REFORMING THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE CURRICULUM FOR A GLOBAL WORLD

Abstract

Globalization and the digital revolution present opportunities and challenges that demand a new kind of university graduates.  These contemporary realities call for more robust, relevant and articulated learning that can prepare citizens to live, compete, collaborate, and succeed in an increasingly interconnected world.  Beyond the traditional linguistic and literary focus, this paper examines curricular and pedagogical innovations, as well as technology tools that can transform university foreign language education, and thereby help prepare students for success in today’s global workplace.In lieu of the standard configuration of university foreign language programmes, in which lower-division language courses feed into upper-division literature courses, the paper proposes a unified, coherent language-and-content curriculum that situates language study in cultural, historical, geographical, and cross-cultural frames.  This model systematically incorporates transcultural content and translingual reflection at every level; it provides students the means to understand geo-political, economic, and technological issues related to globalization; and ultimately enhances their cultural awareness as well as their translingual and transcultural competence.  It also takes advantage of the amazing advances in information and communication technologies, which expand learning opportunities, engage learners’ interest and interaction, create new learning scenarios, and improve instruction. This curricular transformation will provide opportunities for creativity and innovation in foreign language study. It will also create opportunities for cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary collaborations between foreign language and literature faculty and faculty in other disciplines by combining the study of language and literature with non-literary material. These transformations will not only strengthen the foreign language departments and the entire university curriculum, but they will also improve the quality of professional and intellectual life.