The University of Utah's Immersion/Multiliteracy Program: An Example of an Area Studies Approach to the Design of First‐year College Foreign Language Instruction

Abstract

The University of Utah's Immersion/Multiliteracy (IM/ML) Program is an outgrowth of the post‐WWII movement towards an extension of the area studies model to modern foreign language study. Where the IM/ML program has sought to innovate is in the creation of a first‐year language course based on the area studies model. Using a methodology based on the Canadian immersion approach, the IM/ML Program has set as its goal multiliteracy, i.e, the pursuit of intellectually challenging and culturally broadening activities in more than one language. This article describes the pilot IM/ML Program in Spanish in which first‐year language students used Spanish‐language newspapers and culture/civilizations texts to study the history, geography and current affairs of Latin America. Results of the pilot program indicate 1) that IM/ML students are for the most part keeping up with students in traditional courses with respect to skill development, and 2) that the IM/ML Program holds promise for enhancing the contribution of introductory foreign language study to students' liberal education.