Ten Years after the MLA Report: What Has Changed in Foreign Language Departments?

Multimodal Approaches for Heritage and Second Language Instructor Training

“…In light of these results, which support Hubert and Bonzo's (2019) study in which participants indicated very low levels of knowledge related to L2 writing theory and pedagogy, combined with participants' desire for additional training and support relating to teaching L2 and HL writing skills, and the continued calls for the integration of technology, multiliteracies, and other 21st century skills to be taught in L2 and HL classrooms (Lomicka and Lord 2018;Modern Language Association 2007;Oskoz and Elola 2020), there is a strong case for additional training for graduate students during their graduate studies. It also supports results where participants also reported a lack of professional development, time, and self-beliefs as reasons for not including writing in their curricula.…”

“…Therefore, it is possible that graduate student preparation has not undergone much change since the 2007 MLA Report despite these publications in part to the still entrenched language-literature divide that exists in most departments (Lomicka and Lord 2018). As a result of this still-strong bifurcation, in most world language departments training graduate students in teaching (which includes the use of technology) falls under the purview of the language program director (LPD) or a specialist in SLA or linguistics, while disciplinespecific knowledge and training is the responsibility of another, separate group of faculty (Reeser 2011).…”

“…When the 2007 Modern Language Association (MLA) Report called for bold changes in the undergraduate L2 curriculum with a goal of removing the bifurcation that exists in many departments, they also called for changes in the training of graduate student instructors to focus on professional development to prepare them to enter a field with the tools to teach a transformed curriculum with a focus on contextualized, multiliteracies instruction (Allen and Dupuy 2011;Paesani 2011). However, the MLA Report lacked specific recommendations for how to redesign the curricula (Lomicka and Lord 2018) to better serve the needs of students and departments.…”

Language learning and professionalization in higher education: pathways to preparing learners and teachers in/for the 21st century

“…This competence emphasizes students' abilities to operate between languages and cultures, while also being able to reflect on the world and themselves through a critical lens. In light of the decline of enrollments in collegiate FL courses in the United States (Lomicka & Lord, 2018) and the alarming survey reports published by the 2016 MLA (Looney & Lusin, 2018), scholars and language educators have called for changes in curricula to engage students with FLs and cultures in new and relevant ways (Pascual y Cabo & Prada, 2018; Pufahl & Rhodes, 2011). For example, Richards (2015) suggested the use of the Internet, technology, and the media to foster students' communicative skills.…”

“…In 2009, the decline in the number of students enrolled in collegiate FL courses led to a reconsideration of the role and value of language education in the United States (Lomicka & Lord, 2018). In many cases, students abandon their language studies unless they choose to major in a language or literature program, which primarily consists of literary and cultural studies.…”