In this webinar/workshop, we will explore how courses on multilingualism and language learning can serve as a welcome resource for students in high school and college. We will first analyze and discuss a college-level general education course that has been taught successfully for ten years at the University of Arizona. Its title is Becoming multilingual: Learning and maintaining two or more languages. In this class, “course participants analyze how multiple languages can be learned, processed, and used in child- and adulthood, and in family and school settings. They appraise the benefits and costs of becoming multilingual and gain insights that will help them make informed decisions with respect to their own language learning and use in college, their professions, and their (future) families” (excerpt from course description).  We will analyze the course’s objectives, learning outcomes, and data about course participants (their language backgrounds, interests, and needs as well as feedback about the course). We will then discuss the course content and main text and explore together supplemental materials (broadcasts, music videos and film clips) that can be used to illustrate phenomena related to bi- and multilingualism (such as child-language learning, bilingual/bicultural identities, perception of accents, code-switching etc.).

We hope this webinar will inspire educators to develop similar courses in high schools and colleges. These courses can serve as valuable resources for students interested in language learning and maintenance, particularly those from migrant, indigenous, multilingual, and multicultural communities. Such programs can promote harmonious language learning experiences and support the well-being of current and aspiring multilingual students.

Dr. Ecke received funding through a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Award for Faculty to update and improve this course (Peter Ecke, University of Arizona, Arizona Board of Regents [HB-294814-24]).

Bio:

Peter Ecke is Professor of Second Language Acquisition and German at the University of Arizona. He teaches courses on applied linguistics, second language acquisition, multilingualism, intercultural communication, testing and assessment, and German language and culture and is a faculty member in the Interdisciplinary Ph.D. Program in Second Language Acquisition and Teaching.

Participants who require closed captions or an ASL interpreter during CERCLL’s events should make this request at least a week in advance by emailing CERCLL at cercll@arizona.edu.