Classroom-oriented Research Achievements and Challenges

The volume brings together papers related to different aspects of classroom-oriented research on teaching and learning second and foreign languages that have been authored by specialists from Poland and abroad. The first part contains contributions dealing with individual variation in the language classroom, in particular age, anxiety, beliefs and language learning strategies. The second part deals with various facets of teachers’ behaviors in the classroom, focusing in particular on classroom communication and the use of action research in teacher training. The third part includes papers devoted to various instructional practices, such as the use of new technologies, the development of intercultural competence, assessment or combining content and language. Finally, the last part deals with issues involved in research methodology, with special emphasis being placed on the use of diaries, observations, mixed methods research as well as triangulation.

From the Contents: Age and the classroom learning of additional languages.- The sociolinguistic parameters of L2 speaking anxiety.- Comparing teachers’ and learners’ views on grammar instruction and error correction.- Stability and variability in pre-service teachers’ beliefs.- The relationship between learning strategies and speaking performance.