Held at the Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée/Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics Conference, Ottawa, Canada; 27 May 2009.

Over the past few decades perspectives on second language (L2) pronunciation have evolved from pessimistic appraisals of the capabilities of L2 learners and doubts about the value of instruction to a view of pronunciation teaching as an effective and important part of language pedagogy. Earlier research on the teaching of pronunciation dwelt extensively on the identification of learners' errors (mainly consonants and vowels) through comparative analyses. Until recently, little had been established about the effectiveness of pronunciation teaching, and pedagogical techniques were based more on speculation and theoretical notions than on empirically well-justified principles. More recent work addresses a broader range of issues relating not only to L2 phonological acquisition, but to the social implications of speaking with an accent and engaging with interlocutors, both native and non-native speakers of the L2. Among these are the relationship between accent and intelligibility, cognitive processes underlying phonological learning, the evaluation of L2 speech using impressionistic and acoustic techniques, prosodic influences on perception of accented speech, the role of ethnic affiliation and identity in L2 speakers' oral production, and the identification of misguided applications of knowledge about pronunciation by businesses and governments. These lines of work, along with empirical investigations of pronunciation instruction, engender a more sophisticated view of L2 phonological learning and teaching. Though further research remains to be done, important achievements have been made in identifying reasonable, achievable goals in the pronunciation classroom, establishing appropriate instructional foci, and evaluating outcomes. The presenters in this colloquium highlighted the major achievements of recent years and identified some of the important problems that remain.

The field of language teaching and learning is in dire need of replications of vocabulary and comprehension research with diverse populations of learners. We propose for replication one large-scale vocabulary intervention carried out successfully in a middle-school with monolingual and multilingual students. This study was carried out several years ago, was published in the Reading Research Quarterly, and has been generously cited since then. The findings and the instruments from this study have been leveraged in subsequent extension studies by the same group of researchers, but have not been replicated in different contexts. We offer multiple reasons and methods of replicating this study in high school and adult contexts in which there is a serious need for learners to comprehend technical or academic materials using deep, nuanced foundations of vocabulary.

L'apprendimento della lingua italiana come lingua straniera (L2), probabilmente per motivazioni storico-culturali, è di carattere specialistico. Di conseguenza, l'impronta globale della lingua italiana, rispetto ad altre lingue straniere come l'inglese, lo spagnolo ed il francese, risulta essere abbastanza limitata. Sorprende quindi il fatto che in diversi progetti di ricerca, nel campo della linguistica applicata e dell'apprendimento delle L2, l'italiano sia la lingua studiata dai partecipanti oggetto di studio. Questa rassegna di studi verte ad identificare gli approfondimenti della ricerca nel campo dell'apprendimento della lingua italiana come seconda lingua piuttosto che il contributo dell'italiano alla teoria della SLA in genere. Inoltre, ha l'obbiettivo di valutare lo stato attuale della lingua italiana nell'ambito dell'istruzione formale. L'autore suggerisce la presenza di un rapporto tra la comprensione del processo di apprendimento della lingua italiana e la richiesta dell'italiano come L2. Questa rassegna riassume e categorizza quasi settanta studi condotti in una varietà di contesti educativi e offre proposte e stimoli per futuri progetti di ricerca.

Italian has for many years been considered somewhat of a specialist language when studied as a second language (L2) and this is perhaps due to historical and cultural factors. Its footprint worldwide compared to such languages as English, Spanish and French is therefore somewhat limited. Surprisingly, however, there is a considerable body of research in applied linguistics and second language acquisition (SLA) in which Italian features as the language being studied. This review sought to identify the extent to which the research provided specific insights into how Italian as a second or foreign language (L2 Italian) is learnt as opposed to the ways in which it has contributed to SLA theory-building more generally. In addition, it sought to assess how well Italian is holding up as a language being learnt in formal instructed contexts. The author suggests that insights into the learning of Italian and uptake by Italian students may be inter-related. The present review summarises and categorises nearly seventy empirical studies conducted in a variety of educational contexts and offers suggestions for future avenues of research.

Business English and academic English may perhaps be thought of as areas of language use requiring precision of expression and a quest for specific and unambiguous meaning. However, corpus evidence shows that both types of language, in their spoken contexts, exhibit noticeable use of the kinds of vague expressions found in everyday conversation. In this lecture, I focus on one type of vagueness: vague category marking (VGM). This feature involves mention of an example or examples of something followed by reference to a broad, ad hoc category of which the chosen examples are seen as typical. References to categories commonly involve expressions such as or whatever, and so on, or something (like that). In both business and academic English, vague category marking is an important projection of shared knowledge and shared identities. In business, vagueness is also a useful tool in delicate negotiations. In academic English, vague categories refer to bodies of assumed shared knowledge and are crucial in the pedagogic process of grafting new knowledge onto old. Subtle differences are drawn out by different types of vague category markers. I conclude with some implications for teaching in these specialised areas.

Angesichts gegenwärtiger Entwicklungen innerhalb des Lehr- und Forschungsgebietes Deutsch als Fremdsprache (DaF)/German as a Foreign Language (GFL) als auch im Lichte politischer Entwicklungen, die weiterhin einen deutlichen Einfluss darauf ausuüben, wie DaF verbreitet, gelehrt, gelernt und evaluiert wird, scheint eine kritische Bewertung von im Zeitraum 2002–2009 veröffentlichter DaF-Forschungsbeitraäge zeitgemäß und angebracht. Empirische Forschung zu Deutsch als Fremdsprache versteht sich nicht als isoliertes Forschungsfeld, das primär oder gar ausschließlich mit seinen kulturell, strukturell und politisch bedingten Besonderheiten beschäftigt ist, sondern vielmehr als ein substantieller Beitrag zur internationalen Zweitsprachenerwerbsforschung, Fremdsprachenunterrichtsforschung und Angewandten Linguistik. Im Mittelpunkt des zweiten Teils unseres Forschungsüberblicks stehen Beiträge die den Einfluss kontextueller Faktoren und methodisch-didaktischer Entscheidungen auf die Bedingungen, den Prozess und das Resultat fremdsprachlichen Lernens untersuchen. Űberlegungen zu alternativen epistomologischen Grundannahmen sowie einen Ausblick auf die gegenwärtige wie zukünftige Sprachenpolitik beschließt den zweiten Teil unseres Forschungsüberblicks.

This review of research on the learning, teaching, and assessment of L2 German may be particularly timely due to developments from within the profession as well as recent political changes which continue to have a strong bearing on the way L2 German is promoted, learned, taught and assessed. Far from representing an isolated field of research concerned only with the requirements and policies of its own subject matter, empirical research into L2 German now contributes greatly to the wider field of research on L2 acquisition, applied linguistics, and foreign language teaching. Part 2 of our review covers research concerned with the impact of contextual factors and pedagogical choices on learning conditions, learning processes, and learning outcomes. A consideration of competing epistemological frameworks as well as an outlook on current and future language policy concludes the review.

Since its inception in 1990, the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) at the University of Melbourne has earned an international reputation for its work in the areas of language assessment and testing as well as program evaluation. The mission of the centre is: (1) to carry out and promote research and development in language testing; (2) to develop tests and other appropriate proficiency measurement instruments for English and other languages; (3) to evaluate programmes of language learning and teaching; (4) to provide consultancy services in evaluation and testing; and (5) to provide education and training in the area of language assessment.