This paper develops the idea that classroom investigation can be an integral part of teaching and learning, an ongoing "stance" that enables us to gather valuable information about teaching and learning that may otherwise go unnoticed. This information can in turn inform how teachers understand and develop intercultural language teaching and…

This article demonstrates that theories intended to prevent ethnocentric influence for one pair of languages may, in fact, be the catalyst for the phenomenon it purports to prevent in another pair. While it explores the issue in relation to sign language translation, the article raises the question of whether the findings can be extrapolated to…

In 2003, the Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at The University of Western Australia (UWA) underwent a major restructure involving the move from eight-point units to six-point or twelve-point units. For the discipline group of European Languages and Studies this redistribution of points resulted in the creation of a new series of…

Premature discontinuation rates among second language students in New Zealand are higher than for most other subjects in secondary schools, although this phenomenon has not given rise to a great deal of debate within the NZ language teaching community. In a recent study into premature discontinuation in Christchurch, NZ, the most frequently cited…

A key consideration in course planning and teaching is motivation, which is sometimes considered the single most important factor in the practical realisation of language teaching in the classroom. The motivation students have for attending recreational courses can be somewhat different from that of students in school and university programs.…

Drawing on two major developments in languages education, namely communicative language teaching and frameworks of outcomes and standards, this address presents a reflection on "words" as the most basic resource of language teachers, and the way in which they are always open to interpretation and reinterpretation over time. With both developments,…

In 2005 the AFTMLA (Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations) developed its Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of Languages and Cultures. These were published in a special edition of "Babel" in February 2006. Among the recommendations contained in the document, there is a section headed Program Standards that…

We often speak about developing students' cultural and intercultural awareness as part of the language learning process. However, these elements are often dealt with superficially and the methods used are somewhat unclear to many practitioners and to learners themselves. As a result, we very often hear that learners do not learn a language at the…

In 2004, in response to the need to revise oral practice and assessment in the second semester of Beginners French at Monash University, an eight-week group-based theatre project was developed and trialled. A specially adapted version of Tardieu's absurdist play "Le Guichet" was used to give students the opportunity to focus on oral production,…

This article seeks to explore how a sociocultural approach to learning can change pedagogy in the teaching of second language literacy. As a first step, the changing notions of first language literacy are acknowledged. Vygotsky's notion of everyday and schooled concepts is then used to understand research data gathered in a Year 9 Japanese…

For decades there have been linguists who proclaimed the significant role of kinesic expression in carrying the meaning of spoken language (e.g. Efron, 1941; Birdwhistell, 1952; Kendon, 1972). Drawing on such studies, there have also been pioneer studies of gesture in second language learning and use (McNeill, 1992; Gullberg, 1998, 2006), and…

This paper reports on the findings of a small-scale study carried out in Adelaide. We asked secondary students who had decided to continue or discontinue their language study once it was no longer compulsory what had prompted their decision. We also asked them whether they considered knowing a second language to be important. While all the…

Essay marking is a subjective intellectual exercise in which the score reliability can be influenced by many factors such as the test design, the marker's interpretation of the marking criteria, the procedure, and the method used in the marking process. After conducting a literature review this study investigated the reliability of essay marking…

The Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers Associations (AFMLTA) has recently developed a set of professional standards for accomplished language teachers. Standards of teaching are statements of values about the processes of teaching, learning, and knowing, and of the practices of those who teach languages and cultures. These standards…

The discussion of standards in this article reveals a number of common features. First, they all focus on macro-level statements about teachers' professional work rather than attempting to detail what that work may be based on. Second, they do not make specifications about the nature and standard of relevant disciplinary knowledge (as would be the…