The stated goal of current education reform is the redesign of education systems in pursuit of quality. Systems that consistently "come out on top" have excited much interest in uncovering the features that have contributed to their success; notably among these is the preparation of future teachers. Research on teacher education quality…

Educational institutions are acknowledging the requirements of a globalized world on students' mobility, interculturality, and language skills by offering study-abroad programmes. These need to be accompanied by procedures to assess student needs prior to and during their time abroad as well as upon their return. In the exploratory study reported…

This contribution gives an account of the results of an action research in which a task-based plurilingual programme was implemented with postgraduate students of Foreign Languages and International Business. Using a mixed-methods approach, combining questionnaire, interview and observation data, we sought to explore the degree to which the…

This case study describes how sociocultural and activity theory were applied in the design of a publicly funded, Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB)-based English as a Second Language (ESL) credential program and curriculum for immigrant and international students in postsecondary institutions in British Columbia, Canada. The ESL Pathways Project…

Understanding the socio-cultural context is the key to developing appropriate support systems for distance learners. The socio-cultural context in Turkey is a critical ingredient in the development of Turkish distance education programmes, in which two elements of Turkish culture--patronage and an oral tradition--seem to play a significant role.…

A report on the teaching of modern languages in Australian higher education is presented in two volumes. The first volume contains the text of the report. An introductory section describes the aims and methodology of the national review and places it in a historical context. The remainder of this volume is in three parts. The first part identifies…