The evaluation of the Professional Standards Project (PSP) highlights its success both as a set of resources that provided the catalyst for professional conversations and learning and the National and State processes of facilitation of these conversations and learning, as well as the classroom-based investigations undertaken by teachers. For 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 Standards") as a…

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…

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…

At the end of 2008, the Professional Standards Project (PSP) management team conducted the final scheduled Project Advisory Committee meeting. The Project was to conclude in December 2008 with a final report and evaluation informing all stakeholders of the developments and achievements of what has to be termed a major national contribution to…

In his examination of successful innovation and change in education in many settings, Fullan (2001) identifies the three broad options for effecting change that public authorities have at their disposal. They can seek to bring about change through imposing accountability (system-wide or targeted), or through providing incentives (either…

In addressing the needs of second languages, the principle must be to build quality at all levels, especially in the design of programs and the rigour and seriousness of teaching and to maintain a consistent effort rather than to subject language planning to continual chopping and changing of priority. Quality programs will need to be readily…

This article considers telling differences that have emerged in participation rates in languages other than English study in the States of Victoria and New South Wales since the introduction and completion of the NALSAS program. It explores the role that language planning, policy and funding, both at a State and Federal level, have played in this…

Despite research suggesting that teachers highly influence their students' knowledge and use of language learning resources such as dictionaries (Loucky, 2005; Yamane, 2006), it appears that dictionary selection and use is considered something to be dealt with outside the classroom. As a result, many students receive too little advice to be able…

Many educators in Australian schools are becoming aware of the need to address the imbalance in the content of humanities or integrated studies curriculum in relation to indigenous perspectives within primary and secondary schools. Over the past few years, attempts have been made by various state and national educational bodies to create…

This article discusses the use of ethnographic interviews as a resource for developing intercultural understanding by students of French. Language teaching has traditionally viewed languages as discrete systems disconnected from the speakers' understanding of themselves and from native speakers of the target language. This poses a problem for…

The International Curriculum for Chinese Language Education (ICCLE) represents a significant initiative by the Office of Chinese Language Council International (Hanban) to organise and describe objectives and content for a standardised Chinese language curriculum around the world. It aims to provide a reference curriculum for planning, a framework…

The following refections are little more than that: they represent the idiosyncratic experiences of a schoolroom novice in a German class, together with an attempt to view these experiences in light of published research and theoretical considerations. However, it would be surprising if the remarks below represent no more than an isolated case,…

This paper addresses the complicated issue of attribution of gender in French nouns. Firstly, it presents a range of views on how native speakers address noun gender allocation, plus some insight into why they are accurate with most, but by no means all, gender attributions. Secondly, the paper explains some of the inconsistencies in noun gender…

This article reports on a case study conducted in 2006-2007 which explores boys' motivation for choosing Chinese Second Language (CSL) as an elective in secondary school. The purpose of the study was to find out what factors encouraged or discouraged junior secondary school boys in their choice to continue CSL. 133 boys aged thirteen-fourteen…