This paper adopts an ethnomethodological, conversation analytic approach to analyze the social organization of the instruction-giving sequences that were accomplished by a teacher of Italian as a foreign language during the last phase of a writing task conducted in pairs. Specifically, the paper explores the linguistic, prosodic and embodied…

Teaching performatively is an art that must be honed and developed through sustained practice. In this paper, I explore the theoretical considerations of a "performative-humanistic" approach to second language acquisition and the practical applications for a performance-based pedagogy, which is meant to offer readers an occasion to…

The refugee is the person who has fled his or her country for reasons of war, racial discrimination, vengeance, sectarian massacres or other reasons. Many refugees have left everything behind them to reach a society that is completely different from their own, creating many challenges. Perhaps the most important of these challenges is to learn the…

This study investigated the use of mimetic gestures of identity by foreign language teachers of Italian and their students in college classes as a form of meaning-making. All four of the teachers were found to use a variety of Italian gestures as a regular aspect of their teaching and presentation of self. Students and teachers also were found to…

A team of university Italian teachers at an Australian university has been able to obtain enduring benefits from computer-assisted language learning (CALL), through projects that last, and indeed grow and develop over time. The projects have focused on supporting students in effective use of out-of-class time once they reach an intermediate level…

This paper analyses the language practices of a teacher in an Italian bilingual class. The children were learning Italian in Year One of elementary school. The teacher consistently spoke Italian with the children. The description of the teacher's talk shows how she used Italian for classroom management, for instructions, for teaching subject…

In this article we discuss findings from a case-study related to the distance education of teachers of Italian as a second/foreign language. This case-study has examined interactions among teachers during their discussions in a web-forum exploiting the model of content analysis proposed in the "Practical Inquiry Model" by Garrison, Anderson, and…

The history and rationale for entry and exit tests devised to meet Pennsylvania's standards for certifying foreign language teachers are outlined and discussed. The involvement of the Educational Testing Service in developing and validating tests in a variety of subject areas is described, and the need for institutional rather than standardized…

Foreign language (FL) teachers have long been leaders in the use of technology in the classroom, from short wave radio and newspapers, to film strips, to tape recorders, to records, 16 mm films, video, and now computers, as a means of bringing authentic language and culture to their students. Computer and Internet technologies require…

The Des Moines (Iowa) Public Schools foreign language program for K-12 is described and evaluated. The evaluation report focuses on six areas, including: (1) school district mission and philosophy of foreign language instruction; (2) context (state policies and standards, foreign language program overview and enrollment, fiber-optic communication…