The evolution of digital technologies has frequently been hailed as a 'game-changer' in education. However, like previous technological innovations, such as television, these recent developments have failed thus far to demonstrate any significant large-scale improvement in the quality of educational provision or in educational outcomes. The papers…

In this article, we discuss some ethical issues arising from teaching foreign or world languages for intercultural citizenship. From this perspective, language education engages students in critical investigations of social issues and in the application of linguistic, communicative and intercultural skills beyond the classroom to address such…

In the twenty-first-century working professionals need to possess strong Interactional Competence to handle professional communication in intercultural contexts (PCIC). However, the relationship among the three PCIC constituents -- culture, workplace and interaction -- is undertheorized in current research. This leaves PCIC practitioners…

Increasingly, studies are taking account of multimodality when analyzing language textbooks. Due to the diversity of multimodal frameworks used in analyses, and the interdisciplinary nature of language textbook studies, conceptual differences arise that are important to discuss -- which is the purpose of this paper. Specifically, I argue that…

In Scandinavia, plurilingualism has been embraced as an important goal in language curricula. However, research shows that teachers struggle to understand what plurilingualism is and how it can be implemented. To address this lack of clarity, we analysed the curricula for the three main language subjects of schooling in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden…

This paper reports on the narrative of Shannon, a Taiwanese Canadian female assistant language teacher (ALT) of the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Programme, one of the world's largest government-sponsored programmes for recruiting English language teachers to teach overseas [Nagatomo (2016). "Identity, gender and teaching English in…

Although people may readily refer to Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the U.S. as Anglophone countries, recent demographic and sociolinguistic profiles of these countries indicate that they are actually both Anglophone and multilingual, and in some of their cities, even more multilingual than Anglophone. Recent research also indicates…

Most modern languages degrees in the UK include a Residence Abroad component, the key aims of which are to help students acquire a greater understanding of a new language and culture and to develop research skills. While the acquisition of linguistic competences has been well documented, cultural learning on the year abroad is less well…

In this conceptual paper I examine how current understandings of English medium instruction (EMI) can be refined to inform language policy-making and practice in higher education. Starting from a set of EMI definitions (Dafouz, E., & Smit, U. 2020. "ROAD-MAPPING English medium education in the internationalized university." Palgrave…

This paper reports on a writing programme I started at Bronx Community College to improve academic success among recently immigrated Spanish-speaking students by linking ESL courses to Spanish academic literacy courses within the framework of a learning community. My reflection begins by articulating the pedagogical rationale for looking beyond…

In Pountain (2017), I argued that the indispensable foundation of an academic discipline of Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) must consist of (a) acquisition of and competence in the standard form of a foreign language, (b) awareness of its linguistic structure and varieties, and (c) critical study of cultural manifestations which depend on that…

Recent articles on the problems of 'locus of enunciation' have focused on research and publication as well as on theoretical development of the concept. It is an issue in teaching and learning too, and this is the focus of this article which argues that to reject teaching approaches in 'the South' because they come from 'the North' is, first,…

The term 'CLIL' has been used in Australia for over a decade, and the approach has helped to invigorate languages education in both primary and secondary schools. In particular, the flexibility of CLIL has led to a range of teachers accessing CLIL training: from teachers in structured programs where schools have committed to organisational change,…

This paper develops an interdisciplinary critical perspective on the concept of "Confucian Heritage Cultures" (CHC), used in intercultural and English language teaching theory to explain the supposed culturally distinct learning habits, expectations and schemas many Asian students bring to academic classrooms in English-speaking…

The aim of this paper is to reflect on the theoretical and methodological underpinnings that provide the basis for an understanding of Content-Based Instruction/Content and Language Integrated Learning (CBI/CLIL) in the field and its relevance in education in the twenty-first century. It is argued that the agenda of CBI/CLIL needs to move towards…