scholarly journals Cosmopolitanism and Multilingualism in a Globalized World: Perspectives on the Lack of Foreign Language Learning in the US

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 871-877
Author(s):  
Kathleen Stein-Smith
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Global Era ◽  
Language Deficit ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Us ◽  
Globalized World

Although cosmopolitanism has a long history, it has become even more relevant in the global era and, especially, since the COVID-19 global pandemic has made communication and understanding across cultures more important than ever. Multilingualism is the essential cosmopolitan skill and tool, empowering those who are proficient in one or more additional languages to understand, and to communicate and interact with others more effectively. The United States suffers from a foreign language deficit, and there is an urgent need to build both motivation and interest in other languages along with sustainable skills in other languages in the US. Steps to effectively address this deficit include prioritizing language learning and use, and providing the opportunity to all interested students to learn one or more additional languages.

Intentional Foreign Language Advocacy: Skills Set, Mindset, and Core Value

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 473
Author(s):  
Kathleen Stein-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Skills ◽  
Opportunity To Learn ◽  
The United States ◽  
Language Deficit ◽  
Core Value ◽  
Effective Advocacy ◽  
Globalized World ◽  
Foreign Language Skills

Although a nation of immigrants and although more than 60M speak a language other than English in the home, the United States suffers from a foreign language deficit, in which demand for foreign language skills exceeds supply, and where opportunity to learn another language is actually decreasing. Compared to Europe for example, a significantly smaller percentage of US students study another language, and language study typically begins later. In order to build the foreign language skills needed in the workplace, in the globalized world, and in our society, all students should have the opportunity to learn another language, and in order to increase opportunity, advocacy is needed to promote language learning and to support and defend endangered programs.  Effective advocacy needs to be not only strategic, but intentional, a mindset and skills set stemming from a core value of making the world a better place through our everyday actions.

scholarly journals COVID-19 and reproductive justice in Great Britain and the United States: ensuring access to abortion care during a global pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Chloe Romanis ◽  
Jordan A Parsons ◽  
Nathan Hodson
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Great Britain ◽  
Medical Abortion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Reproductive Justice ◽  
Abortion Care ◽  
Global Pandemic ◽  
The Us ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Legal Barriers

Abstract In this paper we consider the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on access to abortion care in Great Britain (GB) (England, Wales, and Scotland) and the United States (US). The pandemic has exacerbated problems in access to abortion services because social distancing or lockdown measures, increasing caring responsibilities, and the need to self-isolate are making clinics much more difficult to access, and this is when clinics are able to stay open which many are not. In response we argue there is a need to facilitate telemedical early medical abortion in order to ensure access to essential healthcare for people in need of terminations. There are substantial legal barriers to the establishment of telemedical abortion services in parts of GB and parts of the US. We argue that during a pandemic any restriction on telemedicine for basic healthcare is an unjustifiable human rights violation and, in the US, is unconstitutional.

scholarly journals Organizational Principles and Content of Early Foreign Language Learning in the USA

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-38
Author(s):  
Iryna Biletska
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Elementary Education ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Politics ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Us Government ◽  
The Usa

Abstract According to the results of leading American scientists that convincingly demonstrate the effectiveness and necessity of early foreign language learning the features of teaching foreign languages at elementary level in the United States have been analyzed. It has been found out that the US government is working on the improvement of foreign language at elementary education all over the country. The attention is paid the languages that were not so popular, and now have obtained the status of “extremely necessary”, such as Arabic, Farsi and Russian, as they have become very important for the future participation of the state in world politics. The requirements for programs development of foreign language for elementary school have been described; such aspects as quantity of classes, curriculum project, teaching materials, teaching staff and knowledge of the students, the choice of languages, coordination and efficiency are taken into consideration. The short description of the content of foreign language teaching of elementary education has been presented. It has been indicated that success in foreign language learning as a device of foreign language communication depends on the level of listening, lexical, grammatical and spelling skills, as well as the abilities of listening, speaking, reading and writing, which are defined in the program for elementary school.

National Standards: Research into practice

2012 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 515-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eileen W. Glisan
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Foreign Language Learning ◽  
Language Education ◽  
The United States ◽  
Foreign Language Education ◽  
Language Instruction ◽  
National Standards ◽  
The Impact

The Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century (SFLL) (National Standards in Foreign Language Education Project [NSFLEP]), originally published in 1996, were envisioned by many as the panacea for providing a new and exciting direction for foreign language education in the United States. The perceived impact of these National K-16 Student Standards has been witnessed throughout more than a decade by scholarly works that have acknowledged their role as ‘a veritable change agent’ (Sharpley-Whiting 1999: 84), ‘a vision for foreign language education in the new century’ (Allen 2002: 518), and, more recently, as ‘a blueprint and framework for change’ (Terry 2009: 17). The research that has been done on the Standards since their inception has attempted to provide concrete ways for the field to embrace this new framework and thereby realize a Standards-based curriculum and perhaps even revolutionize language education. This work has consisted largely of (1) implementational research (both with and without experimental design) that proposes specific strategies for addressing the Standards in planning, teaching, and assessment (Schwartz & Kavanaugh 1997; Abbott & Lear 2010); (2) survey research that analyzes self-reported information regarding teachers' pedagogical beliefs about the Standards and ways in which they claim to be addressing Standards in their classrooms (Allen 2002; ACTFL 2011), and (3) White papers that disseminate opinions and insights by leaders in the field regarding the impact that the Standards are having in areas such as language instruction, curriculum and course design, and educational policy (Sharpley-Whiting 1999; Donato 2009; Glisan 2010).

scholarly journals The Relationship between Social Identity and Foreign Language Learning Motivation: The Sustainability of Heritage Language Learners

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 13102
Author(s):  
Luis Miguel Dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Identity ◽  
Foreign Language ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Learners ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spanish Language ◽  
University Environment ◽  
Spanish Language Learners ◽  
The Relationship

This study aimed to explore the relationship between social identity and language learning motivations of a group of heritage Spanish language learners in a university environment in the United States. Based on the qualitative research inquiry with semi-structured interview and focus group activity tools, a group of 78 Spanish language learners in one university environment in the United States were surveyed. Under the open-coding and axial-coding techniques, the finding of this study indicated that the three main motivations were Latinx Americans with dual identities, interests in career development, and surrounding environments and individuals. Department heads, non-profit organisation managers, and researchers may use this study as the blueprint to reform and polish the current foreign language teaching and learning programmes, courses, and policies to meet the expectations of multilingualism.

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