In the United States today there is lively discussion, both among educators and employers, about the best way to prepare students with high-level language and cross-cultural communication proficiency that will serve them both professionally and personally in the global environment of the twenty-first century. At the same time, courses in business language and medical language have become more popular among students. Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), which encompasses these kinds of courses, responds to this discussion and provides curricular models for language programs that build practical language skills specific to a profession or field. Contributions in the book reinforce those models with national survey results, demonstrating the demand for and benefits of LSP instruction. With ten original research-based chapters, this volume will be of interest to high school and university language educators, program directors, linguists, and anyone looking to design LSP courses or programs in any world language.
Introduction: LSP and the Creation of Translingual and Transcultural CompetenceMary K. Long1. New Directions in LSP Research in US Higher EducationLourdes Sanches-Lopez, Mary K. Long, and Barbara A. Lafford Part I. New Direction in LSP Curriculum Development2. Developing and Implementing LSP Curricula at the K-12 LevelMary Risner, Melissa Swarr, Cristin Bleess, and Janet Graham3. Preparing Students for the Workplace: Heritage Learners' Experiences in Professional Community InternshipsCarmen King de Ramirez4. Developing Intercultural Competence and Leadership through LSP CurriculaLeAnn derby, Jean W. LeLoup, James Rasmussen, and Ismenia Sales de Souza5. Developing a More Efficient Conversation Paradigm for Learning Foreign Languages: Lessons on Asking and Answering Questions in an LSP ContextRobert A. Quinn6. Integrating Project-Based Learning into English for Specific-Purposes Classrooms: A Case Study of EngineeringTatiana Nekrasova-Beker and Anthony BeckerPart II. Rethinking Instructor Roles7. The Instructor's and Learner's Roles in Learning Arabic for Specific PurposesEl-Hussein Aly8. LSP Educators as Informal Career CounselorsAnnie AbbottPart III. Exploring Workplace Realities9. Court Interpretation of an Indigenous Language: The Experiences of an Unexpected LSP ParticipantMary Jill Brody10. Senor Google and Spanish Workplace Information Practices: Information Literacy in a Multilingual WorldAlison Hicks Conclusion: LSP Studies and the Future of Higher EducationMary K. LongList of ContributorsIndex
