I Do and I Understand

Abstract

As a result of globalization, World Language Education has experienced considerable changes within recent decades. With these changes, there is a need for new approaches to teaching and learning a world language, as there is a growing mismatch between language use in the real world and the approach to teaching a world language in the classroom. This chapter, then, presents a pedagogical model that was implemented in an Introduction to Second Language Acquisition course in order to adequately prepare teacher candidates for their future careers as educators in a globalized society. In particular, the model in this chapter discusses authentic experiences grounded in inquiry-based learning that provide opportunities for teacher candidates to collaboratively research current trends in the field of World Language Education and put them into practice through undergraduate research projects.