In China, code-switching (CS) is frequently used in English as a foreign language (EFL) classrooms. However, the functions of CS in Chinese secondary schools remain unclear. Moreover, student perceptions have rarely been considered in previous studies. This paper therefore sets out to examine why English teachers code-switch in EFL classrooms. In…

This article is based on an investigation of the experiences of six native Chinese teachers working in British schools through the Confucius Institute and the British Council programmes. This qualitative study is located in the interpretivist tradition. It reveals that the target group of teachers construct their professional identity by means of…

While studies have shown benefits of plurilingual pedagogies on students' experiences learning languages, more research is needed to examine how these pedagogies can be enacted in foreign language programmes in digital environments. Moreover, prioritising oral engagement has been an urgent need among teachers who use synchronous platforms such as…

This study explored teachers' perceptions of learner engagement in L2 task-based interaction. Fifty-four pre- and in-service ESL/EFL teachers with different L1 backgrounds and L2 teaching experiences were asked to define and rate learner engagement in two learner-learner interactions. The results revealed three major indicators that the teachers…

Recent policy reforms in Scotland mean that all primary teachers are expected to teach a foreign language (FL) to children from age 5, introducing a second language around age 9. This small-scale research study aimed to ascertain 38 primary teachers' perceptions of their confidence to teach an FL to primary learners and what they felt would be…

There is a dearth of knowledge on the emotional challenges content-area teachers in English-medium instruction (EMI) programmes face, and how they manage their emotions in their efforts to negotiate a top-down language policy. This paper examines the entangled emotional experiences of EMI content-area teachers in Nepal's school education. In…

Language teachers are positioned differently depending on whether they are L1 or L2 speakers of the target language. In this article I suggest that, in language teacher education, it can be useful to think explicitly about this positioning as it pertains to both languages rather than just one. I propose a relational two-language continuum based on…

Postmemory, the narrativised intergenerational transfer of often traumatic experiences, is a crucial component of multilingual identity negotiation. In this article, we focus specifically on the curricular interactions and personal and collective aspirations of multilingual students who use English for academic purposes. We situate our discussions…

This study examines the discourses of educators in Pakistan through the lens of Critical Multilingual Language Awareness (CMLA) to demonstrate how their lack of critical awareness reinforces and reproduces subtractive language policies and practices in a diverse multilingual setting. CMLA stands for the understanding of the social, political and…

One of the key topics on any Modern Languages Postgraduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) course in the United Kingdom is the hotly debated issue of target language (TL) use. When and why do teachers use the TL in delivering lessons and when and why do they code switch into the learners' language? Does their practice change over time? Does it…

Very little research has been conducted on the effects of CLIL on L1 competence development. This article compares CLIL and non-CLIL learners' levels of attainment in Spanish Language and Literature in seven public schools in the South of Spain. Learners' verbal intelligence and motivation were previously matched in order to homogenise the sample.…

This paper considers the attitudes and behaviours of university language lecturers and their students regarding the use of the L1 in the higher education L2 classroom. A case study of one Irish higher education institution was carried out and qualitative interviews conducted with six lecturers in Japanese and six in German. The results indicated…

This paper, based on the results of a small pilot study of a Bengali supplementary school, discusses the features of the school in relation to other studies of supplementary "mother-tongue" schools and goes on to explore the pedagogy of the school, its relationship with other sites and spaces of learning and the implications of these for…