the utilization of technology as a rich resource, when appropriately applied to language learning. (Belz, 2002) (Naidu, 2003)

Foreign Language Learning (FLL) students commonly have few opportunities to use their target language. Teachers in FLL situations do their best to create opportunities during classes through pair or group work, but a variety of factors ranging from a lack of time to shyness or limited opportunity for quality feedback hamper this. This paper discusses online chatbots' potential role in fulfilling this need. Chat bots could provide a means of language practice for students anytime and virtually anywhere. (Fryer & Carpenter, 2006, p.8)

Everything from internet chat rooms, to live technology-based classrooms have been utilized in the recent past to keep foreign language learning current and diverse, and this trend is likely to continue and may seriously add to the collaborative process.

Methodology

The proposed research methodology for this dissertation is dependant on existing data, for the most recent years available on the full scope of the potential for collaborative learning in the foreign language academy. Though a thorough analysis of existing data, and a better understanding of the necessity for change, to a system that is more conducive to collaborative and contextual learning and less exclusive by program, some definitive answers about how to reinvigorate retention of foreign language learners in foreign language learning programs in U.S. post-sec four-year institutions.

Data Collection:

Data collection will consist of a collection of qualitative data with relation to the number of degrees earned as compared to enrollment in foreign language from the time of enrolment to ETA of degree attainment, from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) collected by the National Center for Educational Statistics. This initial data will establish retention rates and help to determine the number of individuals who enrolled in foreign language degree programs, as compared to how many have finished such programs, success being marked by the completion of a first or second degree in a foreign language, the qualitative data will be analyzed and summarized. Secondly, the proposed dissertation will then attempt to create a more comprehensive idea of other degrees attainted or programs available that are in some way associated to foreign culture and/or language teaching, which could potentially give some idea of the ability of such programs to collaborate, based on the availed options in the system. This of coarse will act as a data introduction to understand the most recent picture of diversity on campuses in the U.S. today and act as an introduction to the idea of collaborative teaching as a model for the development of better foreign language program retention. Additionally, the most recent available data on statistics for the entrance of foreign language speakers to universities and their completion of degrees, again for the purpose of a better understanding of collaborative potential. The work will also seek out data both qualitative and quantitative, through available literature to glean a better understanding of technology-based learning in the foreign language academy, and seek to better understand any collaboration (both national and international) that may add to the body of knowledge with regard to how such technology could create better collaborative systems, even in rather small four-year post-sec institutions.