Communicative approaches to teaching language have emphasized the centrality of oral proficiency in the language acquisition process, but research investigating oral proficiency has been surprisingly limited, yielding an incomplete understanding of spoken language development. This study investigated the development of spoken language at the high…

This article analyzes and synthesizes the major theoretical frameworks for building intercultural communicative competency (ICC) within the domain of the foreign language classroom. Researchers used a pragmatist orientation as a venue for the translation of theoretical models into usable, accessible guidelines for classroom teachers in order to…

The "Standards for Foreign Language Learning in the 21st Century" represent a major effort for setting goals for language instruction across the United States and across instructional levels. They provide descriptions of what "language students should know and be able to do" through 11 content standards in five goal areas, the five…

In 2007, the Modern Language Association Ad Hoc Committee on Foreign Languages advocated for revising postsecondary second language programs to cultivate students' "translingual and transcultural competence." Since then, the meaning, merits, and difficulties of these goals have been much discussed. This article presents the concept of linguistic…

Is it feasible for nonfluent instructors to teach Biblical Hebrew by communicative principles? If it is feasible, will communicative instruction enhance postsecondary learning of a classical language? To begin answering these questions, two consultants representing second language acquisition (SLA) and technology-assisted language learning led 8…

This article reports on the implementation of the Integrated Performance Assessment (IPA) in an Early Foreign Language Learning program. The goal of this research was to examine the performance of grade 4 and 5 students of Spanish on the IPA. Performance across the three communicative tasks is described and modifications to IPA procedures based on…

The Modern Language Association report and "Profession" issue from summer 2007 (Geisler et al., 2007) are highly indicative of the increasingly debated concerns in the profession surrounding (1) the traditional division of foreign language curriculum between "language" and "literature" and (2) the instruction of textual analysis (or practice of…

This article reports on a study carried out twice on an online second language course that was set up between a Canadian University and a German University. In that course, students of German in Canada and students of English in Germany exchanged 2,412 messages in 2004 and 1,831 messages in 2005. A list of processing criteria for assessment was…

For years reformers have been recommending that language teaching and learning be viewed as a system of communication, with the ultimate goal being the development of functional ability in learners (Musumeci, 1997). Many U.S. world language teachers continue to focus on grammatical tendencies, using English as the medium of instruction. As a…

This case study investigated spontaneous interpersonal communication in a high school Spanish classroom, using instructional conversation as a framework for analysis. Instructional conversations are collaborative, extended verbal exchanges in which students develop a coherent topic, supported by the teacher's contingent questions and feedback. The…

The use of English by foreign language teacher is a matter of much controversy. Whereas language switching by English-speaking foreign language teachers has been the focus of previous research, relatively little is known about the amount of teachers' language used in the classroom when comparing native speakers of the foreign language with…

This case study looked at the transition of preservice teachers from world language education methods courses at a major U.S. university to a 5-week field experience in secondary school classrooms. Data included lesson plans and self-critiques of two lessons implemented during the field experience, world language teaching philosophies the…

Although proficiency is a primary goal, the objectives of second language (L2) teaching are also to enhance learners' understanding of the nature of language and culture (National Standards, 1999). This study, based on interviews with 13 American women living in Venezuela, explores nonnatives' perspectives on factors that influence their…

This article outlines an approach to explicit grammar instruction that uses literary texts as comprehensible, meaning-bearing input. In this approach, which employs strategies from the teaching of grammar and the teaching of reading, literary texts serve as the basis of the inductive presentation of new grammatical forms and as a springboard for…

This article suggests a set of strategies for developing the sociocultural competence of language learners. These strategies extend the notion of coping strategies, or strategic competence (Savignon, 1972, 1983, 1997), to include the intercultural dimension articulated in current goals for U.S. world language education. Adopting the integrative,…