William S. Davis

University of Oklahoma | ou · Department of Instructional Leadership and Academic Curriculum

This article explores how multilingual teachers form and enact agency to advocate for multilingualism in a region where monolingualism is dominant. Grounded in an ecological perspective toward language teacher agency, this qualitative interview study analyzed how six American secondary world language teachers generated and enacted agency through th...

Given the ongoing shortage of world language teachers in the United States, growing attention has developed toward recruiting new teachers at the secondary and postsecondary levels. This mixed methods study examined why some university non‐education students involved in language study at a large public institution indicated they would consider beco...

This study investigates the participant experiences and perceived impacts of the Language Initiative for Language Learning (LILL). By exploring the voices of 11 LILL participants through a qualitative case study design, the findings highlight how world language teacher leaders participated in and experienced LILL as a space for leadership growth an...

(PDF available on request) Language teachers' resilience, or their socially-mediated capacity to adapt to adverse conditions and thrive, has garnered attention amidst evolving challenges to language education and bilingual teachers in diverse spaces. Taking an ecological-collective perspective towards language teacher resilience, this qualitative c...

This practice article examines the design, implementation and impacts of a collaborative German language learning (LL) field trip in the United States through the conceptual framework of LL and teaching beyond the classroom. We explore the affordances of semi-structured out-of-class experiences in supporting world language students’ target language...

Although all language teachers have the capacity to become leaders, certain supports and conditions are needed to effectively cultivate leadership skills and identity. This chapter explores the rationale, structures, formality, and outcomes of teacher leadership programs and, more specifically, language teacher leadership programs. To illuminate an...

Davis, W. S., & Printer, L. (2022). Toward a Basic Needs-Supportive World Language Pedagogy: Four Illustrative Examples. Relay Journal, 5(1), 4-18. ABSTRACT: Autonomy, competence, and relatedness—the three basic psychological needs of self-determination theory (SDT)—have consistently been shown to underlie language learners’ intrinsic motivation, e...

Self-determination theory (SDT) provides a cross-cultural, empirical framework for exploring what world (i.e., "foreign") language educators can do to support the satisfaction of their learners' basic psychological needs and, in turn, their autonomous motivation and well-being. Despite this, the identification of approaches to world language pedago...

The Language Educator (Spring 2022, Vol. 17, Iss. 2)

Teacher education has increasingly situated social justice as a critical outcome in their programs. One resource, the Social Justice Standards (SJS), has been identified as a guiding tool for supporting pre-service teachers (PSTs) to plan for and enact social justice-oriented practices in their teaching. Situated in the context of a rural teacher e...

In the last 25 years, world language education (i.e., “foreign” or “second” language education) in the United States has seen a meaningful turn toward pedagogical approaches emphasizing communication, contextualization, and culture. This has coincided with the blossoming of recent theoretical perspectives and empirical research centered on language...

Between 2006 and 2016, American universities experienced a significant decrease in student enrolment in foreign language (FL) courses. This decrease corresponded with the dissolution of over 650 foreign language programmes between 2013 and 2016. Using self-determination theory (SDT) as its theoretical framework, this study sought to advocate for th...

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine teachers and school leaders’ experiences using data in the state of Arkansas. Research Design: Initially, an exploratory pilot study was conducted to examine educators’ experiences using data within one Arkansas district. This involved focus groups with 24 participants from 10 schools. Data were ana...

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-determination theory (SDT) relationship between basic needs satisfaction and intrinsic motivation within the context of American high school (secondary) foreign language learners. Participants were 156 American high school students studying Spanish, French, or German as a foreign language. Participa...

This study examines the perceptions of high school young adults who applied for and received a state biliteracy award recognizing proficiency in two or more languages. Through a grounded theory approach, the researchers collected 47 essays and interviewed 12 students to investigate how they perceived their biliteracy experiences. Through their voic...

Download can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oLfs-fsd8PEMwPuMhaIk4tSPrUmL3XiC/view Students enter into foreign language classes with one of the most powerful resources available to educators: their natural curiosity and innate love of learning. Self-determination theory contends that these indicators of intrinsic motivation lead to...