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The paper deals with the role of lexicographic resources in the South Tyrolean (i. e. the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen, Italy) educational context against the backdrop of legal provisions (Das neue Autonomiestatut 2019/1972) and the relevance of language education on the part of educational institutions (Rahmenrichtlinien DE, Rahmenrichtlinien IT), taking into account both normative requirements and their application in practice. The focus is on two questions that have been little researched so far, not only in the specific context but also internationally (cf. Abel 2022; Nied Curcio 2022): To what extent are lexicographic resources represented in the school framework guidelines? How are they actually used in schools? For the case study presented here, the South Tyrolean framework guidelines provided by the German and the Italian school boards at all levels of education for German and Italian as first (L1) and second (L2) languages, as well as for English as a foreign language (L3) were examined by means of a document analysis. In a second step, a questionnaire survey with language teachers at all school levels (German and Italian as L1/L2, English as L3; number of survey respondents: 644) determined the actual use of lexicographic resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article investigates turn-taking as a feature of Second Language Interactional Competence (L2 IC) within a Virtual Exchange (VE) project involving undergraduate English Foreign Language (EFL) students. Through Conversation Analysis (CA), a German-Israeli focus group (n = 4) is monitored over seven online meetings. VE, or Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL), is a telecollaboration method involving participants from different cultures or geographical regions. The study refers to the Extended Telecollaboration Practice Project, with English as the target language serving as a Lingua Franca. Turn-taking processes within the focus group are considered and discussed, utilizing GAT2 transcription excerpts. Since the data pertains to a group of participants over the course of a semester, aspects of longitudinal conversation analysis are also incorporated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Rezensionen zur Germanistischen Sprachwissenschaft is the property of De Gruyter and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present article shows a didactic application based on the use of authentic materials and English for Specific Purposes (ESP) in a university class. The designed proposal was applied throughout a period of fifteen weeks in an English as a foreign language subject, equivalent to a B1.2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). This lesson plan was applied in a group class of forty students belonging to two different bachelor’s degrees: Psychology, and Sports Science and Physical Activity.

Abstract: Essay writing is an important skill in both first and foreign language learning. Argumentative writing in particular is an important aspect of final examinations in upper secondary school as well as university entrance exams (e.g., TOEFL®). Despite of their importance, argumentative writing competencies have rarely been investigated empirically in the context of large-scale educational assessments. One reason is that the process of rating the essays, which is needed to obtain valid scores, is both time-consuming and expensive, requiring a large amount of well-trained human raters. To reduce the cost of scoring essays, computerized automated scoring techniques can be applied to approximate the score given by the expert human raters. For that purpose, linguistic text features can be analyzed with computer-based algorithms and then combined using machine learning techniques (i.e., gradient boosting or regression analyses) to predict human scores. The present research illustrates this approach, highlighting the potential of automated scoring methods by applying regression analyses and gradient boosting to an existing data set of students' essays. We analyzed a sample of N = 2179 essays written by students in upper secondary schools in Germany and Switzerland (grade 11). We used the open-source software CTAP to code 173 linguistic features automatically. These linguistic features were used to predict the scores given by expert human raters trained by the Educational Testing Service (ETS). Results showed the accuracy of the prediction to be satisfactory (r =.75; percentage of exact agreement: 42%) and comparable to the scores computed by a commercial software by ETS (e-rater®; r =.81; percentage of exact agreement: 42%). Our study shows similar results for linear regression analysis and gradient boosting as two different strategies to predict essays scores. Opportunities and challenges of automated essay scoring in the context of foreign language assessment and its application in the school context are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The book "Early Language Policy in the 21st Century. An International Perspective" by Zein, Subhan, and Coady, Maria R. deals with the framework conditions for foreign language teaching in primary education. A total of 14 chapters are dedicated to foreign language teaching in English, Spanish, Arabic, and Chinese on all continents. The focus is on the situation of German language teaching in Great Britain, which is described as sobering. German ranks third among foreign language learners there, while Chinese as a foreign language is gaining momentum. The book shows that foreign languages are a political football and do not align with the needs of teachers or learners. [Extracted from the article]

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The Corona pandemic has highlighted the consequences of individuals remaining in filter bubbles, in which background assumptions and subjective value systems are not recognised as such and are thus neither evaluated nor reflected upon. However, mutual understanding, or at least the willingness to engage with other perspectives, is the basis for our democratic coexistence. This article addresses the question of how the use of literature in the foreign-language classroom can contribute to stimulating the students' self-reflection and reflection on the world. It discusses an understanding of the EFL classroom as an irritation-friendly space, in which the potential of literature can be explored through a changed view of the learners. It also argues for the consideration of the developmental tasks of adolescence as text selection criteria. Finally, it explores a comparison of the didactics of Fremdverstehen and a pedagogy of discomfort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors share a theatre game used with language learners that connects students performances with objects and in their bodies to the work of curating displays at a museum.

This contribution focuses on museum audio description (AD), originally intended as an access tool for people with visual impairments, in order to consider its potential for foreign language learning (FLL). Screen AD of films and videos has already been investigated as catering new groups, such as migrants and learners, and as a teaching activity for foreign language (FL) education. Likewise, this paper argues that museum AD may similarly be revisited as a didactic instrument to engage with people studying FLs (e.g. English), as part of both formal and informal learning. The benefits of museum AD for FLL will be discussed by analysing an example of a museum AD script in English and proposing a lesson plan comprising passive and active AD tasks.

Copyright of Journal of German Language & Literature / Istanbul Üniversitesi Alman Dili ve Edebiyai Dergisi / Studien zur Deutschen Sprache und Literatur is the property of Istanbul University, Faculty of Letters and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In Japan, recent Foreign Language Activities (2018-2020) policies have explicated the importance of facilitating multiculturalism and global thinking through education and educational tools, including through the use of textbooks. Accordingly, an Anti-Bias Framework (ABF) is one way for educators to develop learners’ global and cultural identities, as well as learners’ appreciation of human differences. ABFs are of particular relevance in multicultural textbooks and classrooms, as they are used for helping students develop local and international identities, and for helping learners eliminate biases. However, the current EFL textbooks (2018-2020) issued by the Japanese Ministry of Education are not inclusive of ABFs. Consequently, there are numerous missed opportunities for teachers and learners to engage in active anti-bias lessons for the facilitation of global citizenship. This paper seeks to address this gap in the textbooks by discussing opportunities for EFL teachers in Japan (and elsewhere) to use anti-bias frameworks in language and culture education. Elaborating upon the Teaching Tolerance Anti-Bias Framework (2017), this article proposes that EFL students in Japan can develop intercultural competencies and anti-bias thinking through an ABF, and offers suggestions for lesson activities, guided classroom discussions, engagement with local interlocutors, for English language development. While positioned against the backdrop of the Japanese EFL elementary classroom, these suggestions can be adapted to other EFL in-person and online classrooms, as well.

In our globalised world, the need of a common language is encouraging the massive learning of English. Much effort has been dedicated to help improve proficiency at different levels of language learning, but, as students face greater levels of complexity, proficiency in pragmatic aspects of language continues being deficient (Romero-Trillo, 2002; Author and Carrió Pastor, 2013). This must be addressed in the Foreign Language (FL) classroom (Sperber and Wilson, 1995; Wang, 2007). In this regard, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), grounded on the communicative approach, has provided guidelines to teach and established Foreign Language proficiency levels. The CEFR Companion Volume proposed more detailed descriptors to identify and outline language proficiency. The present paper displays a 10-year pseudo-longitudinal study of a learner corpus of 125 written texts produced by University students in which pragmatic (coherence and cohesion) errors are analysed. The aim of the study has been to examine improvement in student production in the years subsequent to the publication of the reference book. Results point to errors that have been minimised after training and instruction, but they also identify some recurrent errors in English as an FL writing.

Texts in simple or simplified language have the power to enrich the EFL literary classroom. Since there is a vast number of graded readers or simple originals out there, we should benefit from them and use them to enhance reading in heterogeneous secondary classrooms. This article first outlines the ongoing discussion on the value of graded readers, especially in connection with learners' perspectives and the aims of reading. The article then explores in detail the category of simplicity and how it manifests in young adult literature. To illustrate the practical use of simple texts, the results of selected extensive reading projects are briefly presented, along with the analysis of an exemplary literature project on Robinson Crusoe. Excerpts from guided interviews with three teachers who all carried out reading projects with graded readers are woven into the article to add experience-based knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Diyalog Interkulturelle Zeitschrift für Germanistik is the property of Diyalog Interkulturelle Zeitschrift fur Germanistik and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is the field of language teaching and learning of English in a specific area of specialty. However, learning ESP is not to be understood as just learning a set of technical vocabulary and expressions; it is about learning to use English in a given specific context with the implication of all the skills and objectives of language learning. This qualitative research investigates the impact of Content-Based Instruction (CBI) on developing comprehension and vocabulary in a course of English for Specific Purposes at an engineering school in Morocco where English is learnt as a Foreign Language (FL). A total number of 40 students were divided into two groups of 20 students per class and were taught a fifteen-hour course of legal English over a period of six weeks. Each class lasted one hour and fifteen minutes, at the pace of two classes per week. Focus was on reading comprehension and learning vocabulary in an interactive way by engaging the learners actively. At the beginning, both groups were given the same pre-test to determine their present knowledge of legal English. After the experiment period, another post-test was administered to the students to determine their level of progress. At first, the results of both groups in each test were compared with each other. Then, the results of each group in the pre-test were compared with the results of the same group in the post-test. The general result is that both groups have made progress in improving comprehension and vocabulary capabilities in legal English. As for same-group results, the experiment group have managed to make significant progress in their post-test results compared to their pre-test results, while the control group maintained their higher score shown in the pre-test. The conclusion drawn from this is that Content-Based Instruction does help students improve their comprehension and vocabulary capabilities in ESP. Therefore, focus on content does yield positive results in learning language. Reducing content to just a topic through which learners learn language may cause the learners to miss a learning opportunity. Thus, there may not be a reason to give the content aspect of a language course less importance than the language aspect.

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Qualitative Forschung (ZQF) is the property of Verlag Barbara Budrich GmbH and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There is a growing interest in bilingual teaching programmes in primary schools especially because they open up the opportunity to increase the contact time with the English language. Yet, the question to what extent it is possible to teach content matter in English to beginning foreign language learners on the same level of complexity as in German has largely been ignored. This paper presents the results of the BiLL-NaWi study, which investigates the outcomes of bilingual Science teaching of fourth graders in North Rhine-Westphalia in comparison to learners who were taught in German (N = 332) The analyses show that students in bilingual programmes achieve considerably higher scores on English C-tests and German Science tests (taken from Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS)) than their peers in non-bilingual strands at the same schools; on average, they also score slightly above German TIMSS students. However, matching students from TIMSS and the BiLL-NaWi study on key variables nullifies the advantages of the bilingual group while confirming the below-average performance of the non-bilingual groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A learner corpus (LC) is widely known as a rich source of information regarding the use of expressions and the errors made by students in their productions. In fact, we, as teachers, can profit from the compilation of their tasks so as to analyze in detail their way of writing. However, the mere compilation of texts does not guarantee a successful exploitation, as more steps than saving texts must be involved in the whole process. Therefore, it seems essential to follow a protocolized methodology of compilation. In this paper we propose five phases for compiling a LC containing texts from the spontaneous written productions from undergraduate and postgraduate students. The outcomes thrown with the LC exploitation will reveal the errors in students’ productions regarding the use of plural, comparative and superlative in adjectives and also other fails detected in the tagging phase, most of which are due to students’ misuses.

Research indicates that Spanish schools tend to focus on literacy in a narrow sense, as in the mechanics of reading and writing with a focus on text at the word and sentence level, while the idea of literacy on an international scale includes “the ability to use reading and writing skills in order to produce, understand, interpret and critically evaluate multimodal texts” (European Commission, 2012: 13). This study seeks to examine whether textbooks for English as a Foreign Language used in the fourth grade in Madrid take the more traditional approach to literacy or a broader one that involves the consideration of genre characteristics and work at the text level. A questionnaire was formulated to examine the reading and writing activities of four EFL textbooks. The results suggest that the books present a more narrow view of the concept of literacy. Key words: literacy, textbooks, English as a foreign language, primary education, bilingual education

The present article examines teachers’ practices on reading development in the Primary EFL classroom. The work is part of the research developed in the Erasmus+ project “Developing FL literacy in CLIL contexts” (2018-1-PL01-KA201-050920), which aims to improve literacy practices in the CLIL classrooms. The study has an exploratory and descriptive nature and was conducted using an online questionnaire, designed and supervised by the international group participating in the project. Results show that a number of the resources, tools and strategies used by participants fall short in covering students’ communicative needs in our present society, such as the work on different genres and text types, the promotion of free voluntary reading or the creation of a link between reading and writing tasks. Possible improvement areas are related to teacher training, lesson planning and materials design.

Öz İngilizceyi yabancı dil olarak öğrenenler için sınıf dışında İngilizceyi kullanmak sınıf içi etkinliklere katılmak kadar önemlidir. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Sınıf Dışı İngilizce Kullanma Ölçeğini geliştirerek lise öğrencilerinin dinleme, konuşma, okuma ve yazma becerileri ile ilgili sınıf dışı İngilizce kullanım sıklığını farklı değişkenler açısından incelemektir. Türkiye'deki bir devlet lisesinde eğitim gören 292 öğrenciye 34 maddeden oluşan 5’li Likert tipi bir ölçek verilmiştir ve veriler SPSS 22.0'de analiz edilmiştir. Ölçeğin geçerlilik ve güvenilirlik analizi yapıldıktan sonra, sınıf dışı İngilizce etkinliklere katılma sıklığının cinsiyet, ders seçimi ve algılanan İngilizce seviyesi değişkenlerine göre farklılık gösterip göstermediğini belirlemek için bağımsız örneklem t testi, ANOVA ve Pearson korelasyon analizleri kullanılmıştır. Sınıf dışı İngilizce kullanım sıklığının bu değişkenlere göre farklılık gösterdiği saptanmıştır. Ayrıca, öğrencilerin sınıf dışı İngilizce kullanım sıklığının düşük olduğu açığa çıkarılmıştır ve bu nedenle öğrencilerin sınıf dışında İngilizce etkinliklere katılması teşvik edilmelidir.

This paper is a comparative analysis of the English language assessment of the university entrance examinations “la Selectividad” and “das Abitur” administered nationwide in Spain and Germany respectively. It is of particular interest to researchers and practitioners of English as a foreign language. The major objective of the current research is to identify any similarities and/or differences in the assessment of English as a foreign language for university admission between the two countries. To this end, the test papers used in 2015 for students in Madrid and Berlin were investigated qualitatively. In order for the analysis to be more systematic, the framework from Douglas (2000) was employed. The findings demonstrate that the two national tests share some similarities. First, the candidates of both tests are required to read the given textual input first before they can complete the writing tasks. Second, listening and speaking skills are not assessed in both tests. On the other hand, overt contrasts between the two tests were identified. The assessment designed for the German students takes longer to complete, and it contains a markedly larger amount of textual data. Furthermore, Spanish students are expected to give “selected response” or “limited response” most of the time while “extended response” to all questions is elicited from German candidates. The findings of this study are valuable because they have shown that the national assessment of English as a foreign language for university admission can vary greatly across non-English-speaking European countries. The assessment in Germany appears to be more challenging than the one in Spain, notwithstanding the very early start of English learning among Spanish children. Given the status of English as an international language, it is highly recommended that some measures be taken, at least among members of the European Union (e.g., via a committee modeling on the Bologna Process), to harmonize the assessment of English as a foreign language for the purpose of university admission

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The conception of early foreign language learning is based on an unproblematic first language acquisition, which cannot be assumed for children with special language needs. This qualitative study aims to describe the special learning dispositions of the students and how teachers deal with these needs in the foreign language classroom. Therefore, interviews with teachers were conducted and evaluated using qualitative content analysis. In addition, English lessons were observed. Because of its special importance for teaching English to young learners a focus was put on listening comprehension. The results show that listening comprehension presents difficulties for children with special language needs. Teachers at special needs schools for children with speech and language disorders have a wide range of options at their disposal for dealing with these special learning dispositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considerable attention has recently been invested into researching the influence of affective variables, such as attitudes and motivation on foreign language learning and teaching. The topic is timely and relevant especially at the time when English is being introduced as an obligatory subject in the first cycle of primary school in Slovenia. Two key issues are addressed: attitudes towards learning and teaching English as a foreign language and the profile of the young learners’ language teacher. The article presents the results of a small-scale research conducted with a group of primary education students on their attitudes towards learning and teaching English. The results suggest that trainee teachers have moderately positive attitudes towards learning English but diverse attitudes towards teaching a foreign language.

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The teaching of English as a foreign language is an integral part of the primary school curriculum. It was hailed as a path to greater proficiency, motivation for language learning and plu-rilingualism when it was introduced at the beginning of the millennium. In secondary schools some teachers are still sceptical about the necessity of teaching English in primary school although recent research findings are very promising. Critical teachers are of the opinion that it only takes a couple of weeks to bring all learners to the same language level. In this article expectations concerning the outcome of teaching English in primary school are contrasted with recent findings on the effectiveness of this subject. Additionally, the article will discuss what implications current research findings have for teaching programmes and classroom practice, and in which areas further research is needed. Four fundamental principles will be introduced which are considered to be essential for teaching English to young learners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilingualism is a natural condition for humans. Recent studies on multilingual education have demonstrated its worth in developing the cognitive abilities and the character of learners, in addition to framing intercultural minds, a must in our increasingly globalizing world. The learning context plays an essential role in the achievement of these objectives, constituting one of the main elements of extrinsic motivation for language learning. This study analyses the motivational factors of a specific multilingual environment, that of the Liceo Internazionale Europeo Statale “Altiero Spinelli” of Turin, Italy, where students are stimulated to learn foreign languages and the English language in particular. This high school has a peculiar curriculum, based on the “L1 Project” which regulates all educational aspects. The factors taken into consideration are the curricular objectives, the participants, the languages and nationalities involved, the pedagogical approach, the teaching and learning of the English language, and several dimensions of the extended context. The paper features the results in terms of English language learning, considers the strengths and the weaknesses of the programme and suggests some directions for the development of its teaching and the learning environment.

Copyright of Hacettepe University Journal of Education is the property of Hacettepe University Journal of Education and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The article presents a list of continuing education workshops for librarians and information professionals in Germany, including introductions to the integrated library system OCLC-PICA, English-language courses for librarians, and courses on pedagogical concerns in library instruction.

For a successful lesson to take place it is very important that the teacher find the best methods. These methods must be adapted to the requirements of the student. In the present work, we describe some of the most important methods that can be applied in foreign language teaching, also presenting their advantages and disadvantages. The methods that present too many disadvantages were omitted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research results on a study of foreign language qualifications for employees in firms in German-speaking areas in an age of globalization. The overwhelming need for qualifications in English is cited, although requirements vary by corporate branch, size, and regional venue. The need for speakers of French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian is statistically presented as a niche requirement. The author suggests how such second language requirements for business may change in the future.