This book traces and summarizes the author's theoretical insights and empirical findings in the field of foreign language education. The volume explores themes such as individual differences in L1 ability and their connection to L2 aptitude and L2 achievement, L2 anxiety as an affective or cognitive variable, and the relationship between L1 and L2…

National emergency language competence (NELC) can be understood as the capacity to use language to cope with domestic and international public emergencies. NELC constitutes the foundation of and guidance for the provision of emergency language services. Based on a review of emergency language services and language competence development, this…

This paper outlines a new model of language revitalisation that understands language to be a characteristic of a nexus of social activities rather than an independent object. Language use is one of an overall set of factors contributing to the wellbeing of a particular community. Our model treats language as one node (or a cluster of nodes) in a…

Since its inception in 1990, the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) at the University of Melbourne has earned an international reputation for its work in the areas of language assessment and testing as well as program evaluation. The mission of the centre is: (1) to carry out and promote research and development in language testing; (2) to…

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) is committed to the cognitive, linguistic, and socio-emotional development of all children in Illinois. ISBE's Multilingual Department is focused on ensuring that students with diverse linguistic repertoires and those who may benefit from additional support have equitable access to academic instruction…

In the last decade, the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) has mandated proficiency requirements for teacher candidates at nationally recognized universities and published a position statement recommending teachers use 90% or more of the world language during instruction. The author explains reform is more successful…

Across Europe we can observe the reinforcement of monolingual education policies, despite increasing multilingualism. Recent research has shown that the emphasis is on language proficiency in the socially dominant language. This is viewed as the key to educational success. The use of other languages or linguistic repertoires is not valued in…

In this article, we report on that aspect of our ongoing simulation project which focuses on the cultural needs of a "virtual" young man living with profound and multiple intellectual disabilities, who is British Asian and receives care in a residential setting. We describe our involvement with a local agency who supports families from…

This regional dossier aims to provide a concise, description and basic statistics about minority language education in a specific region of Europe. Aspects that are addressed include features of the education system, recent educational policies, main actors, legal arrangements, and support structures, as well as quantitative aspects, such as the…

This article provides some context for the unquestionable influence of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) on language learning, teaching, and assessment ten years after its publication. If a survey about the most relevant and controversial document in the field in the twenty-first…

Stuttering occurs across all languages and cultures. However, the impact of speaking more than one language on assessment and treatment of young children who stutter is not well documented. This paper discusses some of the challenges related to clinical issues pertaining to this population including (a) identifying stuttering in an unfamiliar…

Researchers often point to the work of Cummins (1981), who proposed that two distinct types of language proficiency exist, basic interpersonal communications skills (BICS) and cognitive/academic language proficiency (CALP). BICS includes aspects of language such as basic vocabulary and pronunciation, skills that are readily apparent during…

The USA has a great need for individuals with highly developed competencies in world languages. In fact, the need for individuals with proficiency in languages other than English has never been higher (Brecht & Rivers, 2000). According to Brecht and Ingold (2002), more than 70 government agencies reported a need for individuals with a language…

The purpose of this article is to provide middle level educators with an orientation to an intervention designed to facilitate reluctant middle school English language learners (ELLs) engagement in quality schoolwork. The article introduces a new investigation of English language learning through the lens of Glasser's Quality School and Choice…

In this article we propose the pedagogical model "bridging activities" to address advanced foreign language proficiency in the context of existing and emerging internet communication and information tools and communities. The article begins by establishing the need for language and genre-focused activities at the advanced level that attend to the…