Start Date

11-8-2010 3:30 PM

End Date

11-8-2010 5:00 PM

Description

For a number of years there has been growing concern about the loss of the world’s linguistic diversity and the connection between language loss, culture loss, and environmental degradation. In part this has been linked to the effects of globalization and the spread of English as a lingua franca. This unprecedented phenomenon has given rise to further concerns that English is turning into a ‘killer language’ and that teachers of English are agents of imperialism, western thought and ideology. This has been countered with the notion that English is a tool for empowerment and as such should be viewed as a basic skill, necessary for development.

This presentation will take up some of these debates and explore in some depth the processes and factors at play in language endangerment and revitalization. Drawing on experiences with three very different contexts (Eastern Europe, South Africa and a Laotian immigrant community in the US) and on data from other studies, the presenters will draw attention to both dramatic and seemingly not so alarming language displacement. They will offer a typology of endangerment that covers languages disappearing globally, languages disappearing locally, and languages experiencing reduced functionality.

The second part of this session will explore new models of language pedagogy and language teacher training that can be powerful vehicles for reversing some of these disturbing trends and lead to empowerment rather than dispossession. The presenters will share their vision of creating an advocacy, research and training center that can tap into the potential of World Learning as an organization with infrastructure and roots in many places around the world. The projects envisioned embody several key roles for language educators: data collection on language endangerment and revitalization in a variety of contexts; promotion and development of new teaching and teacher training models for English and other languages; and educating various stakeholders from the general public to politicians, administrators, language planners, and researchers.

The workshop will be an opportunity to discuss and build possible partnerships by inviting input and the support of conference participants (particularly Study Abroad) from both local and global communities.

 

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Linguistics Commons

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Aug 11th, 3:30 PM Aug 11th, 5:00 PM

Languages Lost and Found – A New Role for Language Educators

For a number of years there has been growing concern about the loss of the world’s linguistic diversity and the connection between language loss, culture loss, and environmental degradation. In part this has been linked to the effects of globalization and the spread of English as a lingua franca. This unprecedented phenomenon has given rise to further concerns that English is turning into a ‘killer language’ and that teachers of English are agents of imperialism, western thought and ideology. This has been countered with the notion that English is a tool for empowerment and as such should be viewed as a basic skill, necessary for development.

This presentation will take up some of these debates and explore in some depth the processes and factors at play in language endangerment and revitalization. Drawing on experiences with three very different contexts (Eastern Europe, South Africa and a Laotian immigrant community in the US) and on data from other studies, the presenters will draw attention to both dramatic and seemingly not so alarming language displacement. They will offer a typology of endangerment that covers languages disappearing globally, languages disappearing locally, and languages experiencing reduced functionality.

The second part of this session will explore new models of language pedagogy and language teacher training that can be powerful vehicles for reversing some of these disturbing trends and lead to empowerment rather than dispossession. The presenters will share their vision of creating an advocacy, research and training center that can tap into the potential of World Learning as an organization with infrastructure and roots in many places around the world. The projects envisioned embody several key roles for language educators: data collection on language endangerment and revitalization in a variety of contexts; promotion and development of new teaching and teacher training models for English and other languages; and educating various stakeholders from the general public to politicians, administrators, language planners, and researchers.

The workshop will be an opportunity to discuss and build possible partnerships by inviting input and the support of conference participants (particularly Study Abroad) from both local and global communities.