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Despite substantial advances in the field of instructed second language acquisition (SLA) with regard to our understanding of second language (L2) pronunciation development and pedagogy, many language instructors continue to report a lack of confidence in incorporating pronunciation instruction (PI) into their classes. This survey study examined 100 Spanish instructors’ perceptions of the usefulness of various types of knowledge, skills, and approaches to PI, as well as their confidence in those domains, and the extent to which their previous training in teaching methods was related to their ratings of usefulness and confidence. After running principal components analyses to identify factors in the survey data, we fit mixed-effects models to each factor, then delved more deeply into some descriptive trends to offer recommendations for professional development opportunities. The latter results suggested that Spanish teachers might have greater appreciation for, as well as confidence in, focusing on segmentals over suprasegmentals, practice activities over assessment, perception assessment over production assessment, and implicit over explicit feedback. Consistent with previous research, some of the highest confidence levels were expressed regarding controlled techniques, alongside relatively low confidence in familiarity with research. Concerning metalinguistic tools, respondents seemed to value diagrams and descriptions over terminology and transcription, but they viewed these tools as less useful than perception, production, and communication practice. While greater training was often associated with higher perceptions of usefulness and confidence, there were cases where respondents with the least training showed the highest confidence. These results suggest some key priorities for teacher training.

This mixed-methods study investigates the use of synchronous video computer-mediated communication (SVCMC) in a U.S. university’s Spanish-as-a-foreign-language curriculum. Using the SVCMC platform TalkAbroad, the university’s Spanish program required second-year students to participate in five, 30-minute, SVCMC conversations with Spanish first language (L1) speakers. Students then reflected on their SVCMC conversations by replaying the recorded audio from those sessions and transcribing passages of their conversations. Using an interactionist perspective, this research explores the utility of: (1) the SVCMC conversations, and (2) the subsequent listening/transcription activity by examining students’ reported noticing of linguistic items (e.g. L1 speaker vocabulary, grammar, etc.). Additionally, we report students’ general perceptions of engaging in SVCMC with TalkAbroad. Students’ noticing and perceptions were investigated using a combination of two questionnaires (N = 35) that were administered following (1) the SVCMC, and (2) the listening/transcription activity, along with semi-structured interviews (n = 10). Findings suggest both the SVCMC and listening/transcription activities are effective in promoting the noticing of vocabulary and content, but not grammar. Finally, students generally reported positive perceptions of engaging in SVCMC for the purposes of L2 learning. Related implications for pedagogy and curriculum design are discussed.

The NFLRC is pleased to announce our new Teaching and Learning Languages in the United States (TELL-US) podcast series. This professional learning series aims to examine language teaching and learning in the U.S. from the perspective of “non-insiders” (i.e., teachers who have had to adapt to the culture of teaching and learning languages in the U.S., having come from a different cultural context). Focusing on two broad categories – language pedagogy and school culture, the goal for this program is to create a professional learning resource for novice LCTL teachers who find themselves teaching in a similar situation. Although the podcasts will focus primarily on the LCTL teacher population, they can also be a valuable resource for any other teachers whose educational formation has taken place outside the U.S. Similarly, the episodes may also provide insights for ELL teachers whose students or students’ parents identify with the cultures of the teachers invited to the show or be helpful to preservice teachers learning the essential tenets of modern world language education in the U.S.

Episode 1: Understanding the American system of education and language education, part 1

Episode 2: Understanding the American system of education and language education, part 2

Episode 3: What is proficiency (proficiency vs. performance)?

Episode 4: Language targets, Can Do statements

Episode 5: Content- and culture-rich target language input that meets and is responsive to the needs of learners

Episode 6: Synthesis, part 1

Episode 7: Synthesis, part 2

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This paper aims at understanding the extent to which languages are taught collaboratively in higher education (HE), which team teaching (TT) models have been implemented, and what lessons were learnt from the experiences. Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework [2005. “Scoping Studies: Towards a Methodological Framework.” International Journal of Social Research Methodology 8 (1): 19–32. https://doi.org/10.1080/1364557032000119616], a scoping review was conducted to map TT practices in HE language classrooms around the world. The review uses narrative analysis to describe those practices and provides an overview of the settings in which the studies were undertaken, the characteristics and models of TT applied, the outcomes and recommendations as well as the implications for practice in relation to language teaching and learning in HE. The results reveal that TT in this context is currently fluid, experimental, innovative and non-traditional, and therefore it is rather an ad-hoc strategy which is mostly practised to enrich teachers’ professional development or to enhance students’ language learning experience and cultural understanding. This study offers a comprehensive global picture of a collaborative experimental teaching practice in HE using a scoping review approach rare in the field of language teaching and learning but critical for identifying innovative practices.

Recent research indicated the effectiveness of immediate and delayed corrective feedback (CF) on second language (L2) learning. What is little known is the moderating effects of learner individual factors such as foreign language anxiety (FLA) on the efficacy of immediate and delayed CF. The primary aim of the present study is thus to investigate if learners’ FLA can moderate the effectiveness of immediate and delayed feedback. To this end, 82 learners of English as a foreign language (EFL) were randomly assigned to two treatment conditions as well as a control group. During three treatment sessions, the participants performed storytelling tasks in groups of four and received either immediate or delayed metalinguistic feedback for the errors they made. Regarding the immediate feedback condition, each participant received metalinguistic feedback immediately following an error while doing the storytelling task. For the delayed feedback condition, metalinguistic feedback was offered for each error at the end of each storytelling task. Two testing instruments, a writing task and an error correction test were used as pretest, posttest and delayed posttest to measure learners’ development as a result of the treatment sessions. Without considering learners’ FLA, the findings revealed that immediate and delayed CF are equally effective to promote L2 development. However, when taking into consideration learners’ FLA through regression analysis, the results revealed that immediate CF was more beneficial for learners with low FLA compared to high anxiety learners, but no significant associations were found between FLA and delayed CF efficacy.

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This study investigated the effectiveness of word-frequency and teacher judgments in determining students’ vocabulary knowledge and compared the predictive powers of both approaches when estimating vocabulary knowledge. Twenty-nine second language (L2) Spanish teachers were asked to predict how likely their students would know words from a 216-word Yes/No test that measures knowledge of the first 3,000 words in Spanish. The accuracy of their responses was compared with the results of 1,075 L2 Spanish students who completed the same test. To examine if the results could generalize to other L2 settings, 394 L2 English students completed a 70-word Yes/No test that measures knowledge of the first 14,000 words in English, and 15 L2 English language instructors attempted to predict which words would or would not be recognized. Results showed that for both language contexts, (1) the median teacher rater could assess students’ vocabulary knowledge with an accuracy roughly comparable to frequency, (2) the combination of teachers’ judgments displayed a stronger relationship with students’ performance on the vocabulary test than frequency, since the average of three or more teachers’ ratings improved upon frequency when examined with 1,000 bootstrapped samples, and (3) using teacher judgments and frequency together did not substantially improve the prediction of students’ vocabulary knowledge.