Even though textbooks are a central component of the daily instructional practice of English language teachers, relatively little research has been conducted on how teachers actually use (i.e., adapt) textbooks in the classroom. This gap is aggravated by the fact that the terminology proposed in the literature to analyse teachers' textbook use is…

The number of English learners (ELs) in Alabama has increased significantly in recent years. English learners include U.S.-born children whose first language is not English, newcomers to the U.S., and other students developing English proficiency. These children are in Alabama schools, acquiring academic English instruction that promotes mastery…

The concept of Funds of Identity (FOI) comes from a theory of learning that emphasizes the importance of recognizing and using students' cultural, linguistic, and personal backgrounds to enhance their educational experiences. FOI is like a "toolbox" of resources that people gather over time. These resources are shaped by historical,…

Introducing English as a foreign language (FL) has become widespread in ECE in Europe, typified by initiatives involving specialist teachers of English visiting settings for short periods of time a week. This paper shares data from a study in Portugal that involved analyzing collaborative practices for evidence of approaches to integration in the…

The discussion takes up the common theme across the seven contributions of this special issue, namely the CEFR's suitability as a basis for setting university entrance standards. The special issue allows insights into this theme from a multitude of contexts, languages and perspectives, including data from stakeholders, students, tests and their…

This research focuses on revealing the role of culture of education in shaping students' and teachers' attitudes to the learning process, which is largely determined by the political and social context in which it takes place. This exploration of the cultural nature of autonomy of the Ukrainian university students majoring in translation from…

This mixed methods study examined the language development support provided to English Language Learners in the Math classroom. The research questions explored the knowledge and motivation of Math teachers and the organizational influences at the school that impacted the teachers' ability to demonstrate competency in supporting language…

In 2006, Graddol predicted that numbers of "English as a foreign language" learners would begin to decline through the second decade of this century, as global English achieves basic skill status for children entering education in more societies across the world. As he further noted, having skills in additional languages may thus offer a…

This article proposes a research agenda for future inquiry into the use of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) in the plurilingual Canadian context. Drawing on data collected from a research forum hosted by the Canadian Association of Second Language Teachers in 2014, as well as a detailed analysis of Canadian empirical studies and…

Background: A project has recently been proposed by the National Education Examinations Authority, P. R. China, to develop a national framework of reference for English language education, provisionally called China Standards of English (CSE). In this article, we argue for the necessity of developing the framework of reference in China and…

Although there has been a great deal of debate about the effectiveness of charter schools in the research literature, there has been surprisingly little attention paid to English language learners (ELLs) in charter schools. Moreover, the charter school research has predominantly focused on whether or not charter schools are effective rather than…

Recent scholarship within the field of applied linguistics highlights the fact that identities are not static but are fluid, multiple, changeable across time and space, and always constructed in relationship to interactions with others. In other words, identities are constantly in motion. This paper presents a framework for examining the notion of…

While the idea of plurilingual competence is widely established theoretically and promoted in European language policies, it is not implemented in educational practice, where separate plurilingualism is still dominant. The idea of languages as autonomous entities is e.g. reflected in the "Common European Framework of Reference for…

This paper investigates the place of pedagogy in language-in-education policy through an analysis of how the macro-level of government policy interacts with the micro-level of local educational practice. It argues that pedagogy is typically considered a micro-level activity and policy frequently devolves decision-making about pedagogy to…

Research into the distance learning of languages is now established as a significant avenue of enquiry in language teaching, with evident research trajectories in several domains. This article selects and analyses significant areas of investigation in distance language learning and teaching to identify new and emerging gaps, along with research…