L’Evolution du métier d’enseignant de langue de spécialité – une perspective internationale

A travers l’Europe, les professeurs de langues vivantes doivent affronter les mêmes défis : parmi ceux-ci, nous passerons en revue (1) le contexte britannique : l’apprentissage des langues vivantes dans les universités (étudiants spécialistes et non-spécialistes, cours pour adultes) et dans le secondaire, les échanges et le séjour à l’étranger ; (2) le contexte international : le processus de Bologne (interculturalité et employabilité), la markétisation de l’enseignement supérieur, les droits d’inscription, l’anglicisation des programmes ; (3) le contexte technologique : les TIC dans la société et dans l’apprentissage des langues

Fremdsprachen aus der Ferne: die britische Open University

Dies ist die vierte, völlig neu bearbeitete Auflage der Praktischen Handreichung für Fremdsprachenlehrer. Die Zahl der Beiträge wurde von 77 auf 90 erhöht. Ausgewiesene Fachleute aus Belgien, Deutschland, Großbritannien, Irland, Österreich, Schweden und den USA breiten in vier Kapiteln die Methoden und das Handwerkszeug aus, ohne die ein guter Fremdsprachenlehrer nicht auskommt. Alle wieder aufgenommenen Arbeiten wurden durchgesehen und auf den neuesten Stand gebracht. Viele der zusätzlich eingeworbenen Beiträge stammen aus dem Bereich der Neuen Medien. Der bewährte Aufbau wurde beibehalten. Der Leser kann so seine Praxis auf ein sicheres Fundament stellen und durch Verfolgung der im Sachindex aufgezeigten Verbindungslinien weiter absichern. Die umfangreichen Literaturverzeichnisse helfen ihm, bestimmte Felder noch weiter aufzuschließen

Sticking with Spanish: Reasons for Study and Motivation Maintenance in Adult Beginner Distance Language Learners

This paper examines the reasons for study of adult beginner distance learners of Spanish and the relationships between those reasons and motivation maintenance. A survey of 563 Open University UK students found motivational orientations distinct from those of young people in earlier studies. Adult learners who maintained their motivation also demonstrated a greater number of reasons for study. Their motivation embraced intrinsic and extrinsic, integrative and instrumental orientations, short-term and long-term ambitions, and an L2 self both ideal and realistically attainable. During their course module they focused more consistently than others on the language skills they had targeted, and expressed increased enjoyment of the learning experience. This study suggests that achieving ‘softer’ short-term goals encourages persistence towards longer-term goals which reflect the ideal L2 self

Modern Languages in British universities: past and present

This article profiles Modern Language studies in United Kingdom universities in a sometimes polemical way, drawing on the author's experiences, insights and reflections as well as on published sources. It portrays the unique features of Modern Languages as a university discipline, and how curricula and their delivery have evolved. As national and international higher education contexts change more fundamentally and more rapidly than ever before, it seeks to draw on recent and current data to describe the impact of student choice and to identify trends, particularly with regard to the place of literature

English-medium teaching in European Higher Education

In the global debates on English as international lingua franca or as ‘killer language’, the adoption of English as medium of instruction in Higher Education is raising increasing concern. Plurilingualism and multilingualism are embedded in the official policies of the European Union and Council of Europe, and the Bologna Process for harmonizing Higher Education promises ‘proper provision for linguistic diversity’. But even enthusiasts acknowledge the problems of implementing such policies in the face of an inexorable increase in the use of English. This survey draws on the most recent and sometimes disparate sources in an attempt to paint a comprehensive and up-to-date picture of the spread of English-medium teaching in Europe's universities. The article sets the changes in the context of accelerating globalization and marketization, and analyses the forces which are driving the adoption of English, and some of the problems which accelerating ‘Englishization’ of European Higher Education might create

Why the British do not learn languages: myths and motivations in the United Kingdom

In the light of recent debates on the declining take-up of languages in English schools, and on pupils' motivation towards language learning, this article furthers discussion and asks broader questions. Is there a coincidence between trends in British attitudes to Europe and the growing or waning enthusiasm for language learning across all sectors? What role is played - and what attitudes revealed - by the pronouncements and actions of British politicians when they are not specifically addressing language issues? Is public xenophobia echoed or shaped by the printed and broadcast media? And when so many initiatives are seeking to address British insularity and monolingualism, is there more that can be done

CALL from the margins: towards effective dissemination of CALL research and good practices

The symbolic location of EUROCALL’s 2004 conference in Vienna offered to both new members from Eastern Europe and established members from the West an opportunity to review the relationship between CALL (computer assisted language learning) and language teaching in general . CALL is defined as an ‘academic field that explores the role of information and communication technologies in language learning and teaching’ (EUROCALL 1999; for a discussion of CALL as an interdisciplinary research domain, see Levy 1997). CALL practitioners and researchers have long been aware of the importance of recognition within the broader discipline of language learning and teaching, as the joint EUROCALL/CALICO/IALL Research Policy Statement (EUROCALL 1999) explicitly noted. Yet CALL in fact remains marginalised in several ways which this article will explore. In seeking to promote more effective dissemination of good teaching practices and especially of research in CALL, the article will evoke the UK’s predominant role in introducing Quality Assurance (QA) to higher education teaching and research – a trend which the Bologna Process will surely intensify throughout Europe. The author will draw on his current role as language research coordinator at the UK’s Open University, and on substantial experience as a QA insider in both teaching and research, to analyse successes and failures in dissemination of both research and good teaching/learning practices. He will propose strategies for moving CALL from the margins towards the centre of language learning. In so doing, he will also provide an incidental overview of some key journals and conferences in the domain

Learner characteristics and learning outcomes on a distance Spanish course for beginners

Much Second Language Acquisition research focuses on young learners in the conventional classroom. Instructed adult learners, and in particular those who are learning at a distance, have attracted less attention. This group is substantial and growing: the Open University, the largest higher education language provider in the UK, alone recruits some 8000 language students a year. The present large-scale study was undertaken to explore the learner characteristics and learning experience of adult distance language learners at beginner level, the relationship of these factors with successful language learning, and the outcomes of face-to-face or online tuition. A longitudinal, quantitative design was adopted, involving pre-course and post-course questionnaires, and incorporating data on student profiles and learning outcomes. The questionnaire covered biographical variables, self-assessed initial proficiency, enjoyment and perceived achievement. This article profiles the learners and identifies factors related to successful distance language learning. Success is shown to relate to enjoyment and a sense of achieving goals. A comparison of results following online and face-to-face tuition demonstrates for the first time at scale that different modes of tuition do not necessarily lead to different learning outcomes: online language learning can be as effective as face-to-face teaching