National Conference On Innovative Approach To Foreign Language Instruction Takes Place This Month

Aim Of Three-Day Gathering Is To Consolidate Nationwide Program

SANTA CRUZ, CA–Over the past decade a growing number of colleges and universities have adopted a new approach to teaching foreign languages. Called "Foreign Languages Across the Curriculum" (FLAC), the method encourages students to apply their foreign language skills to the study of a variety of other subjects. FLAC operates under the principle that the language isn’t an end in itself, but part of a richer exploration of various subjects relevant to the student’s overall studies.

At an October 26-29 conference, roughly 60 representatives from twelve colleges and universities considered leaders in the use of FLAC will gather in Washington, D.C. Their goal is to consolidate their individual efforts into a coordinated national program, as well as to strengthen the use of FLAC at their own institutions. The conference, titled "Next Steps," is part of an eighteen-month project supported by a $235,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The grant is administered by the American Council on Education (ACE) in Washington, D.C., which will host the conference. (A list of the twelve participating institutions and a conference schedule is below.)

"This is the first chance for consortium members to meet face-to-face," said Miriam Ellis, a lecturer in French and head of the FLAC program at the University of California, Santa Cruz. "We’ve all been doing exciting things on our own, and we’ve been communicating by e-mail. Now we want to come together to address common interests and concerns and establish a national organization."

UC Santa Cruz and a number of other schools have been teaching courses using a FLAC model since the early 1970s. The use of FLAC was strengthened in succeeding years, in part through grant support from such agencies as the NEH, the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, and the U.S. Department of Education’s International Education program. In 1993, roughly twenty schools offered courses using a FLAC model.

"The concept is catching fire and there are a number of excellent programs being taught across the country," said Ellis. She believes more institutions are taking an interest in FLAC because the necessity for international communication is growing. "As we become increasingly plugged into the global market, those with bilingual abilities are finding they have greater career opportunities. Understanding only one language is a clear handicap."

"FLAC encourages a multilayered approach to learning and enables bilingual students to take advantage of the latest technologies in a way that monolingual students can’t," she added. "For example, a student studying present-day Russian politics can find the most up-to-date news by tapping into the Information Superhighway and reading the news in Russian. Such research also gives students a better understanding of a culture from the point of view of the people who belong to that culture."

Models of FLAC

FLAC courses are generally directed at upper-division students (juniors and seniors) who have gained language proficiency during their first two years of college through traditional language- focused courses or through study abroad. Various approaches have been developed nationally, among which are the following:

• The Augmented Curriculum Model: The course is taught entirely in the foreign language, with all reading and writing materials and discussion presented in the foreign language. This is the model used most frequently at UC Santa Cruz.
• The Intersecting Model: A course is offered in English with reading and discussion sections presented in the designated foreign language. This is the model used most commonly nationwide.
• The Non-Intersecting Model: Similar material is taught in two compatible courses–one in English and one in the designated language. (For example, in 1994 UC Santa Cruz offered an English- language art history course on Versailles in tandem with a French- language course on Louis XIV and his court.)

*The Professional School Model: Some schools offer double majors or graduate programs that combine professional and language training, generally in the fields of business and engineering. (For example, the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island both offer an undergraduate degree that combines engineering and German and includes an internship with a German firm.)

FLAC at UC Santa Cruz

UC Santa Cruz has been cited by outside observers and in an academic journal as a leader in the use of FLAC under the Augmented Curriculum Model.

From winter 1993 to spring 1995, the university offered 22 FLAC courses with the support of two grants totaling $252,000 from the NEH. The two NEH-supported programs offered a diverse selection, including courses in Chinese drama, German history, Russian politics, Spanish film, French sociology, and Italian linguistics. Ellis is currently working to secure $30,000 in matching funds to continue offering FLAC courses through the spring of 1997.

In a January 1995 letter to Ellis, Frank Ryan, director of the Center for Language Studies at Brown University, called UC Santa Cruz’s program notable because, "your [NEH-funded programs] are two of the richest and most well-developed projects I have seen in my visits to campuses across the country that are also working with this new concept. . . . As far as I know, you have the greatest number of language-and-other-discipline connected courses at a serious level of intensity of any campus that I know."

"Our approach at UC Santa Cruz," Ellis explained, "is to consider language a tool, not an end. The majority of our classes are taught entirely in the foreign language or have a large portion of the curriculum taught in the foreign language." Ellis said UC Santa Cruz’s program is outstanding for three reasons: "The extent of our course offerings, the depth of language use, and the quality of the faculty teaching the courses."