Practical tips and theory for Language Program Directors Language Program Direction: Theory and Practice combines helpful, practical, everyday advice with research and theory to offer a rich, contemporary resource for Language Program Directors or anyone involved in administering a language program. Intended for current and future foreign language teaching professionals, volumes in the Theory and Practice in Second Language Classroom Instruction series examine issues in teaching and learning in language classrooms. The topics selected and the discussions of them draw in principled ways on theory and practice in a range of fields, including second language acquisition, foreign language education, educational policy, language policy, linguistics, and other areas of applied linguistics.

This innovative text presents an introduction to different facets of building and leading language education programs at the university level to meet the needs of students who are minority speakers of a heritage language (HL) – also known as community or home languages. Providing a unique synthesis of theory and empirical research, Sara Beaudrie and Sergio Loza authoritatively illustrate and guide the reader through the main issues that program directors face from the early stage of program conceptualization and creation through later stages of program management and evaluation. The book keys in on the diverse considerations and skills involved in this leadership work – including advocacy and fund-raising, placement, curriculum development and assessment, teacher preparation and student advocacy – and offers an array of practical advice and pedagogical features. This is an invaluable resource for advanced students and scholars of applied linguistics and education, as well as future and current language program administrators in institutions of higher education, for understanding the benefits of specialized HL courses, for blazing a trail in future research in this domain, and for forging a path to solidified institutional recognition and support for HL education.

This collection papers begins with "Introduction: The Dynamics of Successful Leadership in Foreign Language Programs," then features the following: "The Undergraduate Program: Autonomy and Empowerment" (Wilga M. Rivers); "ta Supervision: Are We Preparing a Future Professoriate?" (Cathy Pons); "Applied Scholarship in Foreign Languages: a Program of Study in Professional Development" (Katherine Arens); "The Dynamics and Visibility of Foreign Language Programs: a Five-Year Survey of the 'Chronicle of Higher Education'" (Francis Lide); "ta Programs; The Fit between Foreign Language Teacher Preparation and Institutional Needs" (Lynn Carbon Gorell and Jorge Cubillos); "The 'Culture and Commerce' of the Foreign Language Textbook: a Preliminary Investigation" (L. Kathy Heilenman and Erwin Tschirner); "The Dynamics of Placement Testing: Implications for Articulation and Program Revision" (Diane W. Birckbichler, Kathryn A. Corl, and Craig Deville); "Identifying and Instructing At-Risk Foreign Language Learners in College" (Richard L. Sparks and Leonore Ganschow); "After the Classroom Visit: a Model for the Preparation of Peer Supervisors" (Robert L. Davis and Joan F. Turner); (Papers contain references.) (Sm).

We live in a global community, and to be a full member of this community often requires speaking more than one language. Educators and policymakers must ask themselves: What does it mean to view language learning not as an elective but as a necessity for communicating and interacting with people around the world? The Essentials of World Languages, Grades K-12 answers this question and many more as it shows us Why world languages must be positioned as an essential part of a balanced curriculum and why the time is right for implementing change. When language instruction should begin and how language instruction should be delivered and assessed. How to redefine the role of the teacher and curriculum coordinator in language learning. How to set realistic expectations for students' second-language proficiency. How to design curriculum using assessment targets. Packed with information about major trends and issues in world language education, this book offers valuable curriculum resources to help educators design and implement flexible language programs that prepare children to live and work in an interconnected, global culture.

Examines major trends and issues in world language education to argue that educators and policy makers must recognize the importance of making language learning a key part of school curriculum in order to help students thrive in the increasingly global community.

The perception of a permanent enrollment crisis in US postsecondary foreign language education has shaped our profession’s image for an entire generation of educators. Over the past 30 years, this crisis rarely invited self-examination or inspired creativity. Instead, it was routinely attributed to external factors: shrinking budgets, unsympathetic administrators, disengaged students. This volume is refreshingly optimistic: After providing a nuanced picture of the complex enrollment situation and focusing on perceptions of language education among undergraduate students, the volume features an inspiring panorama of successful models that revitalized language programs at a wide range of institutions. The diversity of approaches to post-secondary language education in the United States featured in this volume highlights that there are no simple “one size fits all” solutions. To be transformational, initiatives need to be intimately calibrated to the evolving needs and desires of our institutions’ most important stakeholder: the student. Per Urlaub, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, MA, USA