Language Advocacy

WHAT IS LANGUAGE ADVOCACY?
Language advocacy is support for language study. While our website includes some information on language advocacy in general, we focus mostly on foreign language advocacy.
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LANGUAGE ADVOCACY RESOURCES
Below are listed articles and websites which provide information on language advocacy and short summaries of these resources.
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Promoting a Language Proficient Society: What You Can Do
A Center for Applied Linguistics (CAL) digest, the article gives information on what parents, teachers, school administrators, policy makes, and the business community can do to to support foreign language study in the US. It also provides further resources for language advocacy and a directory of resources for foreign language programs in general.
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Building an advocacy program
This article, which offers several ideas for how to become an effective language advocate, is part of Ñandutí, a CAL resource on foreign language teaching and learning in grades preK-8.
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A Workshop For Those Who Don't Know Their Own Power . . .
The advocacy website of the Joint National Committee for Languages and the National Council for Languages and International Studies (JNCL-NCLIS) presents specific information on how to lead a public advocacy workshop (handouts and additional information also provided), and on how to conduct letter-writing campaigns for language educators.
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Knowing Other Languages Brings Opportunities
Published by the Modern Language Association, this brochure gives information on why one should learn another language. That is, it discusses the benefits of learning about other cultures, but also those of improving one's chances to pass exams or get jobs when speaking foreign languages.
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FOREIGN LANGUAGE ADVOCACY WEBSITES FROM DIFFERENT STATES

  • The California Language Teachers Association (CLTA) This website presents general information on foreign language advocacy, and has links to other advocacy websites and a sample letter supporting content standards for foreign language education.

  • Glastonbury Foreign Language (Connecticut) The Glastonbury School District is unique in that its students have studied at least one foreign language beginning with elementary school. Initiated in the 1950s, this program was maintained throughout the different changes in foreign language learning standards in the US. Their website includes links to foreign language advocacy websites as well as to several articles discussing the importance of studying foreign languages from an early age.

  • Foreign Language Association of Georgia (FLAG) FLAG offers PDF brochures for foreign language advocacy which are adapted for students of different educational levels, i.e., middle school, high school, and college. The website includes information on what language skills are necessary in occupations which require knowledge of another language. A list of useful advocacy website is also provided.

  • New York State Association of Foreign Language Teachers (NYSAFLT) The NYSAFLT website has materials that promote the studying of foreign languages and that inform on what one can do to become a foreign language advocate (e.g., how to contact government officials). In addition, it provides links to legislative bills relevant to foreign language advocacy. Access to some of the materials is free, but to be able to view all advocacy resources one must become a NYSAFLT member.

  • Alliance for Language Learning (North Carolina) The advocacy section of Alliance for Language Learning gives websites of both governmental and non-governmental organizations that provide advocacy resources. It also offers press releases of the North Carolina Board of Education and updates from the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI) that are relevant to language advocacy.

  • Ohio Language Roadmap for the 21st Century

  • The Pennsylvania State Modern Language Association (PSMLA) PSMLA gives information on the PA Department of Education Standards on foreign language education, on what PSMLA is doing, and what foreign language teachers can do regarding the standards. In addition, the website offers general information on foreign language advocacy and has a section featuring recent meetings and state-level decisions regarding foreign language advocacy.

  • Southern Conference on Language Teaching (SCOLT) In addition to general language advocacy information, SCOLT offers a questionnaire that can help teachers think about and articulate the importance of teaching world languages. The website has a link to an advocacy guide published by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

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    ADVOCACY WEBSITES FOR SPECIFIC FOREIGN LANGUAGES TAUGHT IN THE US

  • All about the Arabic Language(website of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic)
    The website gives information about the history of the Arabic language and on reasons for studying Arabic. It also discusses differences between colloquial and standard Arabic, the Arabic alphabet, and Arabic greetings.

  • French Language and Culture Advocacy(website of the American Association of Teachers of French)
    A very comprehensive website which offers varied resources on the importance of learning French and on existing North American Francophone organizations. It provides information on possible actions that can be taken at the local and state level to promote French language and culture learning, and has links to state-specific websites for French advocacy.

  • Ten Reasons to Study German(website of the Goethe Institute)
    As suggested by the title, this website lists ten reasons to study German and short explanations of these reasons. Links from the homepage of The Goethe Institute (http://www.goethe.de/) also constitute good resources for German teaching advocacy, in particular the links under the 'German Topics' heading.

  • Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)HACU gives information on its annual conferences and events which offer opportunities for the promotion of Spanish language learning at higher education level.
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