Abstract:
The following paper is an exploration of the research into discovery and meaning in the school
setting. The foreign language classroom provides simply one example among other subjects, but
the issue outlined in the following writings are remarkably transferable between all content areas
in school: today’s students struggle because there is no connection of content to students’ own
lives. Foreign language is an apt example of this problem due to the historically difficult nature
of language learning in the US. This pair of papers deal with two seemingly different sides of the
educational spectrum. One is a critique of the scholastic environment and academic system in
place, written in both English and French. The second is a research review of second language
acquisition and foreign language instruction, and a presentation of what I hope to bring to my
own classroom as a teacher. John Dewey, Peter Gray, Stephen Krashen and others have spoken
out for the past century about the need to improve education. I hope to continue their efforts in
this paper, for the 21st century.
