The importance of teachers' capacity to integrate and exploit computer mediated communication (CMC) in the foreign language classroom has been recognised by many of the leading publications in foreign language teacher education, including the European Profile for Language Teacher Education (2004) and the European portfolio for student teachers of…

This research study examined international school teachers' perceptions of Intercultural Communicative Competence (ICC), and whether or not the teachers' sociocultural background could predict their ICC level. To collect data, 55 international school teachers participated in the quantitative phase of the study, out of which nine were selected for…

This study proposes an alternative approach to research on the acquisition of sociocultural competence, focusing on a speech event rather than a speech act, and drawing on the concept of scripts as developed by cognitive psychologists. (51 references) (JL)

Recently, attention in modern linguistic theory has been shifted to facilitating a broader understanding of the world, in which language is a tool to establish a bridge between the interlocutor and the recipient. To do so, the development of linguistic, communicative and sociopragmatic competences enriched with socio-cultural inputs in English as…

After surveying the ways in which translation is currently used in teaching Italian in British and U.S. universities, an approach is suggested that focuses on using translation activities that are authentic and allow students to develop not only their linguistic and metalinguistic skills but also their sociocultural competence. (CFM)

Proposes a variety of conversational training that maximizes learner autonomy and focuses on sociocultural competence in speaking. Students recorded role-plays that required good sociolinguistic knowledge and then compared the discourse generated with native speaker equivalents. The future of conversational training at third level is discussed in…

Studied operationalization of sociocultural competence for classroom learners and explored the benefit to learners of explicit training in strategies for coping with social and cultural situations. Includes a taxonomy of sociocultural strategies, description of explicit strategy training developed for a Russian English-as-a-Foreign-Language…

This study analysed the role of both sociocultural background and exposure to a creche on children's development of cognitive competence in Switzerland. Data were derived from a survey on children's cognitive proficiency after enrolment to primary school. Correlations and multiple linear regressions indicate that creche experience was not related…

Reports on a research program set up to study the development of second language (L2) interactive skills and sociocultural competence among English and French native speaker university students as evidenced in a communicative context. Preliminary findings concern the acquisition of informal registers by L2 speakers and the handling of topic…

Examines five factors that may impact the use of second language emotion vocabulary. Considers the impact of language proficiency, gender, and extroversion on the use of emotion words in the advanced French interlanguage of 29 native Dutch speakers, and examines influence of sociocultural competence, gender, and type of linguistic material on use…

Second Language (L2) and Foreign Language (FL) curricula have a cultural component intricately woven into the fabric of the language syllabus. To teach language, one must also teach the culture inherent in the language, including the verbal as well as the non-verbal aspects. A review of the literature will show that studying the target culture…

Examiners' judgements play a critical role in competency-based assessments such as objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs). The standardised nature of OSCEs and their alignment with regulatory accountability assure their wide use as high-stakes assessment in medical education. Research into examiner behaviours has predominantly explored…

Interactional competence has recently gained considerable attention in language education. As an aspect of this competence, classroom interactional competence has been in the limelight since Walsh's (2006) delineation of this concept. However, there is no survey tool to measure teachers' classroom interactional competence. To bridge this gap, the…

Although there is a growing corpus of literature on teacher assessment capability, less has been written on sociocultural assessment leadership practices with its emphasis on shared capacity building. Expertize in sociocultural assessment that enhances student and teacher learning is an aspect of school leadership that can have a positive…

Aim/Purpose: Quality in higher education assumes the challenge of developing in all citizens of the 21st century the cognitive, motivational, and socio-cultural dimensions that provide them with communication competences including the use of information and communication technologies, for the dissemination of sustainable scientific knowledge in…