The goal of foreign language teaching is expanding from communicative competence towards an intercultural action competence. Essential in the new orientation is the shift towards a more balanced emphasis between the external factors in the learning environment and the personal capacity, conceptions, beliefs and assumptions inside the learner's mind. As part of the changes, assessment is seen as an important means of enhancing the elearning processes, emphasising the role of refelctive self-assessment. The text explores and integrates the necessary knowledge base and practices in foreign language education in terms of the basic concepts of experiential learning, intercultural learning, autobiographical knowledge and teacher development, together with the philosophical underpinnings of foreign language education.

This book contributes to the body of knowledge concerning individual learner differences by addressing the issue of learning styles in developing a second language. It comprises five chapters. The notion of style, together with its place among other individual differences and its relation to learning strategies, is presented in Chapter 1. The reasons for researching styles are also delineated in this chapter. Chapter 2 describes simple (one-dimensional) models of learning styles, contrary to Chapter 3, in which two-dimensional (compound) models are presented. Multi-dimensional (complex) models of learning styles are the focus of Chapter 4. Each model discussed in Chapters 2 through 4 is accompanied by an outline of its significance to second language educators, as demonstrated in earlier studies. The final, fifth chapter is devoted to the discussion of the practical exploitation of the learning style awareness in second language education. The options suggested include accommodating learners’ styles, stretching them (by exposing the students to the less familiar and less preferred options), and mixtures of both approaches. The book will be of interest to applied linguists, psycholinguists and language teaching practitioners, as well as tertiary level students interested in finding out the ways in which learning styles account for linguistic achievement.

While much research has been done on experiential learning opportunities in study abroad settings, there are fewer publications devoted to experiential learning in the domestic context. This volume aims to fill that gap by providing a collection of chapters highlighting research-based innovations in experiential learning in domestic settings. The book focuses on three experiential learning contexts: community engagement experiences, professional engagement experiences and other unique experiential contexts such as language camps and houses. The collection focuses on the US context but the research projects and curricular innovations described here can serve as models for educators working in other local contexts and will encourage interested practitioners to explore experiential learning opportunities in their local areas. It will also provide the reader with a better understanding of this growing field of inquiry and should appeal to graduate students and researchers who are interested in experiential language learning.

Tasks in Second Language Learning aims to re-centre discussion of the ways in which language learning tasks can help offer a holistic approach to language learning, and to explore the research implications. It relates the broad educational and social science rationale for the use of tasks to the principles and practices of their classroom use. The authors provide a balanced review of research as a basis for exploring a broader research agenda. Throughout, the book offers telling illustration of the contributions of a range of specialists in research, teaching methodology and materials development, and of the authors' own argument.

This carefully crafted collection provides a snapshot of the evolution of David Nunan's theoretical and empirical contributions to the field of second language education over the last 40 years. The volume focuses on the development of his work on second language curricula, and in particular, the work for which he is best known: learner-centered education and task-based learning and teaching. David Nunan has been a language teacher, researcher and consultant for 40 years. He has lived and worked in many countries, principally in the Asia-Pacific region, but also in the Americas, Europe and the Middle-East. In addition to his research and scholarly work, he is the author of several major textbook series for the teaching and learning of English as a foreign Language. These texts are based on his task-based language teaching approach, and are widely used in schools, school systems and universities around the world.

Papers presented at the first Oxford-Kobe English Education Seminar, sponsored by the Kobe Institute, Kobe, Japan, and held at the Institute from 14-17 March, 2007.

In light of increasing globalization, this collection makes the case for global citizenship education as a way forward for transforming foreign language learning and teaching to better address current and future global challenges in times of unprecedented change. The volume maps a multi-dimensional approach within foreign language pedagogy to take up the challenge of "educating the global citizen". Drawing on sociocultural, pedagogical, cosmopolitan, digital and civic-minded perspectives, the book explores the challenges in constructing epistemological frameworks in increasingly global environments, the need for developing context-sensitive educational practices, the potential of linking up with work from related disciplines, and the impact of these considerations on different educational settings. The collection reflects an international range of voices, attuned to global and local nuances, to offer a holistic compilation of conceptual innovations to showcase the relevance of global citizenship issues in foreign language education and encourage future research. This book will be of interest to scholars in intercultural education, foreign language education, and language teaching, as well as policymakers and foreign language teachers. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license.

This volume offers a collection of essays addressing contemporary issues in foreign and second language education. In particular, it addresses language learner autonomy, both as a theoretical construct and in relation to areas of application such as the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the European Language Portfolio (ELP), teacher training, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and minority language provision. The contributors - well-known researchers, policy makers, teachers and teacher trainers - provide a multi-faceted insight into an innovative and influential approach to language education. David Little, to whom the volume is dedicated, was Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Head of the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. He is recognised worldwide as a leading proponent of the theory of language learner autonomy, and has been a driving force behind many influential language education initiatives internationally.

Language Education in China: Policy and Experience from 1949 is unprecedented as a comprehensive study of the multilingual circumstances in China. It tracks policy changes in the learning of Chinese, foreign languages and minority ethnic languages in China since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949. On the basis of survey and interview data, the experiences of different age cohorts of learners are presented as "windows" to the realities of language education policy implementation over the last half century. The effects of political changes, language backgrounds and various motivations for learning, at both the national and individual levels, are vividly presented in this composite story of China and learners in China.

This volume offers the most comprehensive, up-to-date description of the wide array of second language programs currently available to undergraduate students in the United States and abroad. It brings together, for the first time, detailed descriptions of programs in foreign language, English as a second language (ESL), dual language (bilingual), American Sign Language, Native American, and heritage languages. Addressing both theory and practice, the volume presents the historical development, current practices, and future directions of each type of program, along with detailed case studies. For second language teachers, academic administrators, and teacher educators, this Handbook provides information that will be useful in making instructional and programmatic planning decisions.