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Learner emotions represent sudden, dynamic, and complex adaptations to the language classroom environment. Recent Second Language Acquisition research calls for a more holistic perspective in approaching classroom emotions, one that considers emotional variations between and across learners, and which foregrounds the interconnections among emotions and between emotions and the learning environment. This paper approaches emotions from a complex dynamic systems perspective and investigates the classroom emotions of five university students of Korean as a foreign language using a Q methodology intensive single-case study design. Overall results show that students have sometimes similar, sometimes different emotional reactions depending on classroom events, indicating different levels of interaction between a learner's emotional system and other individual characteristics. Additionally, a more fine-grained analysis at the level of individual learners reveals clusters of emotions triggered by the same event and foregrounds the relevance of epistemic emotions for instructed foreign language learning. The results are discussed focusing on new hypotheses to inform future SLA emotion research and classroom practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship in professional development (PD) has advocated for solid conceptual frameworks and understanding of the complex process involved in how language educators may continue to develop and fulfil the current challenging teaching demands. However, specific relationships underlying departmental cultures and how language educators relate to professional development activities are not completely understood, particularly in large programmes implementing curricular reforms. This paper reports on the outcomes of a PD programme framed within three main notions of sociocultural theory (learning by doing, scaffolding and collaboration) and designed to support a language programme reform in higher education in the United States. Drawing from observation and PD programme data, findings indicate that beyond the expertise and open spaces to participate, language educators need to be engaged in content meaningful to them and manageable within the context of their second language teaching practices. The embeddedness of individual acts of both teaching and reflection about it becomes the bedrock for significant PD and is fundamental to transform language teaching practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research exists on the effectiveness of pedagogical methods in relation to the development of Chinese students' critical thinking (CT), there has been little research on Chinese students' experiences around CT in relation to their own contexts. This paper reports on the findings of a study that investigated the experiences of the use of CT by 29 Chinese postgraduate students studying in a range of contexts in China and the UK. All student participants were engaged in second language education at Master's level. Data were collected mainly through ethnographic interviews and analysed within the framework of positioning theory. The findings reveal that the students' use of CT skills was not only a demonstration of ability but also a consequence of their positioning. In the context of thesis writing, the students' positioning was exercised as perceived rights and duties regarding knowledge, directed by their own goals for personal development. The study has implications for research and teaching of CT in cross-cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research in first (L1) and second language (L2) acquisition has provided evidence that linguistic confidence is a key construct that can explain linguistic behaviour. In this paper, we apply previous research in the socio-contextual model of L2 learning to data from Catalonia. More specifically, the paper investigates linguistic confidence towards Catalan and Spanish by students in Catalonia for a period of 5 years, that is, from their last year of primary education to their last year of secondary education. The methodology for the longitudinal study was based on a survey on linguistic confidence in Catalan and Spanish and other sociolinguistic and demographic information by students in five different locations in Catalonia. The results of the study show evidence that (a) linguistic confidence is very high for Catalan and Spanish; (b) there is a relationship between confidence in Spanish and Catalan and the students’ L1; and (c) over time linguistic confidence in both languages increases. These results are discussed in light of current discussions on the stable or dynamic nature of linguistic confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Population displacements have occurred in tremendous amounts in the last few decades due to the collapse in civil order of the neighbouring countries of Turkey. This situation not only created a need for researchers to deal with the social, psychological and economical aspects of this forced mobility, but also with the acculturation process of the refugees who left their home owing to serious human rights violations. Because they do not occupy a great space in the policy agendas, they are an 'invisible' group. This poses a major problem that there are no specific theories regarding the second language acquisition process of refugees, because they are considered together with all immigrants although their experiences distinguish them from other groups. Thus, feeling the need to be the voice of this unvoiced group with their SLA experiences and witnessing the swiftly changing dynamics in the world, the Middle East in particular, and its impact on the sociocultural context, this paper concentrates on the perceptions of Syrian refugees about the L2 (Turkish) and the target language group (Turkish people). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy guidelines in Sri Lanka prescribe how and for how long English should be taught as a second language in primary education but practices on the ground may deviate. Opportunities for teaching and learning and pedagogy are key aspects of the process of learning. Using a large-scale survey this paper addresses (i) how much time is allocated to the teaching of English and how much time is lost, (ii) how English teachers use their time in primary education classrooms and (iii) the factors associated with student-centred learning and on academic learning in general. Around a quarter of the class time is lost through timetabling, teacher absenteeism, lesson start and finish times and teacher off task activity. Teachers who spend more time teaching in class are more likely to be in rural or estate schools and in schools with more facilities, and to have attended the Primary English Language Programme in the past. Teachers who spend more time on student-centred activities are more likely to be teaching Grade 3 than Grade 5, using remedial methods and holding an official 'appointment' as an English teacher. Policy implications for Sri Lanka are considered and points of comparison with policies and practices elsewhere raised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In France, dominant monolingual discourses and teachers’ lack of knowledge about bilingualism and second language acquisition often result in ‘French only’ policies in classrooms including in pre-school classrooms where some emergent bilingual children speak a language other than the language of schooling and very little or no French. These policies can be detrimental to emergent bilingual children's language development, identity construction and overall long-term academic success. However, teachers in multilingual classrooms also have the power to exercise their agency to support children's bilingual language development and to implement practices which empower them and their families. This paper focuses on the ways in which one pre-school teacher working with three and four year old emergent bilingual children asserted her agency in the classroom despite institutional constraints. It investigates the beliefs, experiences, aspirations and knowledge which underpinned her sense of agency, the ways in which her actions empowered the children and parents and discusses the implications of the study for initial teacher education and continuous professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent scholarship in second and foreign language (FL) pedagogy has advocated for approaches to teaching culture that move beyond static notions of culture-as-fact, construed in terms of national traditions, towards relational approaches that foster strategies for interaction within discourse communities, where members embody and express a range of values and social and linguistic practices based on diverse identities and histories. However, such variations are often obscured in FL educational contexts by static or narrow conceptions of culture that pervade FL curricular materials, teacher-training programmes, and popular media discourses. This paper reports on outcomes from an innovative curriculum for fourth semester French in which culture was treated as a relational process through combination of a global simulation (GS) and aPedagogy of Multiliteracies. Students adopted the persona of a fictitious character for an entire semester and were socialised into second language/culture (LC2) discourses through critical, reflective engagement with authentic texts. Findings from discursive analyses of students’ portfolio reflections reveal the viability of this approach for fostering perspective taking and awareness of the interrelationship between culture and language, but also the persistent nature of discourses and ideologies about the object and goals of FL study. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper explores the representation of honorifics in the teaching of Korean as a second language through the analysis of three leading series of textbooks published in Seoul. Despite the fact that Korean is a language with a highly developed honorifics system, these textbooks at times under-emphasize the importance of honorifics and focus around one particular 'level' of honorification. If learners were to apply this 'level' to real-world encounters, it would be 'too deferential' for use towards intimates and also 'not deferential enough' for addressing superiors. Textbook designers may contend that the choice of this level is influenced by a need to simplify the presentation of honorifics and to provide learners with a register that is 'safe' but conversational. However, I argue that this often leads to a presentation of honorifics that is inauthentic, limited in terms of appropriateness and which betrays preconceptions regarding the abilities and social roles of 'foreign' language learners. In effect, the treatment of honorifics in the dialogues appears to be based not so much on an explicit pedagogy as it is on the kind of 'interlanguage' or 'foreigner talk' that native speakers of Korean would intuitively use with learners of the language in order to make it easier for them. Although the problems discussed in this paper are specific to Korean, the wider problem of deciding what registers of language are 'appropriate' for L2 learners is of wider import. This paper sets out to problematize ideologies that may influence language educators in choosing 'authentic' and 'appropriate' textbook language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a longitudinal phenomenographic inquiry into understanding how two postgraduate Syrian students' ways of approaching English language learning in their homelands influenced the shape of their personal study abroad goals, language strategy use and L2 identity. It is guided by Norton's [(2013). Identity and language learning: Extending the conversation (2nd ed.). Bristol: Multilingual Matters] conceptualisation of motivation as investment in learning a new language, and Hajar's [(2016). Motivated by visions: A tale of a rural learner of English. The Language Learning Journal. doi:10.1080/09571736.2016.1146914] distinction between compulsory and voluntary strategies. The qualitative data suggest that the two participants acted agentively to accomplish their academic qualifications in the UK. However, the adjustments of the participant raised by a well-off, well- educated family and educated at outstanding private establishments to the new context appeared to be less taxing than the case of the other participant who came from a disadvantaged background in Syria. The former's positive prior language learning experiences along with the assessment methods of his MA programme helped him to build a positive linguistic self-concept in the UK, using diverse voluntary language strategies. This study reveals how strategy use and L2 identity development of learners in similar contexts might be influenced by educational policy and distribution of resources. From this qualitative longitudinal study, pedagogical implications and areas for ongoing research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper compares pre- and post-1997 attitudes to the learning of English in Hong Kong. It is based on surveys conducted in 1980,1992,1995 and 1998, and also on newspaper reports. The data confirm the strong instrumental, career-related motives of the learners, which has been previously reported not only for Chinese learners but for Asian learners generally. Although the recent data show a strong movement among both parents and teachers to preserve English-medium education, as an essential means of achieving English proficiency, the realities of economic and demographic integration with China make it likely that English in Hong Kong in the years ahead will increasingly take on the features of a foreign rather than a second language, both in education and in everyday life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) has been drawing increased attention from language teachers and researchers in the past decade. This paper focuses on the effects of TBLT on beginner learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) in Denmark. Participatory observation and semi-structured interviews were carried out with 18 participants from two beginning-level Chinese classes. Qualitative analysis of the data indicates that TBLT benefits learners in terms of increasing participation, creating more opportunities for speaking, easing learners’ anxiety, and enhancing enjoyment. However, TBLT encountered challenges such as lack of Chinese pronunciation practice, difficulty in balancing learners’ different preferences for learning strategies, and a lack of sufficient instructional time support. Possibilities for improving TBLT and proposals are discussed. This study provides further evidence that TBLT is not a one-size-fits-all method, but rather interacts with various contextual factors in its application, and suggests that the features of the Chinese language need to be taken into consideration as well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Content and language integrated learning (CLIL) is a rapidly growing area of both research and practice in all parts of the world, especially in Europe and Asia. As a young discipline, CLIL has a good potential of distinguishing itself from monolingual L2 immersion education models by becoming more flexible and balanced about the role of L1 in CLIL lessons. Although recent years have witnessed increasing research on the potential role of L1 in foreign language teaching [e.g. Littlewood, W., & Yu, B. 2009. First language and target language in the foreign language classroom. Language Teacher, 42, 1–14], monolingual immersion ideologies are still dominant in many contexts in the world (especially in Southeast Asia) because of a whole host of ideologies. The beliefs affecting medium of instruction policies and practice have their roots in the traditional tenets (e.g. the maximum input hypothesis) in the discipline of second language acquisition (SLA). Although these tenets are increasingly being countered by recent research in multilingualism [see May, S. (Ed.). (2014). The multilingual turn: Implications for SLA, TESOL and bilingual education. New York: Routledge, for a critique of these tenets], SLA still has an influence on pedagogies in both immersion and CLIL programmes. In this paper, I shall first critically review these deep-rooted monolingual tenets. Then, I shall discuss how we can conceptualise the potential role of L1 in CLIL and by extension in content-based instruction (CBI), as both CLIL and immersion programmes are considered to be key approaches to CBI. I shall conclude with suggestions for future research in CLIL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased immigration in Europe and worldwide has led to more pre- and primary school students being educated through the medium of a second language, and there is considerable research, much of it coming from Australia, to suggest that in order to cope with this situation, children will need to begin to acquire, from their earliest years in pre-school, a variety of knowledge-based language skills that will be sufficient to carry them through the subject-based education they will encounter in their subsequent schooling. This is particularly important for L2-students who are less likely to meet academic language outside the school. In this paper, based on transcripts of oral interactions in the classroom, it is argued that conversational and story-telling skills, oral and written, provide a rich environment for the development of academic school language, while at the same time promoting and making good use of the cultural diversity that is increasingly a feature of pre-primary and primary classrooms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the conception, goals, highlights, and outcomes of a four-week study-abroad seminar in the Dominican Republic (DR) for pre- and in-service teachers of English language learners from the New York metropolitan area. The seminar was designed to have teachers experience first-hand the phases and challenges of second language learning, and enhance understanding of their immigrant students' culture with a view to transform such an experience into culturally responsive pedagogy. The 17 seminar participants all lived with host families while engaging in intensive Spanish language study at a university in the DR and simultaneously taking a graduate course on second language acquisition. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of data sources, including language questionnaires, an intercultural development inventory, culture portfolios, and post-seminar evaluations and interviews showed that participants developed empathy for immigrant students' linguistic struggles, developed a better understanding of the language-learning process, and came to appreciate the complexity of culture and cultural adaptation. The study also underscored the need for teacher education curriculum to be more culturally responsive to the rapidly increasing linguistic and cultural diversity in the student population today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Learning to read and write is a psycholinguistic and social process. That is why mother-tongue speakers of minority African languages find learning to read in the language they speak is a qualitatively better learning experience than learning to read in a language they are unfamiliar with. However, reading methodologies used for teaching reading in sub-Saharan Africa are usually borrowed from other linguistic environments. Having been developed and tested on learners in the West, in European languages, these methodologies reflect their linguistic origins in a way that disadvantages Africans who attempt to use them for mother-tongue literacy learning. This paper argues for matching reading methodologies in Africa to the linguistic characteristics of the learners' languages. Particular language families have linguistic distinctives that need to be taken into consideration; orthographic distinctives of the various languages must also be considered for the most effective choice of literacy learning methods. These complexities are often ignored in the formal school environment, where the influence of European languages and traditional Western reading methods is strong. For those Africans who cannot read or write, literacy instruction in their mother tongue is immensely advantageous to the learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses Cantonese ESL learners' pronunciation of English final singleton consonants. Twelve learners at the intermediate and advanced levels participated in a recent research study, which included four different tasks: the reading of a word list of about 150 words, the description of about 100 pictures, the reading of three passages of about 250-350 words each, and a conversational interview. Words consisting of all the English permissible final singleton consonants in different preceding vowel environments were used for probing into the learners' interphonology. The participants' performance in each task was recorded and transcribed independently by two raters. The results of the study showed that the participants had most problems with the voicing contrasts of final obstruents. Other problems included the non-release of final plosives and the inaccurate articulation of certain fricatives and sonorant consonants, especially the lateral /I/. The preceding vowel environments of nasals and lateral were also found to be significant in determining the learners' acquisition of the segments concerned. It is suggested that ESL teachers should be aware of the sources of their students' problems as well as the relative gravity of the problems if they are to help their students overcome the problems effectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Communicative techniques in English Language Teaching (ELT) have their origins in Western English-speaking contexts and have been transplanted into EFL environments. This has occurred without a great deal of research about how they work in these new situations. Group work is one well known technique of communicative language teaching now commonly used in many EFL settings. This paper reports on what actually happened when Chinese students worked in groups as part of their normal English classes. It found that one feature of the students' behaviour included codeswitching between English and Chinese during discussions. Evidence from an examination of group discussion transcripts and student interview data showed that codeswitching can fulfil a variety of functions in group discussions. It is possible that some of these functions may limit the range of communicative English outcomes originally intended for group work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on the implementation of an ambitious bilingual instructional programme in the P'urhepecha-speaking region of Michoacán state in Mexico, the Meseta Tarasca. A curriculum of indigenous language preservation and cultural affirmation, overturning the previous Spanish-only programme, has been developed by a group of indigenous teachers in two P'urhepecha elementary schools, ‘Miguel Hidalgo’ of San Isidro and ‘Benito Juárez’ in the neighbouring village of Uringuitiro. Today, the P'urhepecha language is the nucleus of the curriculum. With the previous curriculum largely discredited, the bilingual teachers embarked on a project that would both provide instruction to children in a language they understand, and contribute to the preservation of their indigenous language, which in these communities, in all cases, is children's first language (L1). Being cognizant of the importance of learning Spanish as a second language, a major current planning and curriculum design priority is to find a way to integrate Spanish language instruction into the academic subject areas in accordance with current models of content-based second language teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is based on findings of two recent surveys on the language(s) used as the primary medium for the teaching and assessment of cultural modules. They were conducted between March 1999 and March 2000 in language departments in UK universities: the first among staff (146 replies), the second among language students (704 replies). Comparing the staff perception of the language used in class and the class experience as reported by students pointed to a major disparity with much higher percentages of students than staff reporting English being used. In contrast students' stated preferences were closer to what staff thought they delivered. Students' attitudes to the use of English or TL in teaching and assessment are analysed in terms of the advantages and drawbacks quoted by the respondents and in relation to perceptions of depth of study achievable. Factors such as the type of cultural options taken and whether the teacher is a native speaker of the language of study are considered as to their impact on perceptions and attitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of Basque as a second language by adult speakers in the Basque Country presents some specific characteristics related to the minority status of Basque and its limited use in everyday communication. This paper reports a research study on the effect of individual and contextual variables on the acquisition of Basque by adult learners in the Basque Country. Participants were 411 learners, aged between 17 and 72, who were attending Basque classes in nine different specialised schools for teaching Basque to adults. They were asked to complete several questionnaires so as to obtain background information and measures of metalinguistic awareness, anxiety, learning strategies, attitudes and motivation. Participants also completed tests of Basque language proficiency. Once the data were collected and recorded, statistical analyses were carried out so as to identify the relative influence of several individual and contextual factors on second-language proficiency. The results indicate that metalinguistic awareness is the strongest predictor of Basque proficiency and they also show that the influence of other variables. The results are discussed taking into account both the characteristics of second language acquisition by adult speakers and the specific sociolinguistic context in which the acquisition of Basque takes place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

COVID-19-related school closures have caused educational disadvantages for school children around the world. Against this background, many countries have introduced catch-up programmes to counteract the growing educational inequality. The Austrian summer school was offered as such a supportive measure and primarily targeted learners with learning gaps, lower language skills, and German as an additional or second language (L2). In addition, pre-service teachers (PSTs) were, and still are, mainly involved in teaching during summer school. This study examines the extent to which PSTs believe they have the requisite knowledge and skills concerning linguistically and culturally responsive approaches to teach in multilingual classrooms to support students in catching up with potential learning losses. For this purpose, an online survey study was conducted during the nationwide implementation of the Austrian summer school 2021. Altogether, 109 PSTs in Western and Northeastern Austria were surveyed before and after participating in the summer school. The results show that despite their lack of knowledge and skills around linguistically responsive teaching approaches, PSTs experienced the summer school as a positive learning opportunity that improved their understanding of multilingualism and, according to their own assessments, supported their teaching skills in linguistically and culturally diverse contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I analyse pupil-teacher dialogue, in a mixture of English and Cantonese, from a segment of a Form 2 (Grade 8,13-14 yrs) English reading lesson. The lesson was videotaped in a working-class school in Hong Kong, and the excerpt is taken from a larger corpus of similar lesson data videotaped in the class over three consecutive weeks. The analysis shows how these Cantonese children, with limited English, succeeded in subverting the reading lesson, which was based entirely on information extraction tasks. Instead, they negotiated their own preferred comic-style narratives by cleverly making use of the response slots of the IRF (Initiation-Response-Feedback) discourse format used in the lesson. Thus they achieved genuinely creative responses, in spite of the curriculum. The implications for teaching are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores issues of teaching and learning Chinese as a heritage language in a Chinese heritage language school, the Zhonguo Saturday School, in Montreal, Quebec. With a student population of more than 1000, this school is the largest of the eight Chinese Heritage Language schools in Montreal. Students participating in this study were from seven different classes (grade K, two, three, four, five, six, and special class), their ages ranging from 4 to 13 years. The study took place over a period of two years between 2000 and 2002. Focusing on primary level classroom discourse and drawing on the works of Vygotsky and Bakhtin, I examine how teachers and students use language to communicate, and how their communication mediates teaching, learning and heritage language acquisition. Data sources include classroom observations, interviews with students and their teachers, students' writings, and video and audio taping of classroom activities. Implications for heritage language development and maintenance are discussed with reference to the findings of this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite previous critical studies on the method, Suggestopedia has re-emerged as a popular method for second language teaching and learning in Sweden. In this article, we focus on what characterises Suggestopedia teaching in Swedish as a second language for adult migrants. Taking a sociocultural perspective, specifically regarding the concepts of mediation, artefacts and scaffolding, we analyse teaching observations and interviews with teachers and students in four classes. The analysis reveals the existence of several mediational mechanisms, in terms of e.g. different visual, aural and fictive artefacts, as well as of scaffolding through a certain sequencing of tasks and mediational texts to help students learn Swedish. Although Suggestopedia as an approach serves to facilitate the students' learning in many ways, greater attention can be paid to the students' experiences when conducting the lessons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal mixed methods study investigated the relationship between self-reported L1 and L2 willingness to communicate (WTC), observed (actual) L1 and L2 WTC behaviour, and academic achievement, as well as gender differences. Whereas early studies on WTC have focused on examining WTC as a trait, a few later studies have examined WTC as a state. However, none have included observations of actual WTC of the same participants in their L1 and L2 classrooms. This study collected data from self-reports, observations, and test scores and analysed them using descriptive statistics, Pearson and Spearman rank-order correlations, and t-tests and Mann–Whitney U tests. The results revealed no significant correlations between self-reported and observed L1 WTC or between self-reported and observed L2 WTC but revealed significant and positive correlations between observed L2 WTC and L2 test scores, between observed L1 and L2 WTC, and between L1 and L2 test scores. Although there were significant gender differences in L2 WTC, there were none in L1 WTC or in L1 test scores. Additionally, the observations showed that teacher-fronted activities dominated both L1 and L2 classrooms. The study shows the complexity of WTC and the usefulness of understanding WTC. Implications are also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of two types of culture instruction on students' motivation —a traditional curriculum that pivots on Spanish-speaking countries and a redesigned curriculum focused on US Hispanic communities. Drawing on Gardner's (1985. Social psychology and second language learning: The role of attitudes and motivation. London: Edward Arnold) socio-educational model, a survey was developed to measure participants' (N = 869) integrative and instrumental motivation as well as their attitudes towards US Spanish. Confirmatory factor analysis and a mixed model linear regression were used to explore differences among groups after the intervention period. Findings indicate (i) a negative effect of traditional culture instruction on integrativeness and instrumental orientation, (ii) a positive impact of the one-semester redesign treatment on integrativeness, and (iii) a positive impact of the two-semester redesign treatment on integrativeness, instrumental orientation, and attitude towards US Spanish. These results suggest that instruction aimed at embracing rather than ignoring US Spanish communities benefit students and that traditional models of teaching culture hinder motivation and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study reported in this article investigated the processes and the effects of collaborative writing on 64 students' writing skills in two Arabic as a second language (ASL) teachers' classrooms. The authors employed a mixed methods approach that integrated a qualitative case study and a quasi-experimental design. The data collected included classroom observations and audiotapes of verbal interactions. Pre- and post-test scores of students in collaborative (experimental) writing groups and in traditional (control) groups were compared. The findings indicated variations in interaction patterns during collaborative writing activities in both groups. The findings also suggest that there was a statistically significant difference between the scores of the experimental and the control groups which may be attributed to the collaborative writing intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates the use of culture portfolios in second language Spanish university classes at an American private university as part of an innovation that incorporated an ACTFL standards-based curriculum to a basic language programme. The portfolios required students to complete different types of tasks through interactions with members of the Hispanic community in the area. The study examines novice high, intermediate low, and intermediate mid students' perceptions of the portfolio tasks, focusing on their views of the pedagogical benefits of these tools not only in terms of culture, but also for the development of their performance. Data were collected with a questionnaire and through the analysis of opinions. The results show that the participants' opinions were generally positive, and that most students believed that the portfolio not only had allowed them to learn more about Hispanic cultures, but had also provided them with opportunities to use the target language beyond the confines of the L2 classroom, and helped them develop their performance in the interpersonal and presentational modes. However, there were statistical differences among the proficiency levels, and novice high students exhibited the most negative perceptions, which could have been related to their low level of proficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the agency of children, parents and teachers in a Serbian-English bilingual preschool. The focus was on uncovering the kind of agency each of these groups exercised in the process of language learning by examining the children's linguistic behaviour and the role that parents and teachers had in motivating children learning English as a foreign language. The results show that, within a model which relied on strict separation of languages, the children initiated communication with their L2 teacher mostly in their L1. Even when they faced a question in L2, the children answered both in L1 and L2, which shows the need for a different approach in teaching. On the other hand, the lack of teachers’ and parents’ agency in providing adaptations to the teaching model and promoting flexibility in the teaching process has been found to be caused by the strictly predefined applied model, with little room for modification. Thus, the needs of the learners could not be served fully, although both the teachers and the majority of parents used any opportunity to influence the language learning process by encouraging the children to learn a second language and by shaping their attitudes toward it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The decline in the numbers of students learning foreign languages in secondary schools in England, together with the low and decreasing number of top grades in these subjects, has raised concerns among educationalists, employers and politicians in the last few years. The aim of this research was, therefore, to investigate the uptake of and progression in foreign languages in order to better understand the challenges these subjects are facing and their position in schools and universities. The analyses presented in this article showed that that the number of 16-18 year old students choosing to study a language continues to decline. However, combinations of languages with science subjects and with mathematics were relatively popular. Regarding progression, achieving good grades in language subjects was one of the factors with greatest influence on continuing to study language subjects (e.g. in higher education). However, performance in languages was, in general, worse than average performance at school. The research concludes that the current position of languages in schools in England might lead to very low levels of participation in the learning of languages other than English by the end of compulsory education. This will have an impact on higher education provision and languages, an already vulnerable area in higher education, is likely to become more so. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second language (L2) classroom research has sought to shed light on the processes and practices that develop L2 learners’ abilities [Nunan, D. 2004.Task-based language teaching. London: Continuum; Verplaetse, L. 2014. Using big questions to apprentice students into language-rich classroom practices.TESOL Quarterly,179, 632–641; Zeungler, J., & Mori, J. 2002. Microanalyses of classroom discourse: A critical consideration of method.Applied Linguistics,23(3), 283–288]. Honing in on the micro-level of classroom tasks and even further into the language of the tasks can help to reveal the patterns in teacher- and student-talk that help scaffold students’ academic literacy.Literacy, from a systemic functional view of language learning, entails having the tools to function in the social contexts that are valued in students’ lives. This study illustrates how grounded ethnography was used in conjunction with functional discourse analysis to illuminate bi-literacy development in two third-year university Spanish writing classes. Findings uncovered unique patterns of tasks and oral interactions that helped build students’ academic bi-literacy. While grammar tasks helped build students’ knowledge of wording–meaning relationships, culture and writing tasks supported their evolving understanding of how language construes content. This study puts forth a systemic functional curricular model for literacy-based tasks that aims to bridge the previously observed language-content gap. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research on content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has expanded substantially in the last 10 years. While research interests have predominantly focused on language learning outcomes and the comparison between CLIL and English as a foreign language (EFL) students’ competence in the foreign language, recent studies have called for the need to focus on how language and content are best learnt in integration. In order to understand integration in its full scope, there are two main variables that need to be carefully investigated: the functions of language in different subjects (subject literacies and genres) and the way language and content interact in a variety of classroom interactional activities. This article presents a model for the understanding of integration in CLIL drawing on the combination of systemic-functional linguistic (SFL) and classroom interactional approaches to language and meaning construction. As shown in previous studies, CLIL teachers and learners need to be aware of the characteristics of different genres within their academic disciplines and the lexico-grammatical resources required to participate in those genres. CLIL learners are expected to use these linguistic resources in a second/foreign language to express academic knowledge (ideational function), but also to appraise that knowledge and participate socially in the classroom (interpersonal function), and to produce and distinguish between written and oral texts (textual function). However, the SFL model alone does not offer the complete picture of how content and language are learnt in integration. In addition to knowingwhatis integrated, it is equally necessary to understandhowintegration unfolds in the actual context of the classroom. For this second purpose, the study suggests a combination of SFL with other approaches that consider interaction as a key element in the learning process. This process can be studied by identifying students’ language and content engagement when they participate in different classroom activities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An introduction is presented to the issue theme of second language (L2) learning in content-based instruction (CBI) and content and language integrated learning (CLIL) as a form of immersion learning, noting issue articles on literacies, pedagogy, and language ideologies.

Previous studies revealed that isolated and integrated form-focused instruction (FFI) are two effective means of improving language proficiency of students, separately. However, few empirical studies have explored their complementarity in the context of English as a second language. This study, therefore, investigates the effects of combining isolated and integrated FFI on the speaking and writing skills of second language (L2) learners at the tertiary level in the Philippines. Forty-one college students were divided into two groups: Group A received both the isolated and integrated FFI, while Group B received the standard English programme for college freshmen. Findings suggest that students who received the combined isolated and integrated FFI have significantly improved in their productive skills and have outperformed the students from the control group. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Heritage learners comprise a substantial proportion of second language learners, including L2 Korean learners. Previous studies have shown that the vast majority of heritage language learners display weakness in orthographic accuracy. Due to their previous extended exposure to oral discourse and limited experience in written language, heritage speakers tend to write the way they would speak, which results in frequent spelling errors. This study describes the construction and implementation of a dictation programme in a college Korean language classroom and discusses the use of dictation as a learning device to overcome orthographic errors. The online, computerised dictation programme and in-class dictation activities employed proved to be effective in sensitising heritage learners to written forms of the target language and helping them make connections between spoken sounds and written forms. Feedback provided by learners was positive and suggested that the approach had the intended effect on learning processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The factors affecting the mastery of the host country's language by the children of immigrants are important in the study of immigration-related issues. This exploratory study analyses the possible link between parental socio-linguistic background factors (parent-child language choice, parental proficiency in L2, educational level, socio-economic status, and the length of residence in the host country) and the children's social milieu on the one hand and children's lexical knowledge of L2 on the other among Russian-Jewish immigrants to Israel. Participants in the study were 70 Russian-Hebrew speaking children with a mean age of 7 years 2 months and their parents, all Russian-Jewish immigrants in Israel. After investigating the factors that influence Hebrew (L2) vocabulary knowledge, we constructed a composite measure of Hebrew lexical knowledge. In addition, structured questionnaires for parents and children were developed to collect data on target socio-linguistic factors. The findings showed that variability in children's L2 lexical knowledge can be understood, to some extent, by three background factors: parents' educational level, parents' educational experience in the host country, and the length of family residence in the host country. At the same time, the role of parent-child language choice, parental L2 proficiency, and children's social milieu was found to be insignificant. These data are discussed in the context of the distinctive socio-cultural characteristics of the Russian-Jewish immigrant community in Israel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at exploring motivational factors among American college and university students studying Japanese (as a second/foreign) language by examining their Peak Learning Experiences (Anderson et al., 2001; Bloom, 1982). In all, 128 students studying intermediate Japanese at five different schools returned their answers to this study's survey questionnaire. They were asked to write about (1) the most helpful/encouraging experience that had assisted them in learning Japanese and (2) the most difficult/discouraging experience that had prevented them from learning it well. The most frequently mentioned 'positive' Peak Learning Experiences (PLEs) were (1) being understood by native speakers of Japanese (58%), (2) the enthusiasm and patience of the teachers (13%), (3) classroom immersion in authentic Japanese materials (12%) and (4) use of authentic materials in the classroom (8%). The most common 'negative' Peak Learning Experiences (NLEs) for students were when they failed to see any progress in their learning (22%). The implications of the study for Japanese language teaching and curriculum design are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between second language learning and meaningful interactions is now well recognised in second language acquisition research. While English is a widely taught foreign language around the world, much of the interaction research comes from core-English countries, which are also the major producers of English language teaching (ELT) materials. The rich cultural diversity of English language teaching and learning contexts raises questions about the applicability of the materials in other cultures. Using transcript data collected from 12 primary school class-rooms in the Lebanon during 18 hours of observation, this article takes a critical look at how different coursebook tasks unfold in the reality of the classroom. The findings suggest that a story-based approach to English language teaching provides a more culture-sensitive medium for classroom interactions, adaptable to diverse cultural expectations about the roles of teachers and learners than the traditional communicative language practice typical in primary school ELT courses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on a content-based approach in a language programme for young beginners. Through a case study of a 'Mandarin Chinese as a Foreign Language Programme' for third and fourth graders in a Canadian public elementary school, it attempts to investigate the feasibility of adopting a content-based approach to achieve the dual goals of language and culture learning for young beginners. In the study, content-based teaching -- a form of communicative language teaching -- is broadly defined as 'an approach to second language teaching in which teaching is organised around the content or information that students will acquire, rather than around a linguistic or other type of syllabus' (Richards & Rodgers, 2001: 204). Thus cultural information associated with the target language is viewed as meaningful and important content, as well as knowledge of the language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The survey involved 1978 Cantonese native-speaking subjects undertaking a programme of English in the Workplace (EIW) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This number represents almost the complete population of undergraduate students undertaking this mandatory course in their second year of tertiary-level study. The students answered a questionnaire, previously piloted in a sub-sample of 30, and were assigned on the basis of their responses to the four categories of motivational regulation proposed in Deci and Ryan (1985): External, Introjected, Identified and Integrated. It is argued that the conventional classification of motivation into Extrinsic and Intrinsic, or Instrumental and Integrative, has serious limitations in the field of language learning and fails to provide a meaningful developmental model for students and teachers. The pilot study drew attention to the need to add a category of Avoidant, for students for whom all of the expressions of motivation to learn English, were found to be excessive. The main study showed that Identified Regulation was dominant (49%) and suggests that the transition from Identified to Integrated Regulation is the principal challenge facing teachers and students. Some 19% of the students fell into the Avoidant category. The implications of the study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transfer has been an important concept in research on second language (L2) learning. L2 reading research, for example, has considered aspects of learners' first language (L1) which appear to influence their L2 reading. Using psycholinguistic perspectives, this article focuses on the influence of L1 on L2 reading, specifically addressing the orthographic effects of Japanese (L1) on reading in English (L2). After providing background on the Japanese writing system and the systems of education in Japanese and English in Japan, an overview of key research on L1 orthographic effects on L2 word recognition leads into a discussion of how Japanese affects reading in English. In the conclusion, practical pedagogical questions are raised and the need for more research in this area is addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]