Although a significant number of practitioners are being progressively exposed to English as a lingua franca (ELF) research findings and developments, we still face the challenge of bringing ELF into the ELT classroom in a more systematic way and on a regular basis. It is a fact that once EFL learners move into contexts of use outside the…

The article discusses ELF-aware pedagogy as a possible way to integrate English as a lingua franca (ELF) in English language classrooms and explores the extent to which task-based language teaching (TBLT) could contribute to this end. ELF-aware pedagogy involves enriching teaching practices with appropriate metalinguistic and reflective activities…

Although translation may be considered the "sine qua non" of bilingual legislation, the perceived authenticity and equivalence of different language versions of the same law are contingent on the disavowal of translation. Yet precisely because of such disavowal, translated versions of law are paradoxically valorized as equal in meaning…

In ELT contexts, the concept of ELF awareness has been proposed as a means of developing the skills, strategies, and overall outlook that learners require to competently participate in ELF interactions. Depending on the teaching context, this can be a demanding process. We discuss the ELF-aware instructional interventions carried out by two…

Multilingualism is widespread in the world today and English is, in many cases, one of the languages in the multilingual speaker's repertoire. English as a lingua franca (ELF) is used by multilingual speakers who can also communicate in other languages and use their multilingual and multicultural resources in creative ways. This paper aims at…

French immersion (FI) programs in Canada have historically served predominantly Canadian-born, English-speaking students and families in their endeavour to learn both of the country's official languages, French and English. However, FI programs are becoming increasingly culturally and linguistically diverse as a result of increased global…

The aim of this personal reflection is to revisit the major concepts that have informed my academic research in the area of applied linguistics and second language development, and show how my overall pedagogical approach has evolved, thanks to the contribution of Vygotsky's sociocultural theory (SCT). The main focus of this paper is on the…

This paper is grounded in the evolution of our reflection on the relationship between plurilingualism, plurilingual speech and language learning. That is, it refers to research on the construction of plurilingual repertoires, over a period of more than thirty years, as documented in Lüdi and Py (1986 [2009]. "To Be or Not to Be … a…

The aim of the Regional Dossier series is to provide concise descriptions of regional or minority languages in education, mainly in Europe but also in other parts of the world. The majority of the Hungarian-speaking population in Slovenia lives in the bilingual ethnically mixed area of the Prekmurje region, where both Slovene and Hungarian are…

This Regional Dossier focuses on the Austrian federal province of Carinthia, where the vast majority of the Slovene-speaking minority in Austria lives. The Slovene language belongs to the South Slavic language group. It was the official language of the Socialist Republic of Slovenia in former Yugoslavia and has been the state language of…

This paper discusses how I design and teach an Interculturality in Language and Literary Studies (ILLS) Course. In doing this, I am very much influenced by the post-structural and post-colonial and interdisciplinary nature of my PhD study. The course itself is for sixth semester undergraduate students, after they have passed Skilled Courses,…

Language is something many individuals take for granted. It is usually when we discover that our language (or language variety) is different from and perhaps less valued than, the language of others or that our options are somehow limited, either because 'we do not speak/understand a language or language variety, or use it inappropriately or…

'We have the right to talk and think in our own language.' This self-evident slogan is ever challenged in the digital age of the 21st century. 'Talking and thinking' is most effectively trained and achieved by formal education carried out in one's own language. However, multilingual children growing up in multilingual societies would have to…

East and Southeast Asia represents a linguistically and culturally diverse region. For example, more than 700 languages are spoken in Indonesia alone. It is against this backdrop of diversity that the ten countries that comprise Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have recently signed the ASEAN Charter which, while calling for respect…

In the contemporary world, language, at the heart of all human communication, has experienced social change in new ways. Previously distant groups communicate with each other both because of new migrations and as a result of the use of the Internet and digital media. Intimate communication has been shaken to the core as a result of screen usage on…