This volume focuses on how far the policies, principles and practices of foreign language teaching and learning are, or can be, informed by theoretical considerations and empirical findings from the linguistic disciplines. Part I deals with the nature of foreign language learning in general, while Part II explores issues arising from linguistic, socio-political, cultural and cognitive perspectives. Part III and IV then consider the different factors that have to be taken into account in designing the foreign language subject and the various approaches to pedagogy that have been proposed. Part V finally addresses questions concerning assessment of learner proficiency and the evaluation of courses designed to promote it. Key features: provides a state-of-the-art description of different areas in the context of foreign language communication and learning presents a critical appraisal of the relevance of the field offers solutions to everyday language-related problems with contributions from renowned experts

The ability to effectively communicate with individuals from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds is an invaluable asset. Learning a second language proves useful as students navigate the culturally diverse world; however, studying a second language can be difficult for learners who are not immersed in the real and natural environment of the foreign language. Also, changes in education and advancements in information and communication technologies pose a number of challenges for implementing and maintaining sound practices within technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning provides information on educational technologies that enable language learners to have access to authentic and useful language resources. Readers will explore themes such as language pedagogy, how specific and universal cultural contexts influence audio-visual media used in technology-enhanced language learning (TELL), and the use of English video games to promote foreign language learning. This book is a valuable resource for academicians, education practitioners, advanced-level students, and school administrators seeking to improve language learning through technology-based resources.

This book comprises 20 chapters that have been divided into two distinct parts: language in educational contexts and language in cultural contexts. The contributions included in this book are the outcome of the conference Contacts and Contrasts that was held in Konin, Poland, in 2021 (C&C2021). The contributions featured in the first part of the part of the book focus on various issues in the field of applied linguistics, in particular language education, second and foreign language learning as well as translator training. The second part of this edited collection features chapters devoted to a range of issues at the intersection of semantics, historical and contact linguistics, as well as literature.

Distinguished multiculturalist Sonia Nieto speaks directly to current and future teachers in this thoughtful integration of a selection of her key writings with creative pedagogical features. Offering information, insights, and motivation to teach students of diverse cultural, racial, and linguistic backgrounds, examples are included throughout to illustrate real-life dilemmas about diversity that teachers face in their own classrooms; ideas about how language, culture, and teaching are linked; and ways to engage with these ideas through reflection and collaborative inquiry. Designed for upper-undergraduate and graduate-level students and professional development courses, each chapter includes critical questions, classroom activities, and community activities suggesting projects beyond the classroom context. Language, Culture, and Teaching • explores how language and culture are connected to teaching and learning in educational settings; • examines the sociocultural and sociopolitical contexts of language and culture to understand how these contexts may affect student learning and achievement; • analyzes the implications of linguistic and cultural diversity for classroom practices, school reform, and educational equity; • encourages practicing and preservice teachers to reflect critically on their classroom practices, as well as on larger institutional policies related to linguistic and cultural diversity based on the above understandings; and • motivates teachers to understand their ethical and political responsibilities to work, together with their students, colleagues, and families, for more socially just classrooms, schools, and society. Changes in the Third Edition: This edition includes new and updated chapters, section introductions, critical questions, classroom and community activities, and resources, bringing it up-to-date in terms of recent educational policy issues and demographic changes in the U.S. and beyond. The new chapters reflect Nieto’s current thinking about the profession and society, especially about changes in the teaching profession, both positive and negative, since the publication of the second edition of this text.

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/qualitative 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.

Winner of the BMW Group LIFE Award for Contribution to Intercultural Learning, 2007 The research student population of higher educational institutions continues to expand to include people from an ever-widening range of cultural and educational backgrounds. However, many research methods courses are still directed at the traditional student population. This book examines aspects of postgraduate research from a cross-cultural perspective, analysing the dilemmas faced by international students when defining a research question, choosing research methods, collecting data, deciding which language to use and writing their theses. Through an exploration of how international students re-examine their beliefs and research practices during their study in the UK, this book challenges the assumptions of all those engaged in educational research, addressing key questions such as: How do our teaching and learning experiences shape our approach to educational research? How do we judge ‘good’ educational research? What does it mean to be critical? The book uses the real-life experiences of international students to illuminate the kinds of challenges they may face. It supports both students and their supervisors, showing students how to approach cultural differences, and supervisors how to deal sensitively with the problems encountered by overseas students in their research.

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This book, addressed to experienced and novice language educators, provides an up-to-date overview of sociolinguistics, reflecting changes in the global situation and the continuing evolution of the field and its relevance to language education around the world. Topics covered include nationalism and popular culture, style and identity, creole languages, critical language awareness, gender and ethnicity, multimodal literacies, classroom discourse, and ideologies and power. Whether considering the role of English as an international language or innovative initiatives in Indigenous language revitalization, in every context of the world sociolinguistic perspectives highlight the fluid and flexible use of language in communities and classrooms, and the importance of teacher practices that open up spaces of awareness and acceptance of --and access to--the widest possible communicative repertoire for students.

During the past decades, literacy has gradually become a major concern all over the world. Though there is a great diversity in both the distribution and degree of literacy in different countries, there has been an increasing awareness of the number of illiterates and the consequences of being illiterate. However, literacy is no longer seen as a universal trait. When one focuses on culturally-sensitive accounts of reading and writing practices, the concept of literacy as a single trait does not seem very feasible. A multiplicity of literacy practices can be distinguished which are related to specific cultural contexts and associated with relations of power and ideology. As such, literacy can be seen as a lifelong context-bound set of practices in which an individual's needs vary with time and place. This volume explores the use of literacy outside the mainstream in different contexts throughout the world. It is divided into four sections. Section 1 presents an anthropological perspective--analyzing the society and the individual in a society. Section 2 presents a psychological perspective--focusing on the individuals themselves and analyzing the cognitive and affective development of young children as they acquire literacy in their first and second languages. Section 3 presents an educational perspective--highlighting the variations in educational approaches in different societies as well as the outcomes of these approaches. Section 4 summarizes the studies presented in this volume. Both theoretical issues and educational implications related to the development of literacy in two languages are discussed. An attempt is also made to open up new directions in the study of literacy development in multilingual contexts by bringing these various disciplinary perspectives together.

This introduction to child literacy development looks at the subject from an international perspective and is appropriate for students and professionals across a wide-range of disciplines.