An ecological approach to language pedagogy, programs, and departments

Abstract

Responding to persistent criticisms of post-secondary language education, this article frames the language program in an ecological perspective. The long-discussed curricular and administrative bifurcation of language departments is cast as a symptom rather than cause of tensions and limitations of post-secondary language education. Moving beyond binary categorization and a limited focus on the department, an ecological approach instead views the department as a complex dynamic system and postmodern and postcolonial theory as a macro-level component of the system that can serve as a counterforce to neoliberal pressures that undermine language education in the United States. Implications of an ecological approach are detailed, including proposals for it to become the new normal for pedagogy, language programs, and departments.