An introduction to the content of foreign language instruction.

A language cannot be a simple template of human activity; a language is the history and culture of the people, their long and thorny road to civilization. The informative nature of a discourse will be insignificant if we only take into consideration the visible data of the text. The single viable way to carry out research on the mentality and behavior of the representatives of different cultures is to dig into the implication and the conceptual framework of the discourse. The author’s idea might be interpreted according to the background knowledge of the reader. Such an approach turns the text into a conglomerate of sense messages that reveal the power of the language and its inextricable link to the history, culture and civilization of the nation whose language the students learn. This notional “intervention” is akin to a chain reaction and the language develops into a means of power over a human being. The conceptual approach to a foreign language material helps improve students’ cognitive and analytical skills, turns the educational process into a particular type of an innovative environment, leads to motivation increase in a foreign language instruction.

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Exploring young learners’ L2 development and perceptions of mixed-age and same-age peer interactions in EFL mixed-age classrooms

European Journal of Applied Linguistics ◽

10.1515/eujal-2020-0001 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Tomas Kos

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Peer Interactions ◽

Language Instruction ◽

Data Sources ◽

Foreign Language Instruction ◽

Young Learners ◽

Multiple Data ◽

L2 Development ◽

Post Test ◽

Mixed Age

Abstract Although foreign language instruction in mixed-age (M-A) is gaining popularity (Heizmann and Ries and Wicki 2015; Lau and Juby-Smith and Desbiens, 2017; Shahid Kazi and Moghal and Aziz 2018; Thurn 2011), the research is scarce. Drawing from multiple data sources, this study investigated to what extent do peer interactions among M-A and same-age (S-A) pairs aid L2 development and how students perceive their interactions. In this study, the same learners (N=24) aged between 10 and 12 interacted with the same and different age partners during common classroom lessons in two EFL classrooms. The results suggest that both S-A and M-A peer interactions aided L2 development. Although S-A pairs outperformed M-A pairs on the post-test, the results are not statistically significant. The analysis of students’ perceptions revealed that the majority of students prefer working in S-A to M-A pairs. In addition to age/proficiency differences, factors such as students’ relationships and perceptions of one’s own and partner’s proficiency greatly impact how they interact with one another.

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Examining foreign language teaching and learning in Nepal: an ecological perspective

Journal of World Languages ◽

10.1515/jwl-2021-0006 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 0 (0) ◽

Author(s):

Prem Prasad Poudel ◽

Madan Prasad Baral

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Ecological Model ◽

Language Teaching ◽

Language Instruction ◽

Foreign Language Teaching ◽

Foreign Languages ◽

Foreign Language Instruction ◽

Ecological Relationship ◽

Language Teaching And Learning

Abstract In recent years, in Nepal, while some languages of the nation are on the verge of extinction, some foreign languages (such as Japanese, Korean, Chinese) are emerging as new attractions among the youths and adults and are widely taught in the marketplaces through the private sector initiative. Against this backdrop, in this article, we have examined the current foreign language teaching and learning situation drawing on qualitative empirical data obtained from the institutes involved in foreign language instruction in a city in Gandaki Province of Nepal. The data were collected from a survey in forty institutes, ten individual interviews and five focus group discussions. Drawing on the data, an ecological model was adopted, which focused on dynamic interaction, co-existence, and competition among languages, and findings were discussed in line with these aspects of ecological understanding. Findings revealed that learning foreign languages has been established as a conduit towards economic gains and opportunities for employment and education, which has largely been contributory towards reshaping the ecological relationship among the foreign languages in Nepal.

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Research on language teaching and learning in Austria (2004–2009)

Language Teaching ◽

10.1017/s0261444810000418 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 181-211 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Christiane Dalton-Puffer ◽

Renate Faistauer ◽

Eva Vetter

Keyword(s):

Foreign Language ◽

Language Learning ◽

Academic Writing ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Theory Development ◽

Language Instruction ◽

Foreign Language Instruction ◽

Theoretical Frameworks ◽

National Education ◽

Learning And Teaching

This overview of six years of research on language learning and teaching in Austria covers a period of dynamic development in the field. While all the studies reviewed here illustrate research driven by a combination of local and global concerns and theoretical frameworks, some specific clusters of research interest emerge. The first of these focuses on issues connected with multilingualism in present-day society in terms of language policy, theory development and, importantly, the critical scrutiny of dominant discursive practices in connection with minority and migrant languages. In combination with this focus, there is a concern with German as a second or foreign language in a number of contexts. A second cluster concerns the area of language testing and assessment, which has gained political import due to changes in national education policy and the introduction of standardized tests. Finally, a third cluster of research concerns the diverse types of specialized language instruction, including the introduction of foreign language instruction from age six onwards, the rise of academic writing instruction, English-medium education and, as a final more general issue, the role of English as a dominant language in the canon of all foreign and second languages in Austria.

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