A novel way to support change and development in a country's education system is to send teachers abroad on a professional learning program, so that they become immersed in a different culture, language and education system. The focus of this study was to investigate the supports and tensions created during a professional learning and leadership…

Many schools in Victoria, Australia, are multicultural, with students coming from a variety of cultures and backgrounds. Content area teachers often educate EAL students in their classrooms, even though they may not have specialised EAL teaching qualifications. This paper presents the experiences of primary and secondary teachers working in…

This study reports on the impact of international visiting faculty's teaching experiences in the United States on their personal, professional, and intercultural development. It is based on the principles of qualitative research and can be described as a case study. Data collection involved a questionnaire, a written narrative, and a…

While higher education internationalization efforts have traditionally been associated with the expansion of study abroad experiences, the recruitment of international students and scholars, as well as the growth of area studies and language programs, the past decade has seen an increase in a variety of multi-disciplinary approaches to…

Professional standards for the teaching profession have received considerable attention over the last decade in Australia and internationally. Teachers of languages and cultures in Australia have been active in this period in developing their own professional standards, supported by a series of nationally funded projects arising from federal…

This paper examines the nature of the "additive" experience of a bilingual French-English curriculum at Killarney Heights Public School in New South Wales. Predictably, the well-supported "additive" nature of the languages program model elicited positive reactions regarding educational success. The paper also explores issues…

This paper explores the views of international students and academic staff on the use of prior professional experience in disciplinary academic writing in Australian higher education. The main finding of this case study indicates that disciplinary practice related to the issue of whether, and how, students should represent aspects of their prior…

The role of planned professional learning in being an accomplished languages and cultures teacher has never been so important. Professional learning that focuses on "becoming" an accomplished practitioner as part of an ongoing professional learning experience rather than a process of detailing deficiencies is to be applauded. Indeed, the…

Preservice student teachers are engaged in developing a critical perspective on the profession they are about to join. They are assessing the way the profession presents itself and its values, they are keen to see the opportunities it may offer for growth, and they are curious as to how their particular personal backgrounds and talents will fit…

The Professional Standards Project (PSP) is a nationally coordinated professional learning program for languages teachers, to improve the quality of languages teaching and, thereby, improve student learning. It is based on the use of the "Professional standards for accomplished teaching of languages and cultures" (hereafter, "the…

At the end of 2008, the Professional Standards Project (PSP) management team conducted the final scheduled Project Advisory Committee meeting. The Project was to conclude in December 2008 with a final report and evaluation informing all stakeholders of the developments and achievements of what has to be termed a major national contribution to…

The neo-conservative subjectification of English teachers (as "language technicists" and "preachers of culture") is being resisted in Australia (for example, Doecke, Howie and Sawyer, 2006a). In this climate of contestation, the (re) conceptualisation of English as a critical space promoting social justice cannot be ethical or…

This comprehensive resource explores how adolescence and academic achievement are defined within today's political context, examines the in-school potential of teens' out-of-school immersion in digital technologies and popular culture, and shows teachers how to embed comprehension strategies into classroom instruction. The book contains innovative…

Discusses the language teaching situation in Australia and the sense of professional distance between English-as-a-Second-Language teachers and foreign language teachers, which is unproductive for the teaching of literacy. Suggests that if teachers of English and teachers of foreign languages can be encouraged to work together, the best option…

Intercultural language learning is developing as a key direction in languages education both in Australia and elsewhere. The teaching of culture in language classes is, however, not new to language teaching, and rationales for language teaching have regularly included issues related to cultural understanding (Liddicoat, 2004). However, culture has…