In the high-stakes accountability English educational system, decisions made by government and agencies about curriculum, pedagogy and assessment drive school planning and actions. This paper analyses the drivers for the recent change to French German and Spanish GCSEs and highlights particular areas of the new specification which may damage the…

After a theoretical overview of the concept of heritage language (HL) from a plurilingual perspective, we will describe the project "Images on the (teaching of) Portuguese Language abroad". For this project, several drawings were collected, produced by lusodescendant children living in Germany and attending supplementary Portuguese…

The paper describes some findings about teaching foreign languages (FL) in a pre-school setting obtained from the Network Innovation Project (NIP). The aims of the NIP were to research and practise the most effective teaching approaches and organizational models in teaching and learning of FL in pre-schools. The objectives were to determine how…

Drawing from Self-Determination Theory and diverse theories of language learning motivation, we present a framework that (1) represents a range of orientations that students may take towards learning German, and (2) explains how these orientations are connected to language learning engagement and diverse linguistic and non-linguistic outcomes. We…

Many students enroll in language classes with the instrumentally motivated goal of satisfying a requirement. This article argues that instructors can influence students' motivation toward more integrative motivation by helping them make connections with the language community. The "Language Partner" program established for a small German…

Projects related to the European Language Portfolio (ELP) carried out at the Language Centre of the University of Trieste are concerned to examine whether and to what extent "can do" descriptors can be extended to courses in Languages for Specific Purposes. The project reported in this article had two aims. The first was to explore what…

What drives students to study German at university level? Although motivational research has been booming in recent years, students' motivation to pursue a modern foreign language beyond school level has not received much attention in the UK. This article sheds light on the various reasons that drive students in the UK to pursue a modern foreign…

The following article reports the findings of a qualitative evaluation of an online extensive reading program in German as a foreign language. Designed for advanced learners, it differs from traditional extensive reading programs in two important aspects: students read online instead of printed materials, and there was no teacher preselection to…

This review of research on the learning, teaching, and assessment of L2 German published or completed between 2002 and 2008 may be particularly timely due to developments from within the profession as well as recent political changes which continue to have a strong bearing on the way L2 German is promoted, learned, taught and assessed. Far from…

This study examines the relation between the motivational structure and use of learning strategies of high school foreign language students. Students in 36 foreign language classrooms (French, German, Latin, and Spanish; first- through fifth-years) from a large Midwestern high school participated in the study (N=694). As predicted, correlation and…

Results of the first Canadian field-tested interactive video for language learners using real conversation demonstrate how simple technology, used properly, can increase students' motivation, drive, and effort. (25 references) (Author/MSE)

This study examined how two motivational substrates may be differentially important depending upon the learner's language background. Students registered in German classes (N = 99) completed a questionnaire that assessed (a) their intrinsic, extrinsic, integrative, and instrumental reasons for learning German; (b) their feelings of autonomy,…

Elementary school German programs can demonstrate both the value and the accessibility of the German language. Cultural experiences make both the language and the countries in which it is spoken inviting and attractive, and successful elementary programs can overcome old prejudices. (Author/MSE)

Written from the perspective that the technology available for language study can be better used, a discussion of television use in second language instruction looks at imaginative uses of the medium for a variety of instructional purposes. The first section identifies opportunities for the use of television, including: as a motivator; in teaching…