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…

While learning and teaching English as an additional language are lifelong learning processes for both learners and teachers, these two sectors are largely dominated by West-centric linguistic and cultural imperialism, epistemic hegemony, racism, and neoliberalism, which are tied to colonialism and imperialism. In light of this issue, I argue that…

This essay reviews the Geographical section of the "International Handbook of Jewish Education" published in 2011. The differences between countries, their unique histories and cultures, are important, but their similarities are arguably more revealing. Indeed, on occasions when similar phenomena are examined in different places by different…

This article presents the process of recent curricular revision and material development in English at the national level in India in a limited way. Teachers' needs and wants, their participation in the development of materials, the dilemmas of teachers and their implications for classroom transactions are discussed from the experiences of one of…

Summarizes the assumptions and curricular progression of the traditional German program and elaborates a possible alternative curriculum recently instituted at Transylvania University that hopes to move undergraduate German instruction in a different direction. (Author/VWL)

Argues that fostering learner autonomy is an important and appropriate goal in language course design, but that principles to guide the design of such courses are currently lacking. Proposes five course design principles for language courses that seek to promote learner autonomy. (Author/VWL)

Through the process of critical thinking and in a collaborative learning environment, foreign language instruction can be more than a required skill; it is an integral part of a liberal education. Critical thinking is part of the basic process of learning, not a higher order of thinking to be saved for advanced courses. Students thinking in…

An English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) professor writes about her own experiences with college ESL students, focusing on the issue of content in study labs and ESL reading instruction at Baruch College. Aspects of the curriculum that promote language development, including active interaction with text, are described. (10 references) (LB)

Assesses the ambiguous relationship between linguistics and foreign language teaching, noting that budget cuts in foreign language departments usually mean loss of linguistics and literature, and bemoaning the loss of language teaching in higher education based on formal elements of language (grammar, syntax, morphology) in favor of a…

The place of languages other than English in schools remains controversial in Australia. Data discussed show that language education is still struggling to establish its place in the curriculum even though policy developments have recognized the importance of language learning and improved proficiency outcomes. (Author/VWL)

Based on practical experience in a new online beginning German course sequence, the author of this essay argues that contemporary cultural developments associated with the emergence of new technologies, particularly computer-assisted language learning, provide new opportunities to theorize German Studies curricula from the beginning level onward.…

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)

The cognitive restrictions on the beginning second language learner's capacity to deal with structural diversity and the concomitant developmental regularities of his sentence structure are examined. Learners utilize the formal features of a language, the syntactic categories, as building blocks in organizing the structure of the language. (PMJ)

Discusses five components of an English-as-a-Foreign-Language communicative language teaching (CLT) curriculum. These include language arts, teaching language for a purpose, learning English for personal use, theater arts, and preparing learners for the world beyond the classroom. Suggests the essence of CLT is the engagement of learners in…

Responding to the gap between language and content that prevails in most foreign language departments, discusses the reconceptualization of third-year German in the curricular reform at Georgetown University. Comments on the concept of "task" that guided the reform and outlines the design of the new advanced course, discusses one course module in…