Foreign Language Teaching and the Environment
Theory, Curricula, Institutional Structures
- Editor: Charlotte Ann Melin
- Pages: 322
- Published: 2019
- ISBN: 9781603294676 (Hardcover)
- ISBN: 9781603293945 (Paperback)
“This volume will be a must-read for all teachers interested in content-based instruction—and not just those in foreign languages. I’m in awe of it.”
—Katherine Arens, University of Texas, Austin
At a time when environmental humanities and sustainability studies are creating new opportunities for curricular innovation, this volume examines factors key to successful implementation of cross-curricular initiatives in language programs. Contributors discuss theoretical issues pertinent to combining sustainability studies with foreign languages, describe curricular models transferable to a range of instructional contexts, and introduce program structures supportive of teaching cultures and languages across the curriculum. Exploring the intersection of ecocritical theory, second language acquisition research, and disciplinary fields, these essays demonstrate ways in which progressive language departments are being reconceived as relevant and viable programs of cross-disciplinary studies. They provide an introduction to teaching sustainability and environmental humanities topics in language, literature, and culture courses as well as a wide range of resources for teachers and diverse stakeholders in areas related to foreign language education.
Introduction: Environmental Thinking through Language (1)
Part One | Theory
German Is the New Green? Language, Environmentalism, and Cultural Competence (17)
Sustainability Literacy in French Literature and Film: From Solitary Reveries to Treks across Deserts (39)
Sustainability, Design Thinking, and Spanish: Unleashing Students’ Agency, Empathy, and Innovation (57)
Part Two | Curricula
Reflections on Water: Inspiring Environmental Consciousness through Engagement with French Texts (81)
Can Literature Save the Planet? Lessons from Latin America (94)
An Intercultural and Ecocritical Approach to Teaching Turkish (113)
Stepping Out of the Language Box: College Spanish and Sustainability (130)
Collaborative Teaching of a Japanese Content-Based Course: 3.11 and Nuclear Power Crisis (146)
Sustainability in “Post-communicative” Advanced Chinese Courses: Engaging Learners in Real-World Issues (161)
Interdepartmental Collaboration and Curriculum Design: Creating a Russian Environmental Sustainability Course for Advanced Students (180)
Imbibing Russian Language and Culture in Siberia: Wellesley College’s Lake Baikal Course (197)
Gikinomaagemin Gichigaming: Teaching Anishinaabemowin and Ecology in the Great Lakes (217)
Part Three | Institutional Structures
Environmental Literacy as a Global Literacy in Modern Languages: Lessons from a Liberal Arts College (237)
Local, International, and Environmental Community Engagement in West Africa (254)
When Sustainability Means Understanding: Modern Languages and Emory University’s Piedmont Project (272)
Coda (289)
Key Terms and Concepts (303)
Notes on Contributors (311)
Index (317)
