Articles

From Performance to Multilingual Being in Foreign Language Pedagogy: Lessons from L2 Students Abroad

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Abstract

This essay addresses the question of how multilingualism can be simulated in the foreign-language classroom and offers a critical examination of communicative language teaching as well as proposals for rethinking language pedagogy in order to foster the development of translingual and transcultural competence as framed by the 2007 MLA ad hoc committee report. The pedagogical proposals derive from an analysis of three aspects of a group of students’ multilingual being while studying abroad in Germany: day-to-day language choice, uses of digital media, and participation in social networks. Insights from this multiple-case ethnographic study are brought to bear in formulating implications and proposals for foreign-language teaching in the U.S. university setting.

Keywords: simulation, multilingualism, social media, study abroad

How to Cite:

Levine, G., (2014) “From Performance to Multilingual Being in Foreign Language Pedagogy: Lessons from L2 Students Abroad”, Critical Multilingualism Studies 2(1), 74-105.