Why Linguistics Matters to Second Language Teaching in K-12

Drawing on their classroom experiences, five secondary school language educators present how training in linguistics has positively impacted their pedagogical practices and increased student engagement, enjoyment, and motivation. These teachers of French, German, Latin, and Spanish describe how they bring linguistics into the L2 classroom, giving concrete examples of how the metalinguistic and social awareness that comes with “doing linguistics” can help students learn new languages by drawing on their L1 strengths, as well as gain an appreciation of the beauty and complexity of language, contributing to a welcoming classroom for students of all language backgrounds. These examples, alongside the student feedback described in the chapter, demonstrate that training teachers in linguistics has the potential to keep students curious and motivated, improving both student retention and learning outcomes in secondary L2 classes.