Ofsted's (2021) Curriculum research review for languages (OCRR) draws conclusion on what 'high-quality language education' may look like. This opinion piece problematises the status of these conclusions as 'features' or recommendations. Before delving into a selection of identified 'features' in more depth, the author highlights the complexity of…

This article reflects on the epistemological steamrolling that the 2021 Ofsted Curriculum Research Review (OCRR) accomplishes: in part, by the positioning of the problem and solution through highly selective cherry-picking (omitting key causal factors); in part, through the discursive move of acknowledging complexity before offering simple and…

In the editorial of "The Language Learning Journal" of July 2011, readers' attention is drawn to the decline in language teaching and learning in British schools and universities, and to the attempt of the British Academy to promote language teaching against this decline. The British Academy paper makes seven recommendations of which the…

This article reports on a collaborative research project which involved first-year distance learners of Chinese, French, German, Japanese and Spanish at a New Zealand university. Drawing on the principles of Allwright's exploratory practice, the study aimed to gain an insight into the learners' experiences and conceptualisations in terms of their…

The notion that language is not simply a politically neutral medium of communication, but a social practice that determines power relations and shapes subjectivity has become widely accepted in critical language and literacy studies. Within any socio-linguistic community, certain ways of using language are considered "proper,"…

Looked at from a certain distance, the "Languages Review" (Dearing & King, 2007) was seen by some in the foreign language (FL) education community, when it first came out, as a major disappointment because the authors had decided not to opt for the one measure that would reverse the falling numbers of students studying a foreign…

This article presents the author's speech for the languages leader event on September 21, 2005. This speech focuses on the importance of learning languages, and in particular, the role that the Higher Education sector can play in making a reality of the Department's National Languages Strategy. In his speech, the author describes how UK fares…

The Languages Review Consultation Report recommends exploiting the potential of communications technology for the enhancement of curricular offerings. Newly developed instructional software is credited with opening doors to the cultures of young people while serving as an infinitely patient and supportive tutor. Thus, in the UK as in the US,…

This article questions the presentation of rules in the classroom and explores some of the different senses of the term "rule." After making some basic distinctions, the article considers implications for the classroom and suggests there is no single approach to the presentation of grammar rules, and that learners should be encouraged to…

Reports on the success of a second-language learning program designed to develop a European awareness in students in a school in England in the hope that it will serve as an inspiring example to promoters of similar programs. Notes that the effort in setting up a European program of development offers the advantages of working closely with…

Defines continuous role playing in foreign language teaching suggestopedia (as practiced in Bulgaria); discusses how to achieve and sustain it; and considers its advantages, disadvantages and relevance. The article notes that the balancing role of the teacher is crucial to the techniques employed in the classroom dialogs. (10 references) (CK)

Argues that pupils in the second language classroom should be encouraged to respond to questions for personal information truthfully and that certain aspects of existing teaching practice encouraging the opposite should be scrutinized. Focuses on the objections to this premise and outlines reasons for seeking truthful student responses. (CK)

Addresses the application of corpus resources and research methods, through concordance programs, to vocabulary study in second-language programs. The article attempts to demonstrate that a corpus linguist's use of his access to large quantities of data to observe the relational and distributional properties of linguistic phenomena can be usefully…

Reviews and comments on the syllabus and lower level examinations held in German used by the Institute of Linguists. Topics include target groups, task-based proficiency examinations, skills examined in L2, skill integration in L2, language integration, task briefs, a listening test, oral tests, and cultural awareness. (CK)

Focuses on the teaching of language "per se," in the part of the lesson that often precedes work with a passage and the interactional activities that result from that exploitation. The optimum three-way split between formal language work, grammar-awareness raising, and communicative activities will vary from class to class. (CK)