This edited volume offers an insightful theoretical conceptualization of issues central to 21st century foreign language learning and teaching. Drawing on research results obtained in the fields of pedagogy, social psychology and sociology of education, this book provides a comprehensive practical exploration of issues experienced by researchers in Poland and in Europe, and which can easily find far-reaching implications in other educational contexts. Part I, Focus on the Teacher, includes seven texts discussing topics relevant to teacher initial and in-service education, as well as the functioning of foreign language instructors in educational systems. The eight contributions included in Part II, Focus on the Learner, explore learner-internal and learner-external factors that affect the effectiveness of the language learning process. The exploration of key contemporary topics and the wide range of methodologies applied make this book of high relevance to Second Language Acquisition scholars, teacher educators, teachers, and language education policy makers.

Current Issues in Second/Foreign Language Teaching and Teacher Development: Research and Practice represents a collection of selected papers from the 17th World Congress of the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA), which was held in August 2014 in Brisbane, Australia. The volume comprises 18 chapters presenting current research projects and discussing issues related to second language acquisition, teaching and teacher education in a variety of contexts from around the world. This collection of research papers will be of use to both new and seasoned researchers in the field of applied linguistics. Teacher educators, language teachers and language policy makers will find this volume equally useful as the papers address current issues in language education.

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First Published in 1991. This is Volume 22 of the Source Books on Education series. Politically speaking the study of foreign languages and cultures helps maintain a strong competitive position in an increasingly global marketplace. It was hard to imagine in 1957 that the launching of a Soviet rocket would push the United States into its greatest investment ever in foreign language education. As American policy-makers attempted to play catch-up with our brothers and sisters behind the iron curtain, this country infused federal dollars into extensive foreign language teacher training and the creation of new foreign language educational programs. As suddenly as federal support was given, however, so was it taken away; and its withdrawal was responsible for one of the darkest periods in the history of foreign language education in America. Drawing on the expertise of a number of the nation's most experienced and creative foreign language educators, this volume, edited by Ellen S. Silber, addresses some of the crucial problems we face in foreign language education today.

This volume is focused on the teaching and acquisition of language for special, professional or general purposes, as well as the needs and challenges associated with foreign language pedagogy in English for Specific Purposes (ESP) or, more generally, Language for Specific Purposes (LSP). It presents innovative methodology and technology-integrated approaches that will serve to benefit teacher development and assist language practitioners in enhancing student investment and motivation. A pragmatic tool for utilization at the local level, this collection provides an international panorama of language pedagogy that is of great use to both junior and senior researchers. It will also serve as a source of inspiration for future and seasoned language practitioners and in-service teacher educators.

This edited collection brings together papers by eminent scholars who attempt to demonstrate how challenges can most successfully be ameliorated with an eye to enhancing the effectiveness of the processes of language teaching and learning. In Part One, emphasis is placed on challenges that second language education has to face, both those more general, dealing with language policy issues, and those more specific, concerned with instructional options in the language classroom. Part Two focuses on challenges involved in researching the processes of teaching and learning in the second and foreign languages classroom, both with respect to research methodology and efforts to tap some variables impinging upon the effects of instruction. Finally, Part Three is devoted to challenges involved in second and foreign language teacher education, the quality of which to a large extent determines the outcomes of second language education in any educational context.

This edited book focuses on the state of language learning in Anglophone countries and brings together international research from a wide range of educational settings. Taking a contextual perspective on the language learning crisis currently facing Anglophone countries, the authors examine systemic challenges, real-world practices, and broader cultural trends that have an impact on the uptake of modern foreign languages in different Anglophone settings. This book will be of interest to scholars working in applied linguistics and language education, particularly those with a focus on educational policy and Global English.

The present volume deals with some of the challenges that modern foreign language teaching will face in the near future. These challenges are presented with regard to various domains of language teaching, e.g. mobile learning, the overall organisation of learning environments, innovative language teaching methods, internationalisation and language mediation. Techno­logical development and the rapid spread of computers, smartphones and social media are described and analysed as well as instrumental scaffolding, the multilingual classroom, the multilingual learner, pronunciation, and learner motivation.

Fourteen papers from six countries are included in this volume. Several have been translated from French or German. The papers are grouped as follows: (1) Creativity and Language Learning: "Creativity, Brain, and Language" (M. Bergstrom) and "Creativity and Interactional Competence in Foreign Language Learning" (E. Oksaar); (2) The Teacher and the Taught: "Learning to Communicate in a Foreign Language" (D. Girard); "The Teacher's Role in Communicative Teaching" (C. Brumfit); "Tailoring Teaching to the Pupils" (C. Edelhoff); and "Negotiating Language in Foreign Language Classroom" (C. Faerch); (3) Innovation and Language Teaching: "In Defense of Innovative Methods" (C. Parish) and "Music in Teaching French by Suggestopaedia" (L. Schiffler); (4) Computer-Assisted Language Learning:"A Linguist Looks at Computer-Assisted Instruction" (F. Karttunen) and "Micro-computers in Language Teaching" (A. Hagg); (5) Examinations and Testing: "Language Awareness, Communicative Competence, and Testing" (M. Luukkainen) and "Evaluating Speaking Ability" (R. Clifford); and (6) Conclusion: "Where Do We Go from Here?" (S. Takala). Appended is a one-page description of the International Federation of Modern Language Teachers (FIPVL). (LB)

This volume contains a selection of the papers, seminars and workshops presented in the First International Conference on English Language Teaching and Learning (ICELTL1), held at the University of Santiago, Spain, in September 2008, as well as a number of valuable original contributions by other specialists who were involved in the conference. It aims to represent the views of teachers, scholars, researchers, teacher trainers and curriculum developers from all over the world, from the USA and Japan to Europe. It is addressed to ELT teachers, researchers and professionals who want to reflect upon and develop their knowledge and practice of current issues in English language teaching and learning. Current problems in many of the areas of ELT are given different solutions depending on the context in which respective contributors conduct their work. It is precisely this international perspective that makes this volume unique and illustrative of different realities with a similar objective in mind: the implementation and improvement of English language teaching. The various contributions have been organised in four main sections that correspond to the major focal topics of the conference: teacher training and development, classroom management and practice, new technologies and language teaching, and research on learner language.