Dear all,
I'm working on a paper about Dutch Language teaching in French-speaking Belgium. The paper aims to correlate local language policy with existing and projected issues in the language classroom. I would be interested in a collaboration with other researchers interested in Dutch as a foreign language in French-speaking Belgium or perhaps other languages in similar contexts that also suffer from poor language policy decision-making.
Tentative title: How not to improve Language Proficiency, or why the Foreign Language Teaching Community should care about the way Dutch is taught in French-speaking Belgium
Abstract
This article draws on the author’s experience as a practicing language teacher, researcher and concerned citizen to bridge the gap between the need for systemic change in language education and the reality of the French-speaking educational context. More specifically, it outlines the lack of ecological validity of a planned reform that will mandate Dutch as a Foreign Language, and points to better, evidence-based ways of leveraging instruction time and educational resources. This article has wider implications for the ELT community, especially in contexts characterized by teacher shortage and negative learning attitudes towards the instructed foreign language.
Keywords: educational reform, negative language attitudes, foreign language teaching, multilingualism
- Badges
- Science topic
- Similar topics
- Instrumentation Engineering
- Instruments