Micro-publishing and content-based instruction: The Russian-Speaking Arizona book project

This chapter describes a semester-long, content-based instructional unit designed for an advanced Russian (L2) course, in which students collaboratively engaged in a book publishing project. Through this unit, students were immersed in an authentic project that spanned the entire book publishing cycle—from conceptualizing the book to addressing the nuances of collaboration with a publishing company and the meticulous preparation of the manuscript for commercial printing. The complexity of navigating the publishing process provided students with authentic social and professional contexts, making their foreign language skills essential for the completion of the project. Beyond introducing students to the professional domain of book publishing, the project facilitated the development of career-specific skills, enhanced interpersonal competencies, and fostered the ability to work effectively in a team of editors and authors. This unit exemplifies the efficacy of content-based language instruction in cultivating practical language competencies alongside professional skills and preparing students for real-world applications of their language learning.