This paper presents the findings related to culture from an online survey with French as a second language (FSL) teachers (n = 45) about equity and antioppression in the Ontario FSL curriculum. FSL teachers defined culture and reflected on the link between language and culture and the role of students' cultures in FSL. Framed by an anti-biased,…

This large-scale study used a survey to collect data on K-12 world language classrooms in Massachusetts public schools, focusing on core instructional practices, curriculum, and assessment. The study resulted in 383 individual teacher completed responses, representing 188 districts, which was analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results indicate…

As "Foreign Language Annals" concludes its 50th anniversary, it is fitting to review the past and peer into the future of standards-based education and assessment. Standards are a common yardstick used by educators and researchers as a powerful framework for conceptualizing teaching and measuring learner success. The impact of standards…

This article reports on a multiliteracies-based experiential learning curriculum designed for intermediate French built upon the framework of a global simulation pedagogy. Students adopted the roles of fictitious characters living together in an apartment building in Paris and carried out written and spoken tasks through the voice of their…

The faculty and administration at Drake University made the decision in 2001 to alter radically how language instruction was delivered and received, beginning by disbanding the long-standing Modern Language Department. The dissolution of the department and the new pedagogy caused ripples of concern and shock among language instructors and…

Pinyin is a sound-annotating system for Chinese characters using Roman letters. Teaching and learning Pinyin has been an important educational practice in Mainland China for native Chinese children, and it is also typically taught to beginning learners of Chinese as a foreign/second language in tertiary-level classrooms. However, whether it should…

As courses that once regularly met face-to-face are increasingly offered in blended or fully online formats, questions have been raised about the comparability of instruction, teacher and student roles, and overall quality of the learning experience. The present study offers a five-inference interpretive argument (Chapelle, Enright & Jamieson,…

This article reports on a survey of heritage language learners (HLLs) across different heritage languages (HLs) and geographic regions in the United States. A general profile of HLLs emerges as a student who (1) acquired English in early childhood, after acquiring the HL; (2) has limited exposure to the HL outside the home; (3) has relatively…

Describes the philosophical bases of confluent education, and provides examples of this method in language instruction. (AM)

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an instructional methodology placing primary emphasis on students solving realistic problems in a team-oriented environment. In this article, authors discuss using PBL to integrate a language for specific purposes (LSP) track into an undergraduate biological engineering curriculum as a way to prepare students for an…

Examines the difficulties students face in making the transition from skills acquisition courses to the study of literature in college foreign language programs. Proposes the creation of a series of courses that emphasize the development of both communicative skills and the analytical tools needed for the study of literature. (SED)

Testing issues and concerns that should receive renewed and increased professional attention are highlighted. These include curriculum concerns, developmental matters; generalizability, content and format considerations, contextualization issues, and technology concerns. (JL)

A thorough revision of present syllabus-design practices is necessary to achieve the goal of enabling the learner to use the target language with relative fluency in simulated speech transactions. Four new orientations are suggested that lead more directly to language use than do monolithic and paradigm-oriented linguistic features. (Author/RM)

Describes the first semester writing curriculum of a second-year university German course based on the proficiency guidelines of the American Council of Teachers of Foreign Languages. Notes that a traditional review grammar gives students practice with words and sentences while films provide a context for creative writing. (41 references)…

This action research study examines the perspectives and voices of students in a postsecondary Japanese class through an authentic project--a pen pal letter exchange. The project's effects on student motivation and learning are analyzed through the lens of the five goals of the national standards: communication, cultures, connections, comparisons,…