<i>The Gift of Languages. Paradigm Shift in US Foreign Language Education</i> by Fabrice Jaumont and Kathleen Stein-Smith (A Book Review)
Abstract
The article offers a critical review of The Gift of Languages. Paradigm Shift in U.S. Foreign Language Education by Fabrice Jaumont & Kathleen Stein-Smith, published by TBR Books in 2019. The book, fitting in the general category of instruction manuals and motivational materials, has been written in support of the cause of the advocates of the paradigm shift in foreign language learning in the United States. Focusing on the need to expand the L2 skills among US elementary, high school, and college students by means of the systematic implementation of two-way Dual-Language Immersion programs in K-12 and secondary public education, the monograph contributes to the mission of the Center for the Advancement of Language, Education and Communities. The CALEC, a non-profit organization with international membership and worldwide reach, focuses on promoting multilingualism and cross-cultural understanding by supporting language communities in creating programs of education in languages and cultures. The present article offers a review of this important, albeit popular, publication as a document testifying to the transformations of the American culture in the Age of Globalization.
Keywords
dual language immersion programmes; foreign language education; advocacy; multilingualism; the USA; paradigm shift
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University of Silesia in Katowice, Faculty of Humanities, Institute of Linguistics Poland
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6846-2784
Monika Grotek, PhD in linguistics, is an assistant professor in the Department of Humanities at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. On the one hand, her research interests include applied linguistics and sociolinguistics, as well as EFL teaching to adults. On the other hand, exploring the linguistic image of the world through English in cross-cultural contexts, she does not refrain from projects involving comparative cultural and literary studies. As Deputy Director of the Institute of English in the years 2016–2019, she has expanded the curriculum to include “Introduction to andragogy with elements of applied linguistics” and supported the development of modules that would combine processes of learning and acquiring a foreign language with sociolinguistic aspects of cross-cultural contact.
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