The aim of the research project was to consider whether theoretical underpinnings of the concept of differentiation would help a group of modern languages student teachers develop their understanding and practice of differentiation in the classroom. This was a small-scale inquiry with qualitative data collected from three sources: student…

This paper presents the findings of a research project on UK school students' attitudes to the use of Free Online Machine Translation for L2 production and more specifically in preparing for assessment. Data were collected from a publicly available online forum to analyse students' spontaneous discussion of the use of Free Online Machine…

In this paper, we use the lens of embodied language cognition and intersemiosis to argue for the importance of developing creative approaches to language work in classroom settings and we cite as an example some activities from a workshop that was developed for modern foreign languages (MFL) trainee teachers in London…

The turning point for 'languages for all' is widely associated with the end of compulsory language learning up to age 16 in England (2004). Uptake has since dropped dramatically at both GCSE and A-Level where these examinations are used, i.e. in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (henceforth NI). There is also significant evidence that languages…

The vocabulary content of the French MFL curriculum in England has received criticism (Häcker, M. 2008. Eleven pets and 20 ways to express one's opinion: the vocabulary learners of German acquire at English secondary schools. "The Language Learning Journal" 36, no. 2: 215-26; Tschichold, C. 2012. French vocabulary in Encore…

This study draws on teacher perception data gathered from 65 secondary school modern languages (L2) teachers in South-East England. Data were collected via four iterations of an online questionnaire and follow-up interviews with six heads of department. This paper reports respondents' perceived strengths and development needs in relation to their…

There has recently been much criticism, at government level, of the role of universities on the training of teachers in the UK. This paper investigates the effects of an initial teacher education programme (ITE) at a higher education institution (HEI) on trainee modern foreign language teachers. Seven modern foreign language trainees teachers were…

In the context of the UK language learning crisis, several studies have aimed to influence student attitude towards languages via school interventions, with mixed results. A six-session tacking diverse metalinguistic issues (e.g. cognitive benefits of language learning, world languages) was carried out in three secondary schools in England, using…

This paper considers the languages on offer in secondary schools in England and the possibility of enacting curriculum change with a view to reducing the dominance of French, Spanish and, to a lesser extent, German as a possible way to increase take-up of modern foreign languages post-14. Questionnaires were completed by 666 students aged 14-15,…

The government funded two-year project, "Stepping Up in Modern Foreign Languages" (MFL), sought to align MFL teaching across the transition between primary and secondary schools. This paper describes the results of the project evaluation that was conducted using Cultural-historical Activity Theory as its research approach. This approach…

The statutory inclusion of modern foreign languages (MFL) into the Key Stage 2 curriculum in England in 2014 aimed to raise the language skills of younger learners in preparation for their secondary education. This change to the curriculum has occurred at a time in which the linguistic diversity within primary schools across the country has been…

Recent research has established that it is academically advantageous for students to adopt an incremental view of their intelligence and that this is a key marker of a student's level of self-efficacy. The self-efficacy of students following Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) courses in UK secondary schools is known to be low. Interventions have been…

Low participation in language learning in secondary education is a topic which continues to exercise education policy-makers in England and other anglophone contexts. One instance of an attempt to increase take-up can be found in the introduction of the EBacc, a performance measure which requires the majority of young people to study a language as…

This article reviews a century of US data on the impact of learning Latin and explores to what extent the collected findings demonstrate that Latin can play a role in improving pupils' educational attainments, particularly in first language (L1), modern foreign language (MFL) and cognitive development. Contextualising these data allows us to…

Watching foreign language programmes and films with captions (same-language subtitles intended for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) has been shown to assist learners in phonetic retuning, vocabulary acquisition and listening comprehension [e.g. Mitterer and McQueen, 2009. Foreign subtitles help but native-language subtitles harm foreign speech…