Preservice student teachers are engaged in developing a critical perspective on the profession they are about to join. They are assessing the way the profession presents itself and its values, they are keen to see the opportunities it may offer for growth, and they are curious as to how their particular personal backgrounds and talents will fit…

The Intercultural Language Teaching and Learning in Practice (ILTLP) Project is a large scale, national professional learning program designed to extend the understanding and practice of language teachers with regard to intercultural language learning. The latter is an orientation to language learning that underpins the National Statement and Plan…

It is quite common for Australian schools introducing Japanese as a foreign language to engage native Japanese volunteers to assist in the classroom using a collaborative team-teaching approach. These volunteer Japanese assistant teachers, commonly referred to as Japanese Assistant Teachers (JATs), are an indispensable asset to school language…

A look back at the first year of the Language and Cultures Network for Australian Universities (LCNAU) highlights how great the need for such a network has been within the sector and how important LCNAU's role will be in ensuring the future of languages teaching and research in universities and beyond. LCNAU was established in early 2011 as part…

As a consequence of a substantially revised national curriculum in New Zealand, all schools are now required to provide opportunities for students in school Years 7 to 10 (age 11+ to 14+) to learn an additional language. There are, however, very few intermediate school (Years 7 and 8) teachers who are additional language 'subject specialists'.…

The role of planned professional learning in being an accomplished languages and cultures teacher has never been so important. Professional learning that focuses on "becoming" an accomplished practitioner as part of an ongoing professional learning experience rather than a process of detailing deficiencies is to be applauded. Indeed, the…

The Professional Standards Project (PSP) is a nationally coordinated professional learning program for languages teachers, to improve the quality of languages teaching and, thereby, improve student learning. It is based on the use of the "Professional standards for accomplished teaching of languages and cultures" (hereafter, "the…

The author reports on the organization and methodology of her Japanese program for the primary grades in Canberra, Australia. (PMP)

Discusses how languages other than English are perennially under pressure not only in Australia but in the United States as well. Focuses on how the eighteen City university of New York system--better known as CUNY--implemented a blueprint for the future to help foreign language programs from disappearing. This included reorganizing language…

Describes a collaborative project whose goal was to explore ways to improve transition for students who have been learning a language in primary school for up to 7 years and choose to continue with this language when they enter high school. (Author/VWL)

Discusses the decline in the use of literature in foreign language instruction at the secondary level, despite the role literature plays in college level instruction. Describes a project in an Italian studies program that introduced units based on a number of canonical texts. (Author/VWL)

The most central aims of language teaching are the development of language proficiency, the development of cultural knowledge and intercultural understanding, and the fostering of positive cross-cultural attitudes. The authors have examined the relationships between language learning and cross-cultural attitudes in projects in Australia (reported…

In collaboration with the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Department of Education and Training, the Australian National University has been offering a professional development program for language teachers (called LIFT, or Language Inservice for Teachers) for more than ten years. As the program is specially tailored to meet teachers' current…