This volume brings together the current theoretical interest in reconceptualizing second and foreign language learning from a sociocultural perspective on language and learning, with practical concerns about second and foreign language pedagogy. It presents a set of studies whose focus is on the empirical description of particular practices constructed in classroom interaction that promote the learning of a second or foreign language. The authors examine in detail the processes by which the learning of additional languages is accomplished in the interaction of a variety of classrooms and in a variety of languages. Not only will the findings from the studies reported in this volume help to lay a foundation for the development of a more expansive, sociocultural model of second and foreign... Less

Although Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) is a popular teaching method, research on CLIL has nearly exclusively focused on aspects of language learning. Besides that, we are still lacking any cognitively well-grounded theory about the special features of contexts in which the focus is on content learning, but in which a foreign language is used as the medium of communicating information. This book re-examines the basis for CLIL from a cognitive perspective and investigates how the use of a foreign language as a working language influences the processing of content. It summarizes findings from cognitive psychology on thinking, problem solving and conceptual processing, and integrates them with models of language- specific mental activities such as speech processing and text... Less

Based on a research project funded by the Army Research Institute, Foreign Language Learning reports original empirical and theoretical research on foreign language acquisition and makes recommendations about applications to foreign language instruction. The ultimate goal of this project was to identify a set of psychological principles that can provide the foundation for--or at least, argumentation for--a foreign language training course. This book reviews the various studies of which the project is comprised. It begins with an overview chapter outlining the scope of the project and summarizing some of the experiments that were conducted in the laboratory. In each of the following chapters, the contributors report on previously unpublished research on selected specific psycholinguistic... Less

This volume brings together the current theoretical interest in reconceptualizing second and foreign language learning from a sociocultural perspective on language and learning, with practical concerns about second and foreign language pedagogy. It presents a set of studies whose focus is on the empirical description of particular practices constructed in classroom interaction that promote the learning of a second or foreign language. The authors examine in detail the processes by which the learning of additional languages is accomplished in the interaction of a variety of classrooms and in a variety of languages. Not only will the findings from the studies reported in this volume help to lay a foundation for the development of a more expansive, sociocultural model of second and foreign... Less

Description: This book introduces pre-service and in-service foreign language teachers to the basic concepts of critical educational study as applied to the sociological position occupied by foreign language education in the United States. Although contemporary foreign language teachers typically know about second language acquisition and instructional methodology, they are not prepared to understand issues of power in relation to, for example, language variety, language status, and education. The author addresses issues such as the supposed "failure" of foreign language education, the educational filter role played by language classes, the concept of foreignness as seen in national standards, language curricula and textbooks, and the implications of these issues in terms of power... Less

Teaching Foreign Languages in the Primary School advises modern foreign language trainee and qualified teachers on how to teach MFL successfully at primary level. This book offers full information, including sections on: *children's ideas about how to learn languages *the current situation of MFL in the UK, Europe and elsewhere *research into second language acquisition (e.g. behaviourist, cognitive and sociocultural perspectives) *different approaches to teaching foreign languages (e.g. audio lingualism, communicative language teaching, task-based instruction) *the use of games, songs and stories *ways of developing speaking, listening, reading and writing skills *ways of developing intercultural understanding, knowledge about language and language learning strategies *assessment,... Less

Exploring several dimensions of the problem of "film languages," this volume engages the complications inherent in the study of the "other" and investigates the intricate relationship between postcoloniality, national identity, ideology, and filmmaking. Author John Mowitt establishes how Eurocentrism sustains both the concept of the foreign language film and the flawed initiative of multiculturalism. Using bilingualism and the concept of foreign film language, Re-takes pushes film studies beyond both linguistics and psychoanalysis to resituate is within the networks of global cultural communication. Through close readings of the bilingual films of Senegalese filmmaker Sembene Ousmane and Bolivian filmmaker Jorge Sanjines, Mowitt articulates the poetics and politics of postcoloniality... Less

In this book, linguistic achievements of word order studies in Chinese have been applied to Chinese second language acquisition research. By analyzing a great number of word order errors made by learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL), this book has developed a method for describing and explaining Chinese word order errors. With this method, the book has the potential to empower CFL teachers all over the world to teach Chinese in an informed manner, and particularly to teach Chinese word order more effectively and efficiently.

Don't you believe you can learn a foreign language without classes? Well, maybe not 20 years ago. It's now rather easy to find affordable or even free materials for studying a foreign language independently. Finding someone to practice with has also become much easier than it used to be. This book will enable you to: - teach yourself a language from scratch to a functional level anywhere and anytime you want;- choose the best learning materials for yourself; - enhance your language skills once you have a solid foundation; - stay motivated and persistent; - revive your confidence in your language and learning abilities; - make vocabulary stick, and turn the infamous enemy called grammar into an ally; - get the most out of a leisure trip abroad. The above are discussed with an emphasis on... Less

This volume focuses on priorities for research in language pedagogy. The aim is to give an up-to-date overview of current thinking about important research issues such as the viability of large scale comparisons, the quantitative/qual itative research controversy, new trends in language testing and evaluation, and the role of different learning environments. In their discussions of these issues researchers from the US and from different countries in Europe show to what extent the priorities differ on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

This lively and inspiring collection of readings is divided into three sections: 'Developing teaching strategies and effective classroom management' covers all major aspects of classroom practice; 'Planning, evaluating and assessing MFL learning' is a guide to the day to day requirements and practicalities of MFL teaching; 'In search of a wider perspective' considers how MFL teaching might develop and expand, and its place outside the classroom. Fully engaged with teaching and learning MFL at a practical level, it illustrates concepts and good practice through a braod range of classroom-based examples and case studies.Issues covered in this book include: maximising potential engaging pupils in their learning developing listening, reading and oral skills use of information... Less

Training Foreign Language Teachers is aimed at anyone in the area of foreign language teaching who is engaged in designing, running or taking part in teacher education programmes. It begins by examining some current models of teacher education. It goes on to describe the notion of the teacher as 'reflective practitioner' - someone who reflects on the practice of their profession as a way of developing their expertise in it. Training Foreign Language Teachers explores ways in which a reflective approach can be applied to many areas of the teacher education programme, including: * classroom observation * microteaching * design and assesment of teacher education programmes. It contains many suggestions for practical work and discussion, and numerous applications to actual situations,... Less

This book offers concrete and practical ideas for implementing content-based instruction -- using subject matter rather than grammar -- through eleven case studies of cutting-edge models in a broad variety of languages, academic settings, and levels of proficiency. The highly innovative models illustrate content-based instruction programs for both commonly and less-commonly taught languages -- Arabic, Croatian, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Russian, Serbian, and Spanish -- and for proficiency levels ranging from beginners to fluent speakers. They include single-teacher and multi-teacher contexts and such settings as typical language department classrooms, specialty schools, intensive language programs, and university programs in foreign languages across the curriculum. All of the... Less

Academic Reading in Science teaches reading skills to university level science students studying English as a second or foreign language. Students learn how to identify topics and main ideas of texts, understand the functions of logical connectors, and learn how to identify the organization of a text. In addition, students also learn about restatements, definitions, prefixes, roots and suffixes, and guessing word meanings from context. While learning these skills, students also study the five hundred and seventy word families of the academic word list. Academic Reading in Science is a workbook. Students learn by practice - lots of practice. There are comprehension questions, gap fill and matching exercises, and many supplementary materials. The science coverage is also very broad and... Less

Foreign Language Teachers and Intercultural Communication: An International Investigation reports on a study that focused on teachers’ beliefs regarding intercultural competence teaching in foreign language education. Its conclusions are based on data collected in a quantitative comparative study that comprises questionnaire answers received from teachers in seven countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Poland, Mexico, Greece, Spain and Sweden. It not only creates new knowledge on the variability, and relative consistency, of today’s foreign language teachers’ views regarding intercultural competence teaching in a number of countries, but also gives us a picture that is both more concrete and more comprehensive than previously known.

This text aims to show that the notions developed within the cognitive linguistics movement afford an insightful perspective on several important areas of second language acquisition and pedagogy. The key concepts commonly invoked in cognitive analyses such as the usage-based conception of grammar, the radial organization of categories, metaphors, or cultural scripsts, do not only represent powerful constructs within which the process of second language acquisition can be valuably investigated, but also allow teachers to successfully introduce problematic material in the foreign language classroom.

This volume is the first to explore links between the Russian linguist Mikhail Bakhtin's theoretical insights about language and practical concerns with second and foreign language learning and teaching. Situated within a strong conceptual framework and drawing from a rich empirical base, it reflects recent scholarship in applied linguistics that has begun to move away from formalist views of language as universal, autonomous linguistic systems, and toward an understanding of language as dynamic collections of cultural resources. According to Bakhtin, the study of language is concerned with the dialogue existing between linguistic elements and the uses to which they are put in response to the conditions of the moment. Such a view of language has significant implications for current... Less

That students of English as a Foreign Language transfer skills from their first language to the production of English has been well known for decades. Yet until now, no detailed analysis of the transfer mechanism has been proposed. This book applies the insights of conceptual blending theory to the study of learner constructions and transfer, showing them to be the result of crosslinguistic blending. Such blends disassemble acceptable L1- specific constructions and reblend them with FL lexemes, creating unusual, non-standard utterances that may or may not be comprehensible to English native speakers. Drawing on psycholinguistic models of speech production, the lexicon, and the conceptual base; the sociolinguistic paradigms of ethnopragmatics, inner speech, and the speech ... Less

Books.

This book documents a sixteen-year study of two elementary school foreign language programs. With a strong focus on what ?works? and is possible, the authors provide an evaluation of what is necessary to plan, implement and sustain a successful language course. A Tale of Two Schools contains invaluable information for those involved in these processes worldwide.

The Test of English as a Foreign Language ™ (TOEFL®) is used by moreuniversities worldwide than any other test to assess English languageproficien cy for academic admission and placement decisions, and to guideEnglish language instruction. This landmark volume provides a detailed description and analysis of Educational Testing Service’s research and development efforts to develop a major revision of the TOEFL® test. The result is a book that serves as a case study of test design drawing upon theory in the complex domain of English language proficiency while attempting to meet standards of educational measurement. Building a Validity Argument for the Test of English as a Foreign Language™ is distinctive in its attempt to develop a coherent story of the rationale for a test or its... Less

This lively and inspiring collection of readings is divided into three sections: 'Developing teaching strategies and effective classroom management' covers all major aspects of classroom practice; 'Planning, evaluating and assessing MFL learning' is a guide to the day to day requirements and practicalities of MFL teaching; 'In search of a wider perspective' considers how MFL teaching might develop and expand, and its place outside the classroom. Fully engaged with teaching and learning MFL at a practical level, it illustrates concepts and good practice through a braod range of classroom-based examples and case studies.Issues covered in this book include: maximising potential engaging pupils in their learning developing listening, reading and oral skills use of information... Less

The 29 chapters in this volume offer insight in the various interdisciplinary approaches to the study of knowledge about language or language awareness. They reflect the breadth of the area and chart its possible development in topics such as:• Language awareness in the mother tongue and second and foreign languages• Studies aimed at improving the teaching of languages in educational settings• Studies of Psycholinguistic processes, explicit and implicit knowledge• Bilingualism and multilingualism, in particular metalinguistic awareness• Critical language awareness, social practices of language and the role of power and ideology.This is one of ten volumes of the Encyclopedia of Language and Education published by Springer. The Encyclopedia bears testimony to the dynamism and evolution of... Less

Training Foreign Language Teachers is aimed at anyone in the area of foreign language teaching who is engaged in designing, running or taking part in teacher education programmes. It begins by examining some current models of teacher education. It goes on to describe the notion of the teacher as 'reflective practitioner' - someone who reflects on the practice of their profession as a way of developing their expertise in it. Training Foreign Language Teachers explores ways in which a reflective approach can be applied to many areas of the teacher education programme, including: * classroom observation * microteaching * design and assesment of teacher education programmes. It contains many suggestions for practical work and discussion, and numerous applications to actual situations,... Less

In this volume leading teachers of Arabic, many of whom have written influential textbooks for advanced learners, explore the realities and challenges of teaching Arabic as a foreign language. Topics covered include the state of the Arabic teaching profession; the institutional challenges in U.S. and study-abroad programs; the teaching of various skills such as writing, reading, speaking, and listening; the varieties of Arabic and their relevance in the classroom; the uses of technology in the classroom; and testing. Published in 1995, many of the issues raised in this volume remain relevant today. Distributed for the American Association of Teachers of Arabic

The book discusses vocabulary learning strategies as an integral subgroup of language learning strategies. It defines language learning strategies in general and their features on the basis of cognitive theory and relevant models of second language acquisition as the basis for empirical research. Furthermore, the book gives a survey of research on vocabulary learning strategies and describes three original empirical studies. Thus, the book attempts at integrating the approaches of theories of second language acquisition, the theory and practice of instructed foreign language learning, and the findings of current empirical research.

This book examines the acquisition of requests in English by a seven- year-old Japanese girl during her 17-month residence in Australia. The study focuses on the linguistic repertoire available to the child as she attempts to make requests and vary these to suit different goals and addressees. This book helps unravel features of pragmatic development in the child's interlanguage, a subject about which we yet know very little.

This book examines the various ways in which age affects the process and the product of foreign language learning in a school setting. It presents studies that cover a wide range of topics, from phonetics to learning strategies. It will be of interest to students and researchers working in SLA research, language planning and language teaching.

Academic Reading in Science teaches reading skills to university level science students studying English as a second or foreign language. Students learn how to identify topics and main ideas of texts, understand the functions of logical connectors, and learn how to identify the organization of a text. In addition, students also learn about restatements, definitions, prefixes, roots and suffixes, and guessing word meanings from context. While learning these skills, students also study the five hundred and seventy word families of the academic word list. Academic Reading in Science is a workbook. Students learn by practice - lots of practice. There are comprehension questions, gap fill and matching exercises, and many supplementary materials. The science coverage is also very broad and... Less

Spanish Second Language Acquisition provides a panoramic overview of previous studies on the acquisition of Spanish as a second or foreign language, the theoretical approaches used in these studies, and the effects of various pedagogical approaches on the development of Spanish interlanguage systems. Barbara Lafford and Rafael Salaberry have compiled the first volume to provide a comprehensive critical overview of the research done and data compiled on how adults acquire Spanish as a second language. Major scholars in the field of SLA have contributed chapters having to do with a wide range of "products" (phonology, tense/aspect, subjunctive, clitics, lexicon, discourse/pragmat ics) and "processes" (generative, cognitive and sociocultural theories) involved in the acquisition process-... Less