Reach out, research, and reform: Advocating for the future of world language education

Repository record updated on:

April 2, 2026, 8:17 p.m.

Database record updated on:

April 2, 2026, 9:56 p.m.

Last Harvested on:

April 2, 2026, 9:56 p.m.

access-status:

open.access

bitstream:

['https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstreams/d5f08e41-a28e-4b71-9aa0-0a3dd504ef3d/download']

bitstream_txt:

['https://scholarspace.manoa.hawaii.edu/bitstreams/2e00bee1-3b8d-4520-b59e-235e5a970f47/download']

collection:

Volume 06 - Issue 1

contributor.author:

Morris, Kimberly

date.accessioned:

2026-04-02T20:16:03Z

date.available:

2026-04-02T20:16:03Z

date.issued:

2026-04-01

description.abstract:

The landscape of world language education (WLE) in the U.S. has shifted significantly in recent years due to a variety of issues including language enrollment declines, teacher shortages, program cuts, and polarizing ideologies, among others (ACTFL, 2025a; Lusin et al., 2023; Tang, 2023; Thompson, 2024). To maintain the vitality of WLE programs, practitioners have been required to reconceptualize their curricula and recruitment pathways to adapt to this “new normal,” inevitably increasing their workload and emotion labor. This report outlines how a small WLE program at a mid-sized comprehensive university in Wisconsin confronted their local challenges by adopting a three-pronged advocacy approach involving outreach, research, and curricular reform. By expanding outreach efforts, conducting local research, and applying the findings to perform curricular redesign, this approach seeks to expand pathways into an ever-evolving program that is centered on career-readiness. The implications of such advocacy work can serve to mitigate the aforementioned challenges, creating a positive ripple effect throughout the field.

endingpage:

49

identifier.citation:

Morris, K. (2026). Reach out, research, and reform: Advocating for the future of world language education. Second Language Research & Practice, 6(1), 38–49. https://hdl.handle.net/10125/69902

identifier.issn:

2694-6610

identifier.uri:

https://hdl.handle.net/10125/69902

llt.topic:

Sustainable Working Conditions

number:

1

publicationname:

Second Language Research & Practice

publisher:

University of Hawaii National Foreign Language Resource Center (co-sponsored by American Association of University of Supervisors and Coordinators; Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition; Center for Educational Resources in Culture, Language, and Literacy; Second Language Teaching and Resource Center)

site_url:

/item/432

startingpage:

38

subject:

World Language Education Advocacy Emotion Labor

title:

Reach out, research, and reform: Advocating for the future of world language education

type:

Report

type.dcmi:

Text

volume:

6