There has been a long history of Chinese learning and teaching (CLT) in the UK, but until recently CLT was predominantly confined to community schools for Chinese children at weekends and a small number of other schools and universities. Therefore, it had remained peripheral for a long time in terms of student numbers and its position in the…

This article reports on a collaborative action research study carried out on three groups of Spanish beginners during the implementation of a strategy awareness raising programme (SAR). The objective was to analyse the impact of the SAR programme on the students' learning process in three main areas: strategy awareness, strategy use in learning…

Language learner strategies (LLS) have long been viewed as a variable of individual differences, or as cognitive skills. This study, focusing as it does on the data taken from a series of focus groups with 47 senior secondary students in mainland China, seeks a new interpretation of strategy development and use from a sociocultural perspective.…

This study aims to highlight aspects of difficulty encountered by Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) learners and to explore the factors underlying these aspects. Data were gathered through a Chinese Language Learning Difficulty Survey from 164 CFL learners, mostly in British higher education. The survey data provided useful exploratory findings.…

This article problematises certain aspects of methodology used for speaking practice and commonly applied in contemporary language teaching classrooms. It examines these particularly with relevance to diversity in adult learning groups. The aspects under scrutiny include the use of personal information in tasks, pair and group work, target…

"Decoding"--converting the written symbols (or graphemes) of an alphabetical writing system into the sounds (or phonemes) they represent, using knowledge of the language's symbol/sound correspondences--has been argued to be an important but neglected skill in the teaching of second language (L2) French in English secondary schools. Several…

What drives students to study German at university level? Although motivational research has been booming in recent years, students' motivation to pursue a modern foreign language beyond school level has not received much attention in the UK. This article sheds light on the various reasons that drive students in the UK to pursue a modern foreign…

By 2010, all children at Key Stage 2 in England will be entitled to learn primary foreign languages (PFL); indeed PFL is now set to become part of the core primary curriculum. This policy is not uncontroversial. A number of studies have established the high levels of motivation that can be engendered among younger learners of modern foreign…

All primary school children in England are to be entitled to learn a foreign language by 2010, based on the belief that an early start is beneficial for language learning in the long run. However, the evidence of the benefits of an early start is inconclusive, and it is also unclear what type of curriculum and pedagogy would be most appropriate…

In a paper published in "The Language Learning Journal" in 2005, Eric Hawkins describes his vision of language education as an apprenticeship comprising two stages. In stage one (ages 5-14), the purpose is "educational" and the focus is on language awareness; in stage two (14-19), the purpose is "instrumental" and learners are given a choice of…

In July 1997, the Language-in-Education Policy (LiEP) was introduced in South Africa. While the intention of this policy was to promote all 11 official languages and give individuals the right to choose the language of learning and teaching, the practical implementation has generally been fraught with challenges. However, language policy…

As the 2010 deadline for implementation of the National Languages Strategy in primary schools approaches, how effective is the current national strategy likely to be in embedding modern languages successfully into the primary curriculum? Have lessons been learnt from the last--and ultimately failed--attempt to introduce languages into the…

This paper offers an autobiographical narrative that draws on the experiences of one learner of Bantu Education (originated in 1953) who also studied in apartheid higher education institutions. By offering an account of learning to read and write in English as an additional language (EAL) within Bantu Education, the paper highlights the power of…

This paper explores the impact of a specially designed programme of communicative strategies on English second language (ESL) development in a scaffolded case study that set out to promote teacher-guided, constructive learner talk in the outcomes-based education arts and culture classroom. The programme was implemented in a multilingual secondary…

The focus of this paper is on the effects of the use of the home language (i.e. isiZulu) on teachers' and learners' understanding and use of core concepts in mathematics and science at the senior phase, in contexts where the language of instruction is English. It reports on a national, collaborative, multilingual research project which attempts to…