This contribution argues that the education of the future professoriate must be
based on a comprehensive view of the work of FL professionals. That requires the
FL field to develop a coherent intellectual foundation and educational philosophy capable of assuring the validity and value of the range of its contributions—in
teaching, scholarship, and service. The paper proposes a reimagined shared
knowledge about language as that necessary foundation, substantiating the argument
from several perspectives: investigation of the conceptualization of language
underlying
the MLA Report; a projection of future demands on faculty with regard
to knowledge about language; the possibilities of systemic functional linguistics
to provide suitable conceptual constructs and educational proposals; a critique of
the current situation in core areas of the field; features of a reconceptualized TA
education; and reflections on future steps that might enable language professionals
to “mind our language” while we “mind the store.
