World Languages Collaborative Podcast
The World Languages Collaborative Podcast shares innovative ideas, strategies, and best practices from experts in the field of language education. This podcast is an extension of the World Languages Collaborative, an annual event sponsored by the Georgia Department of Education, the Savannah Chatham County Public School System, and the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Georgia Southern University.
World Languages Collaborative Podcast
Episode 34 (Season 5: Episode 2): Micro-Credentials for Language Recruitment and Retention with Dr. André Zampaulo
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Language departments across higher education are facing a familiar challenge: declining enrollments, shrinking degree pathways, and increasing competition for space in students' schedules. But what if the solution isn't asking students to commit to a major or minor? What if it's offering something smaller, more flexible, and directly connected to their career goals?
In this episode, host Dr. Grant Gearhart sits down with Dr. André Zampaulo, Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures at Saint Louis University, to explore how academic micro-credentials are transforming language recruitment and retention. Drawing on SLU's remarkable success, Dr. Zampaulo shares practical strategies for designing micro-credentials, recruiting students intentionally, and building programs that attract entirely new audiences without undermining traditional majors and minors.
Whether you're a department chair, language educator, or higher education administrator, this conversation offers a data-driven roadmap for reimagining the future of language programs in an era of changing student needs.
In this episode, you'll learn:
- Why micro-credentials are emerging as a powerful response to declining language enrollments
- How to design flexible, career-focused credentials that appeal to today's students
- Recruitment strategies that move beyond mass emails to personalized outreach
- Ways to build student community and improve retention, even in short academic pathways
About Dr. André Zampaulo:
Dr. André Zampaulo is Professor of Linguistics and Chair of the Department of Linguistics, Literatures, and Cultures at Saint Louis University. A specialist in Romance linguistics, phonetics, phonology, and language variation, he has authored and edited numerous influential publications, including Palatal Sound Change in the Romance Languages (Oxford University Press) and The Routledge Handbook of Portuguese Phonology. As department chair, he has led innovative, data-driven initiatives that have significantly expanded student participation through majors, minors, and academic micro-credentials.
Read Dr. Zampaulo's article on using micro-credentials to strengthen language recruitment and retention here.