The national standards at the postsecondary level: A blueprint and framework of change

Abstract

For years we have looked for the one right way to teach foreign languages. Many different methods, techniques, and approaches have surfaced, but none has yet provided us with the way. The most recent phenomenon to appear is the Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century. While still not affording us the answer, since their 1996 appearance the Standards have had a noticeable impact on foreign language teaching: New state frameworks, new curricula, new textbook series, and a new focus on performance in the classroom, as outlined in the Five Cs (Communication, Cultures, Connections, Comparisons, Communities). Another challenging yet exciting C is now facing those of us who teach at the college/ university level: Change. The challenge is in convincing colleagues why change is necessary and why they should change. We all should read the 2007 Modern Language Association report, Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World. Although this report does not mention the Standards, there is a striking overlap of both the spirit and the tenets set forth originally in that 1996 document. The two-tiered structure that typically exists between the humanists and language specialists, as the MLA report calls them, must be addressed and must evolve for our own common interests. Our goals need to be restructured to produce linguistically and culturally competent users and not rivals to native speakers. It is time for a change. The national standards provide us with the tested and proven blueprint and roadmap that we need.