Exploring Modern Greek as a Second, Foreign, and Heritage Language In Greece and Beyond

Exploring Modern Greek as a Second, Foreign, and Heritage Language considers the diverse educational contexts within which Modern Greek is taught and how these diverse contexts substantially alter the requirements for materials, teacher training, and instructional practices.

Divided into three parts, the book systematically examines the teaching of Greek as a second language, as a heritage language, and as a foreign language for students in Greece and further afield. The methodologies within vary from interviews to case-studies and introduce innovative approaches such as experiential learning, creative writing and theatrical practices designed to create a more holistic learning experience. The in-depth studies provided in this collection are designed to raise awareness of the unique challenges and different needs arising in the Greek language classroom and the implications for teachers and learners.

The book will be essential reading for educators, researchers, and policy makers interested in the teaching of Greek as a second, foreign, or heritage language.

Introduction

Part I. Greek as a Second Language in Greece

1. Teaching Greek as a second/ host language to children of refugee origin

2. From cultural indoctrination to mutually empowering interaction: Intercultural Competence among teachers of Modern Greek as a second language

3. The CEFR and the CEFR-CV in Modern Greek language education: Overall impact and teachers’ perceptions

4. Teaching Modern Greek as L2 at Higher Education Institutions in Greece: Learners' profiles and instructors views on learners' diversity

Part II. Greek as a Heritage Language

5. Greek Heritage Language Education in Toronto in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic

6. Teaching Modern Greek at Yale University: A Creative and Flexible Model for the Future

7. Greek culture acquisition among heritage learners in the US: Integrating Process Drama into teaching

Part III. Greek as a Foreign Language

8. Learning Modern Greek as a foreign language in Barcelona, Spain

9. A comparison of two bilingual programs on students’ academic achievement in a US charter school

10. K-12 foreign language education in the US: current challenges and future perspectives – the case of Modern Greek

11. Teaching Greek as L2 to preliterate children: The effect of songs and rhymes on L2 vocabulary development

Marina Mattheoudakis is a Professor in Applied Linguistics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Her research interests lie in the areas of second language acquisition, bilingual education, and language teaching methodology. In 2017 she designed and implemented a bilingual immersion program (English and Greek) in Delaware, USA, for which she was nominated twice by the Department of Education in Delaware for the Innovation Awards (2017 and 2019). In 2019 she received a scholarship for the Data Wise Leadership Institute in Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Christina Maligkoudi is Assistant Professor in Education of Minority Groups at the Department of Primary Education, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece. She graduated from the Department of Greek Philology (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and holds an MSc from the University of Edinburgh (Developmental Linguistics) and a PhD from the University of Crete in Intercultural Education. Her publications and research interests lie in the areas of intercultural education, multilingualism, bilingualism and bilingual education.