Ofsted's (2021) Curriculum research review for languages (OCRR) draws conclusion on what 'high-quality language education' may look like. This opinion piece problematises the status of these conclusions as 'features' or recommendations. Before delving into a selection of identified 'features' in more depth, the author highlights the complexity of…

Historically and as a developing country, the Sultanate of Oman has always been culturally dependent on Britain to plan and implement its English Language Teaching (ELT) and in-service teacher education. This dependency has negatively affected preparing English language teachers with a new global professional identity capable of introducing change…

This article reflects on the epistemological steamrolling that the 2021 Ofsted Curriculum Research Review (OCRR) accomplishes: in part, by the positioning of the problem and solution through highly selective cherry-picking (omitting key causal factors); in part, through the discursive move of acknowledging complexity before offering simple and…

Thomas Farrell is widely known for his views and publications on the topic of Reflective Practice, which is key to the professional development of teachers in 21st century classrooms. He is Professor of Applied Linguistics at Brock University, Canada. Farrell has been a language teacher and teacher educator since 1978 and has worked in Korea,…

This commentary discusses the four papers that comprise the special issue on dialogic teaching and learning, while making general observations that apply across the field as a whole. Similarities and differences are identified over the concepts of "dialogue" and "dialogic pedagogy". The possibility is raised that some aspects…

This chapter is a reflective account of the author's experience as a teacher of English at the University of Pavia during the first wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. It considers the design and delivery of an English for architecture and construction engineering course as well as the assessment stage of a text analysis course. It proceeds by…

In this closing commentary, I first briefly recognize areas that have made the dialogue between the fields of second language (L2) writing and second language acquisition (SLA) difficult in the past. I then offer some comments on the interfaces that are brought to the fore by the contributions gathered in the special issue. The themes explored are…

According to the author, the Modern Language Association's (MLA's) recent publication of the reports "Foreign Languages and Higher Education: New Structures for a Changed World" and "Report to the Teagle Foundation on the Undergraduate Major in Language and Literature" concerning foreign language education has caused many of them to reexamine the…

This article presents the process of recent curricular revision and material development in English at the national level in India in a limited way. Teachers' needs and wants, their participation in the development of materials, the dilemmas of teachers and their implications for classroom transactions are discussed from the experiences of one of…

Discusses how to organize a strong year-round faculty development program, touching on everything a foreign language department does. Such a program depends on a cooperative enterprise involving shared goals, mutual growth, and persistent good examples. (Author/VWL)

A requirement for all college professors to learn to speak a second language is advocated. Educators at a Wingspread Conference on International Education encouraged institutions to provide more travel and rewards for faculty to encourage them to become more competent in foreign languages. (MLW)

Offers an overview of current challenges of preparing foreign language teachers in United States schools. Discusses the growing demand for foreign language classes in elementary and middle schools; longer internships for preservice teachers; ongoing professional development; more bilingual and immersion programs; and the trend toward…

Addresses the increasingly critical need for accountability in English language teacher preparation. The English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) profession has fallen short in recent years and will continue to do so without better coordination of professional development in both academic preservice settings and in English-Language-Teaching (ELT)…

After reviewing the language teaching/research situation this document offers a training paradigm that allows teachers to take what they already do and reposition and redefine it. In this way, the everyday concerns and issues facing them in the classroom may be translated into disciplined and structured research questions, which can then form the…

Traces the development of innovations and renovations in the graduate and undergraduate German-studies program at Stanford University. Examines the conceptual framework within which the faculty was operating, discusses the practicalities and specifics of three experimental approaches within the German-studies undergraduate curriculum, and…