Tasks can vary in terms of difficulty and implementation conditions, and these in turn may affect the nature of the language produced by the learner. There have been a large number of studies which have investigated the effects of these task properties and implementation conditions on the language the learner produces. To date, results have been…

This study compares the willingness to communicate (WTC) of Canadian Anglophone and Francophone students to measures of their self-assessed, multiskilled second language proficiency and strategy use before and after a short-term intracountry bilingual exchange experience. The central question is whether a student's WTC exists before an opportunity…

As a consequence of a substantially revised national curriculum in New Zealand, all schools are now required to provide opportunities for students in school Years 7 to 10 (age 11+ to 14+) to learn an additional language. There are, however, very few intermediate school (Years 7 and 8) teachers who are additional language 'subject specialists'.…

In his examination of successful innovation and change in education in many settings, Fullan (2001) identifies the three broad options for effecting change that public authorities have at their disposal. They can seek to bring about change through imposing accountability (system-wide or targeted), or through providing incentives (either…

Focuses on the introduction of standards in the Australian educational setting, which have been used to measure language learning. Suggests that language teaching and assessment are likely to be most effective if teachers' awareness extends beyond the technicalities of assessment. (Author/VWL)

The use of dictionaries in second language proficiency examinations has been the subject of controversy and debate for a good many years. Debate often focuses on how dictionary availability impacts on examination performance as measured, for example, by test scores or by the quality of test-taker responses. This article presents findings of an…

The most central aims of language teaching are the development of language proficiency, the development of cultural knowledge and intercultural understanding, and the fostering of positive cross-cultural attitudes. The authors have examined the relationships between language learning and cross-cultural attitudes in projects in Australia (reported…

The focus of this study is the relationship between language attitude, beliefs, efficacy, English language competence, and language achievement. Two hundred and eighty-five students from five metropolitan primary schools in Western Australia completed a specially designed questionnaire based on the Attitude/Motivation Test Battery (Gardner,…