CALL FOR PAPERS: AAUSC VOLUME 2019 

Pathways to Paradigm Change: Critical Examinations of Prevailing Discourses and Ideologies in Second Language Education 

Editors
Beatrice Dupuy, University of Arizona
Kristen Michelson, Texas Tech University

Series Editors
Johanna Watzinger-Tharp, University of Utah
Kate Paesani, University of Minnesota 

The editors of the 2019 AAUSC volume of Issues in Language Program Direction call for contributions that explore possibilities for paradigm change by critically evaluating and, ultimately, changing discourses of second language (L2) education. We define discourses as conventionalized ways of enacting beliefs and values (i.e., ideologies) of a particular community or institution through language and other social practices. For example, a discourse of internationalization in higher education often implies educational endeavors that foster skills presumed necessary for graduates’ success in a global marketplace. Contemporary L2 educational discourses, for their part, circulate prevailing ideologies about language, language learners, and their teachers that greatly—though not necessarily favorably—impact L2 classroom practice. Specifically, notions of language as code may lead to activities and materials that overemphasize accuracy to the detriment of communication and critical thinking, and thus promote acquisition of grammar and vocabulary as isolated forms removed from contexts of use (e.g., Levine, 2004, 2014; Levine, Melin, Crane, Chavez, & Lovik, 2008; Schulz, 2006). Finally, ideologies that view teaching as a matter of accumulating a toolbox of classroom techniques may lead to perennially front-loaded teacher development programs and courses, often taking place in isolation from actual teaching contexts (e.g., Allen & Dupuy, 2011; Johnson, 2009). 

Calls for teaching language and culture as integrated and situated practices have recurred for over two decades (e.g., ACTFL, 2015; Kramsch, 1995; Kern, 1995; MLA 2007). We understand situated practices as learning how to become an effective member of a community by gaining familiarity and some degree of control over its relevant social processes and practices, including processes of oral and written textual production and interpretation, with recognition of the social, cultural, and historical embeddedness of texts. However, whereas curricular responses to such appeals for change have been successful in specific, localized instructional contexts (e.g., Allen & Paesani, 2010; Crane, 2006; Maxim, 2006, 2014; Menke & Paesani, 2017; Swaffar, 2014), large-scale paradigm change has not yet occurred, and traditional ideologies and practices continue to pervade the field of L2 education. Furthermore, methods course materials and practices continue to foreground historical perspectives and eclecticism, rather than guide future teachers in systematic, in-depth exploration of a single, principled approach that aligns with notions of language learning and use as situated communication practices (e.g., Allen, 2009, 2011; Dupuy & Allen, 2012). 

This volume focuses on the current discursive landscape around L2 teaching and learning with particular attention to describing prevailing ideologies as well as proposing ways of moving the dominant discursive needle forward. Our intention is to awaken the field to the urgency of reasserting the relevance of L2 education in individual learning endeavors and institutional practices. Specifically, this volume seeks to answer such questions as: 

• How do discourses of globalization, internationalization, or intercultural competence both on and off campus shape current views of language, language teaching, and learning? 
  
• How do current L2 teaching and learning frameworks and materials construe learners and the object(s) of learning? 
• How do formal and informal interactions among teachers and learners in L2 study contexts either sustain or change traditional narratives about language learning? 
• How do professional development activities and resources socialize L2 teachers into the profession?  
• What specific modifications to existing materials and interactions might effectively contribute to promoting an understanding of language use as situated communication practices? 

Possible contributions might center around the following areas: 

I. Programmatic contexts and stakeholders outside language departments 

a. Textbook publishers 


b. Standards organizations

c. University-wide curricular requirement statements

d. General advising meetings

e. University-wide promotional materials (websites, brochures, etc.)

II. Frameworks and materials 

a. Syllabus language

b. Textbooks and ancillary materials (prefaces, task instructions, teacher annotations, etc.)

c. Proficiency standards and goals statements

d. Assessments (language of rubrics, program evaluation reports, forms of assessment, etc.)

e. Language learning mobile and digital apps

f. Program promotional materials (websites, brochures, flyers, etc. for L2 programs, language- focused study abroad programs, and/or co-curricular activities)

III. Language learning contexts 

a. Classroom discourse and its role in the promotion of particular views of language

b. Modes and models of scaffolding, eliciting communication, and providing feedback

c. Study abroad sites

IV. Professional development of language teachers 

a. The methods course (and other departmental professional development activities)

b. The language of mentoring (classroom observation rubrics, one-on-one consultations, performance reviews, etc.)

c. Online teacher professional networks and resources

Submissions might address these areas through quantitative or qualitative analyses drawing on, for example, discourse analysis, corpus methods, ethnographic, or other approaches. We invite both conceptual and empirical contributions. Authors should keep in mind that the primary audience for the volume includes language program directors, curriculum developers, and faculty engaged in the professional development of language instructors. Contributions should thus speak directly to issues relevant to these roles in language education. 

The submission deadline for 400-word abstracts is March 15, 2018 and for complete manuscripts is September 1, 2018. Manuscripts should be between 6,000 and 8,000 words and follow APA format (6th edition; http://www.apastyle.org). 

The volume editors, Beatrice Dupuy (bdupuy@email.arizona.edu) and Kristen Michelson (kristen.michelson@ttu.edu), welcome any questions about the volume and your potential contribution.