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…

Institutions of higher education teach fewer languages, in less secure ways, for less time per week, for shorter periods, by an increasingly casually employed staff, in often underfunded, underappreciated and under stress modes, but participants in the Australian Academy of the Humanities' "Beyond the Crisis: Revitalising Languages in Australian…

This study reports on the findings of a survey of preservice education provided for language teachers at a number of universities across Australia. The survey was undertaken as part of the development of Standards for Teachers of Indonesian Project, carried out by the AFMLTA and the Department of Education, Science, and Training. The survey…

In this article, the author describes the genesis of the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA) and "Babel." With regard to the origin of the title of the journal, its name refers only indirectly to the Tower of Babel in Genesis. It comes in fact from the affectionate nickname that had been given to the building at…

This article reports on a cultural studies course about Switzerland conducted within the German Studies program at the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in 2005. It discusses the pluricentric concept of "Landeskunde" of the German-speaking region which informed the design of the course seminars and presents the main themes which were explored…

Discusses the role of grammar in foreign language learning and instruction at the beginning level in a university setting. Highlights grammar teaching in a basic French course at an Australian university, and relates what students in the course have learned about grammar. (Author/VWL)

Reports results of a study that looked at the attitudes of students learning to write in Japanese a s a foreign language. Suggests that, despite the challenge composition writing presented to the students and their occasional frustrations over their limited linguistic skills, they felt writing to be an effective means of self expression,…

Assesses the position of languages in the university sector in Australia at the start of the new millennium and after almost two decades of language policy initiatives aimed at fostering the learning of languages other than English. Reveals an ambivalent picture of the situation of languages in the university sector. (Author/VWL)

Presents a synthesis of the results of two research studies that examined he attitudes to Web-based language learning of primary, secondary, and tertiary students. Factors investigated include he following; students comfort. enjoyment, strategy strengths, learning styles, study preferences, and age and gender differences. (Author/VWL)

Demonstrates recent curriculum developments in the German Studies Program at an Australian University by describing a case study as an example of the integration of literature into an advanced German course. (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)

Describes a project that aimed to provide target language experiences for second and third year Spanish as a foreign language learners in Australia. The project involved exposing students to native Spanish speakers. Findings show that students made a noticeable improvement in communicative competence, and they became more knowledgeable about…

Evaluated the effectiveness of Italia Oggi, a videodisc-based system for intermediate and advanced students of Italian at Griffith University in Australia. Attention was focused on students' behavior in pair work, including talk at the workstation and the collaborative strategies they employed. (Author/VWL)

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…

Discusses the general thrust and outcomes of using a multimedia approach to teaching French as a foreign language at Western Australia University. Focuses on the main aims of the cultural studies program at the university and how these were adapted to suit the multimedia environment. (Author/VWL)