I taught language at the Universities of North Carolina and California for the better part of a decade, and when I became a librarian and started hearing about information literacy, it struck me that there were many parallels between second language teaching and information literacy training. The concepts of the affective filter and communicative approaches really seem pertinent, and the terminology used in the info lit world, i.e. literacy, fluency, competency, is also the terminology of language acquisition.
I never found the time to get my ideas together for publication, but I just found an article where someone else has:
Conteh-Morgan, Miriam. 2002. "Connecting the Dots: Limited English Proficiency, Second Language LearningTheories, and Information Literacy Instruction" The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 28, Number 4, pages 191-196. (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.42)
Some quotes from the article (p. 195): "A basic understanding of second language teaching theories seems fundamental to improving librarians' ability to teach better . . . "
"[I]nsights from this area of research and practice can help them design a course that is more linguistically, socially, and culturally responsive and thereby create a more rounded learning
experience for LEP students."
I never found the time to get my ideas together for publication, but I just found an article where someone else has:
Conteh-Morgan, Miriam. 2002. "Connecting the Dots: Limited English Proficiency, Second Language LearningTheories, and Information Literacy Instruction" The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 28, Number 4, pages 191-196. (http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/external_link_maincontentframe.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/results/results_common.jhtml.42)
Some quotes from the article (p. 195): "A basic understanding of second language teaching theories seems fundamental to improving librarians' ability to teach better . . . "
"[I]nsights from this area of research and practice can help them design a course that is more linguistically, socially, and culturally responsive and thereby create a more rounded learning
experience for LEP students."
I will be interested to read this article--here is another that follows that idea to a lesser degree:
McMillen, Paula S., and Eric Hill. “Why teach "research as a conversation" in freshman composition courses? A metaphor to help librarians and composition instructors develop a shared model.” Research Strategies 20.1-2 (2004): 3-22. ScienceDirect.