The Ivory Tower of Babel: When Departments Say No in Every Language

1. The Ivory Tower of Babel: When Departments Say No in Every Language Chair: Nanette Hanks, Assistant Dean for Curriculum, College of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Programs Presenters: Martha Johnson, Assistant Dean, Learning Abroad Center, University of Minnesota Mark Lenhart, Executive Director, CET Holly Zimmerman LeVoir, Program Director, Learning Abroad Center, University of Minnesota

2. ¿Cuál es el problema? • Language study=study abroad • History of study abroad as essentially a project of seeking language proficiency • Intensive and immersed= linguistic progress

3. Hvad er problemet? • What is going on in the world of languages? • Budget and funding cuts • Shift to professional focus • Impact of technology on language learning • Massive shifts in pedagogy • Generational shifts in departments

4. Ποιο είναι το πρόβλημα; • Concerns specific to education abroad: • “Survival” language • Students from different institutions with different goals • Students from same institution with different goals • Sequencing and pedagogical • Pre-requisites and credit load • Desire for more professional focus • Content courses • Integrated courses

5. Cad é an réiteach? The LAC philosophy on language learning abroad: • Promote language study wherever possible and work to have our programs support student goals for language study as part of their U of MN education. • Language learning abroad should support the programs, majors, and minors on campus • Always interested in creative ideas for developing and refining language programs • Always recommend, and in many cases require, language study at sites where English is not the native language. (Korea, Italy)

6. Cad é an réiteach? The LAC philosophy on language learning abroad: (continued…) • Promote language learning for non-CLA students, and many add the major or minor • Create resources to promote language intensive options • Icon in the LAC catalog to promote programs with language intensive options so that they are easier to find

7. Languages We Can Accommodate A sample of languages we can accommodate through sponsored or co-sponsored programs: Afrikaans Greek Russian Arabic Hindi Setswana Bulgarian Hungarian Swahili Cantonese Icelandic Swedish Croatian Irish Thai Czech Korean Turkish Danish Malay Twi Dutch Mandarin Urdu Estonian Norwegian Vietnamese Fijian Polish Xhosa Finnish Portuguese Flemish Romanian

8. Study Abroad Programs • U of M programs developed in cooperation with College of Liberal Arts language departments: • Study in Montpellier, France • Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID), Senegal • Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID), Ecuador • International Program in Toledo • Study Abroad in Venezuela • Intensive Arabic in Morocco • Intensive Chinese in Beijing

9. Programs Offering Critical or Less Commonly Taught Languages • University Study in South Korea • University Study in Norway • University Study in South Africa • Arabic Language and Culture in Morocco • IRSEP exchange in Iceland • IRSEP exchange in Tanzania • Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID), Kenya • Minnesota Studies in International Development (MSID), India

10. MOVING BEYOND THE WALLS

11. Successes Are Possible • Preaching to the Choir? Not always, even in areas you would think should be easy • The Case of Spanish • Newly added requirement for study abroad for majors but also added requirement that good percentage of classes must be taken in the department. • Change for their major making research, writing and literature the focus • Change for their minor making communication the focus but no study abroad requirement • How do you reconcile these two different goals

12. Determining Need • There are Spanish programs everywhere.  Is there really a need for another one? • Looking at student input • Researching what is available so we are not reinventing the wheel • Working with the Department to find out what they would like to see • Faculty involvement is crucial

13. Faculty Involvement • Needs to be early and often • How do you help them to feel ownership? • Understand their office politics (they always have them) • Clarify the benefits to them as a department

14. You Need Allies • Find and develop allies in the department • How? • Reach out • Site Visits • Site Reviews • Offer Assistance – Advising -help – MAPS • Stay in Touch

15. Reining Them In • “I have this colleague in........” • Sometimes a faculty person may want to work with someone they know overseas. How do you approach that? • Printed resources provide guidance

16. The Key is Collaboration and Communication • Having a good relationship with the department encourages feelings of partnership • Working too independently can cause resentment. Don’t want to be viewed as “rogue” • Sometimes less is more

17. Reluctant Faculty • What’s a good place to start for reluctant faculty? • Reasons for reluctance may be varied – ask questions • Provide RESEARCH • Remind them of the benefits of better prepared graduates and how it reflects on the Department

18. Departmental Concerns as Building Blocks of Progress • Role of language learning in departments • Specific pedagogy for language instruction • They are the language experts • Language instructors are not tenured/tenured track faculty

19. Departmental Concerns continued • Instructional budget concerns • Enrollment goals and guidelines imposed by the college • Summer employment opportunities for language instructors

20. Laying a Solid Foundation • Get the right people to the table in the right order • Help the department to articulate the concerns – get them all in the open • Prioritize the concerns and begin to consider solutions • Identify a “champion” in the department

21. Cementing the Relationship and Finding Solutions that Stick • Be clear about the goal/timeline • Keep track of the concerns and solutions • Be prepared to revisit concerns but keep focus on the goal and moving forward • Don’t be thrown off by “out of the blue” problems

22. When the Walls Come Tumbling Down • Don’t be discouraged • Salvage what you can • Reiterate the goals/timeline • Rely on the “champion” • Call on the college for support

23. Out of the Rubble • Success can be small wins that create firm foundations and lasting progress • Continue to nurture the relationships throughout the process • Celebrate the progress

24. Getting to Yes:What a Provider Can Do Mark Lenhart, Executive Director CET academic Programs

25. An outside/inside perspective • The benefit of being an outsider • Helping to set the table; the act of bringing people together • Leveraging expertise as an insider • My own experience working with Chinese language faculty • The generation gap: traditional biases among older Chinese language faculty

26. Budget cuts and world events: The real impact

27. US university-level Chinese language enrollment Source: MLA

28. My standard argument • The best way to build your language department is to send your students away.

29. Getting to yes • Reiterating the provider’s role • Taking sides as appropriate • Correcting false or outdated impressions • Formalizing the faculty role in the program: directorships, teacher exchanges, training programs, source material collaboration • Sorting out and then revisiting articulation issues • Hearing and responding to faculty feedback • Fine-tuning the faculty message to students

30. Getting to yes • In this case: much thanks to the LAC! Following the LAC’s lead has resulted in success. • CET Intensive Chinese = LAC sponsored program. We are approaching year 2. • Future opportunities for collaboration include expanding student options at other CET sites, accessing UMN’s alumni network in China for internship placements, and developing new programs exclusively for UMN students.