This article describes an initiative launched at a Canadian bilingual university in order to encourage L2 French and L2 English learners to take 'linguistic risks': authentic, autonomous communicative acts where learners are pushed out of their linguistic comfort zone. The initiative was operationalized through the development of a Linguistic…

The current study aims to investigate how Turkish English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers understand the cultural component in language classes and the extent to which they feel to have opportunities to raise cultural awareness. The views on and approaches to cultural issues of ten English language instructors teaching at the tertiary level…

This study explores the impact of professional learning about the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, Teaching, Assessment (CEFR) on second language (L2) teachers' classroom practice. Ninety self-selected French as a second language (FSL) teachers across Canada responded to an online survey about their planning,…

Teaching multilingual, multilevel language classes presents many challenges including helping students learn level-appropriate language. This learner-centred approach is complicated in a multilevel classroom where the teacher cannot always focus on each student's needs. As a result, learner motivation and attendance are frequent problems. This…

This study explores the relationship between Core French teachers' beliefs and their instructional practices. In the literature, contextual elements, as well as the compatibility between teacher beliefs and second language teaching approaches such as communicative language teaching (CLT) have been regularly cited as key factors contributing to…

The purpose of this study was to examine the self-efficacy beliefs of novice elementary French as a second language (FSL) teachers. A mixed methods approach was used to investigate self-efficacy appraisals of core French (n = 14) and French immersion (n = 13) teachers in delivering instruction in FSL programs. A questionnaire was administered that…

This article reports on French as a second language (FSL) teachers' perceptions of using the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR)-informed instruction (action-oriented instruction focusing on language use) in FSL classrooms in Ontario. In particular, this paper focuses on teachers' perspectives of the strengths and challenges of providing…

Recent research in the fields of motivation and learner autonomy in language learning has begun to explore their relationships to the construct of identity. This article builds on this through the voices of a group of six learners of French or German in a secondary school in England, over a two-year period. These young learners initially reveal a…

In July 2009, a group of over 80 FSL teachers from British Columbia (BC) participated in a two-week sojourn at the "Centre d'Approches vivantes des Langues et des Medias" (CAVILAM) in Vichy, France, as part of an initiative to address the critical shortage of qualified French language teachers in the province. After almost four decades…

A growing body of research has examined the effectiveness of written corrective feedback (WCF) for L2 writing. An area that has attracted considerable attention recently is how students and teachers perceive the usefulness of WCF. Most research in this area, however, has focused on students' perspectives, while many fewer studies comparing…