Learning a Second Language in First Language Environments

This article traces curriculum developments in language teaching since the mid-1970s. The 1970s were chosen because they denote a time of massive global movement of immigration and expatriation that carried with it a profound impact on language education. The time frame also coincides with an awakening of research in sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, and second-language acquisition. The article places language learning against a backdrop of these research thrusts as well as against global political, economic, and technological forces. Key themes discussed are notions of doing and meaning, proficiency orientations; content-based language instruction; and immersion models for language acquisition.