Academic structural organizations are always subjected to power dynamics, and Foreign/Modern/World Languages Departments are no exception. Despite the label chosen to name this scholarly field most traditional paradigms consider languages as monolithic social constructs. A differential paradigm within the convergence of Modern Languages and Digital Humanities must stress an Open Critical Pedagogy, and abandon the artificial dichotomy language courses vs. content courses: it is counterproductive to think about language without considering the social and cultural context in which it is (re)produced.
Language teaching requires critical consideration of historical and social contexts. Pedagogical models and instructional materials for language teaching have been found to lack these aspects. Textbooks overlook cultural and linguistic differences and provide content that guides instructors towards more traditional, banking models of education (Hortiguera 2011; Leeman & Martínez 2007; Zaidi 2010). These language teaching methods have traditionally given priority to grammar-based language material as they envision students as knowledge consumers (Freire, 1994). This methodology in language instruction tends to privilege the core skills through attention to grammar, vocabulary, and culture, with little or no attention to metalinguistic issues and the political nature of language itself (del Valle, 2014; Leeman, 2014).
This academic convergence of Modern Languages and Digital Humanities from a critical lens fosters open teaching and learning practices in which interdisciplinary collaborations (sociolinguistics, linguistic anthropology, among others) are encouraged. Moreover, it emphasizes that language(s) are more than a simple set of linguistic norms and critical approaches to teaching languages must recognize that these norms are based on social consensus. Although our social practices tend to normativity, our pedagogical practices must question them.
Considering the context of my presentation, within the US, Spanish is not a foreign language. Approaches that externalize, exoticize, and romanticize Spanish are inadequate to meet the needs of students who move daily through Spanish-speaking spaces. By engaging with Open Critical Pedagogy frameworks (DeRosa & Jhangiani 2017), these student-driven approaches go beyond simply acquiring linguistic skills and motivate students to be active critical thinkers.
Bibliography:
del Valle. J. (2014). The Politics of Normativity and Globalization: Which Spanish in the Classroom?. The Modern Language Journal, 98, 1, 358-372.
DeRosa, R. & Jhangiani R. "Open Pedagogy." A Guide to Making Open Textbooks with Students, The Rebus Community for Open Textbook Creation, 2017.
Freire, P. (1994). Pedagogy of the oppressed (revised). New York: Continuum.
Hortiguera, H. (2011). "They are a very festive people!" El Baile perpetuo: comida, arte popular y baile en los videos de enseñanza de español como lengua extranjera. Razón y palabra, (78), 40.
Leeman, J. (2014). Critical Approaches to Teaching Spanish as a Local-foreign Language. In The Handbook of Hispanic Applied Linguistics, edited by Manel Lacorte, 275-292. New York: Routledge.
Leeman, J., & Martínez, G. (2007). From identity to commodity: Ideologies of Spanish in heritage language textbooks. Critical Inquiry in Language Studies, 4(1), 35-65.
Zaidi, A. S. (2010). Essentialist Stereotypes in Textbooks on Hispanic Studies. Humanity & Society, 34(2), 157-168.
