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…

This article reports on a descriptive and exploratory study of near-beginner learners of French in English secondary schools, their cognitive and metacognitive strategies, and their general approaches to writing. There is virtually no research on foreign language writing at this level, conceived in this study as including the copying of words and…

This article addresses language learner strategy research in the context of second language learning and teaching in the UK. It arises from two sources: firstly, a personal background in research and writing about language learner strategy research in the context of modern foreign language learning and teaching in England and Wales; secondly, a…

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…

Investigated how high school and college second-language learners used bilingual dictionaries. Surveys examined how well students knew their bilingual dictionaries, how they used them, and how much they thought about what they were doing before reaching for the dictionary. Results indicated that students used the dictionaries extensively as…

In a paper published in "The Language Learning Journal" in 2005, Eric Hawkins describes his vision of language education as an apprenticeship comprising two stages. In stage one (ages 5-14), the purpose is "educational" and the focus is on language awareness; in stage two (14-19), the purpose is "instrumental" and…

The present study sets out to examine the strategies used by Chinese learners in a predominantly naturalistic environment and how such learner strategy use relates to their proficiency in the second language. Data were collected from four Chinese research students in the UK using semi-structured interviews. Their proficiency in English was…

Motivation is one of the most significant predictors of success in foreign language learning. While individual and Governmental commitment to the learning of foreign languages is growing throughout most of Europe and across the globe, it is stuttering in the UK. An entitlement to language learning in primary school is not yet fully in place,…

This article explores the role which the social context of learning plays in the development of learner strategies. It is based on longitudinal foreign language classroom research in state comprehensive schools in the UK. It is built on the premise that the development of learner strategies is linked to the type of learning context in which they…

This article reports on a distinctive form of continuing professional development that emerged from a classroom-based collaborative research project between university researchers and teachers of French. We shall argue that one of the outcomes of this particular form of collaboration is a relatively unexplored, yet potentially important, approach…

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…

Tertiary institutions increasingly offer language advisory sessions for second language students and staff. Advisers help students to identify language and learning needs, they recommend resources and strategies and they provide feedback and encouragement. Especially in the first few sessions, identifying and prioritising needs are arguably among…

In this article, the author recommends a "starter kit" for teaching grammar. This kit uses an A4 sheet that allows students to express themselves correctly, removing the problem of "censoring grammar" and replacing it with an "enabling grammar." Using their "starter kit", pupils will enjoy being able to…

In this article I describe how a survey instrument was constructed to elicit from Year 7 learners their strategies for reading in French as a foreign language. The rationale for this project entails a brief review of the status of foreign language reading in England since the advent of the GCSE and the National Curriculum for Modern Foreign…

Discusses problems surrounding the teaching of Portuguese in the United Kingdom. The traditional low profile of Portuguese teaching has produced a vicious circle of scarcity of both material and human resources for this language. However, as satisfied students conquer the language at an advanced level, some will eventually pass on their knowledge…