Download or read book New Perspectives and New Directions in Foreign Language Education written by Diane W. Birckbichler and published by . This book was released on 1990 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The five essays in this volume address broad trends and issues in foreign language education. "Bandwagons Revisited: A Perspective on Movements in Foreign Language Education" (Frank M. Grittner) suggests that the bandwagons flourish because of lack of standardization and centralized authority in American education. Characteristics and results of popular methods and movements are discussed. In "Language Instruction in the U.S.: Policy and Planning" (June K. Phillips), opposing views and philosophies affecting public language policy are discussed and problems in explicit and implicit language policy are examined. "Sketching the Crisis and Exploring Different Perspectives in Foreign Language Curriculum" (Dale L. Lange) looks at internal problems in foreign language education, including relationships with other fields, simplistic application of theory to practice, the role of metatheory, the cyclical nature of the field, internal professional debates, and stresses under which foreign language professionals operate. The student and his relationship to the foreign learning process is the subject of "From Student to Learner: Style, Process, and Strategy" (Vicki Galloway, Angela Labarca). Finally, "Reforming Foreign and Second Language Teacher Education" (Gilbert A. Jarvis, Sheryl V. Taylor) focuses on the need for improved teacher education in the face of current professional realities and new conceptualizations of the teacher's role. (MSE)