<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Research-oriented programs related to pre-service teacher education are practically non-existent in many countries. Since in Portugal we now have a stable legal system for initial teacher training, how can we help these countries to respond to their teacher training needs and accomplish these same standards? How can we create an international program at MA level that could serve such an objective? What are the research priorities for teachers in primary and secondary education? I will claim for a new general research policy using small-scale research projects in foreign language teaching (FLT), which illustrated a turning point in advanced research in foreign languages teacher training. Presently, researchers no longer narrow their inquiries into linguistic questions or school and student-centered actions. Instead, they focus on a range of issues such as teacher-centered actions, beliefs and policies, and aspects of FLT such as literacy education, special educational needs or methods for teaching gifted students. Despite a lack of funding at all levels, many research projects in teacher education have been undertaken, and new areas have been explored, such as didactic transposition, literary and information literacies, intercultural learning, corpora in FLT, new information and communication technologies in FLT, interlingual inferencing, national standards for foreign language education, FLT for specific purposes, digital narratives in education, CLIL, assessment, and language learning behaviors. This small sample of the many areas covered proves that advanced research in teacher education can also be very useful to promote the growing interest in further internationalization in other sciences (beyond human and social areas) traditionally linked to politics, business and industry (computing, chemistry, biology, medicine, etc.), something that can only be attained by focusing on multilingualism, multi-literacy and lifelong learning.</abstract>

Promoting a Teacher Education Research-Oriented Curriculum for Initial Teacher Training in English as a Foreign Language

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Educational provisions, such as Early Bilingual Education (EBE) and Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), where curriculum content is learnt, taught and assessed through the means of an additional language, are not yet widespread in general primary and secondary education in Portugal. Knowing how to assess in such provisions, which have a dual focus on the mastering of language proficiency and content knowledge and skills, can be intricate. The first step towards building a rationale for soundly assessing language and content at early primary level in Portuguese schools needs to first understand how teachers working in EBE and CLIL education settings view assessment and what they do with it in the classroom. This article analyses the research findings of a small scale national research study conducted in Portugal in 2013/2014 on EBE and CLIL assessment beliefs, knowledge and practice on the part of teachers working in a national pilot on early bilingual education – the Bilingual Schools Project teachers (BSPT) and teachers working in similar provisions in private schools – the Non-Bilingual Schools Project teachers (NBSPT).</abstract>

Early Bilingual Education and Content and Language Integrated Learning Assessment in Primary Education: Assessment Beliefs, Knowledge and Practice in Portuguese State and Private Schools

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article reports on a small-scale action research project developed in the context of the practicum of a Teacher Education Masters course at the Faculty of Letters, the University of Porto. The project was focussed on the importance of visual stimuli in the foreign language teaching classroom (English and Spanish), within the context of an intercultural approach. Different strategies, activities and materials were employed with the general aim of helping the learners to develop their critical cultural awareness. The learners played a central role, participating actively, by bringing into the classroom their own knowledge of the world. Simultaneously, the role of the teacher was not without importance in this action research project, presenting herself as an example of a cultural mediator.</abstract>

Illustrating the Intercultural in Portuguese Secondary School Foreign Language (FL) Classrooms

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article considers the reformulation of foreign language classes as spaces of cultural politics, dynamic social activism and holistic education, in order to enable schools, teachers and students to set the foundation for a more inclusive society. It starts by recognizing some of the challenges of the 21st century European context, addressing the need to explore new directions in the intercultural and plurilingual approaches in Foreign Language Education. Using Cultural Studies as a starting point, it will be argued that Gloria Anzaldúa's cultural, feminist, queer and linguistic concepts, with a focus on the crossing of different borders, the forging of relational strategies between groups, and a holistic view of the world, can contribute to current debates on interculturalism and plurilingualism, providing an alternative framework for educational practices that empower students from diverse backgrounds with self-knowledge and tolerance towards alterity.</abstract>

Foreign Language Education in the 21st European Context: Exploring New Directions in Intercultural and Plurilingual Approaches Using Anzaldúa’s Border Epistemology

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Speaking has been increasingly promoted in curricula, both nationally and internationally, as one of the major aims of foreign language teaching. However, the unique features of this skill make it the most challenging one to assess. Portuguese EFL teachers seem to be at odds with suitable assessment procedures designed to monitor students’ progress. This paper examines the rationale underlying some of the core concepts on educational classroom-based assessment, including their definitions and key characteristics, as well as briefly outlining the theoretical premises of the communicative competence model designed by Canale and Swain to suggest what may be assessed. It also focuses on a new approach to language assessment – learning-oriented assessment, by highlighting its twofold potential to be the link between instruction and what is learned and to promote effective student learning. The paper concludes with two different practical examples of how to assess speaking in the classroom with a learning-oriented perspective in mind.</abstract>

Assessing Speaking Proficiency: A Challenge for the Portuguese EFL Teacher

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Teaching in the 21st century is a huge challenge and every school has to cope with all the changes that occur within society and be, at the same time, an enjoyable place for the students to develop their skills to live and function in the 21st century society. This paper shows how Task-Based Learning (TBL) can be a valuable option in the foreign language classroom nowadays enabling the students to be active, interact with each other, learn by doing and develop their language knowledge through communicative tasks, replacing the traditional, teacher-centred lessons. At the same time, this article aims to show how doing tasks has advantages in terms of the cognitive development while learning a foreign language, how these tasks also affect the human brain as well as discuss the importance of bringing neuroscience and scientific evidence into the classroom context.</abstract>

Task-Based Learning (TBL) and Cognition

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 9 (2018): Issue s1 (December 2018) Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL)

Volume 8 (2018): Issue 1 (December 2018)

Volume 7 (2016): Issue 1 (December 2016)

Volume 6 (2015): Issue 1 (December 2015)

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