ABSTRACT
The teaching of less commonly taught languages (LCTLs) in the United States faces numerous challenges. In the struggle against lack of visibility, minimal institutional support, and scarce quality opportunities for professional development, LCTL program directors often carry the burden of running a “one-person show,” as they encounter demands to develop pedagogical materials, increase course offerings, and design courses for advanced students to promote curricular continuity. In this chapter, the authors explore conceptual and practical matters they experienced while collaborating to create materials suitable for the population of their respective institutions. The authors address the difficulties and solutions encountered while navigating inter-institutional administrative systems. The chapter describes how the Portuguese faculty at Michigan State University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign established the Portuguese Working Group. Sponsored by an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant and facilitated by the Center for Language Teaching Advancement at Michigan State University, the group, through CourseShare, developed intermediate- to advanced-level Portuguese language courses, which were made available to students of Big Ten Academic Alliance partnering institutions. The experience proved that collaboration can lead to innovation while meeting student demands.
