Research on second language (L2) acquisition in the generative tradition (GenSLA) addresses the nature of interlanguage competence, examining the roles of Universal Grammar, the mother tongue and the input in shaping the acquisition, representation and use of second languages. This field is sometimes dismissed by applied linguists as irrelevant because it does not provide direct applications for language teaching. However, the assumption that theories must have applications involves a fundamental misconception: linguistic theories explore the nature of grammar; GenSLA theories explore the nature of language learning. No such theory entails that language must be taught in a particular way. Nevertheless, potential applications can be identified: examples are presented that describe aspects of language that do not need to be taught, properties that might benefit from instruction, and cases where textbooks provide inadequate information. I argue that linguistic theory and GenSLA theory have more to offer in terms of considering what aspects of language might or might not be taught rather than how languages should be taught.

Presented at the American Association for Applied Linguistics Annual Conference, Denver, Colorado, USA; 23 March 2009.

As this issue was in preparation, the journal learned with great regret of the passing of John Trim. John was a long-serving member of the Language Teaching Board and his insight and advice proved invaluable for this and previous editors. An expert in the field of phonetics, linguistics, language didactics and policy, John worked tirelessly to improve the state of language teaching throughout his life. Among his key posts, he was director of the Council of Europe's Modern Languages Projects from 1971 to 1997 and supervised significant developments in language learning and teaching, including the Threshold Level and the Common European Framework of Reference.

As a tribute to the man and his work, we are publishing in this and a subsequent issue one of the last interviews John gave, where he looks back with his customary perspicacity at one of the most exciting periods of change in the teaching and learning of foreign languages.

05–104Alwright, D. (U of Lancaster, UK), From teaching points to learning opportunities and beyond. TESOL Quarterly (Alexandria, VA, USA) 39.1 (2005), 9–32.

05–105Beckett, G. & Slater, T. (U of Cincinnati, USA), The Project Framework: a tool for language, content, and skills integration. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 108–116.

05–106Belcher, Diane D. (Georgia State U, USA; [email protected]), Trends in teaching English for specific purposes. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 165–186.

05–107Berne, Jane E. (U North Dakota, USA), Listening comprehension strategies: a review of the literature. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 521–533.

05–108Bohn, Mariko T. (Stanford U, USA; [email protected]), Japanese classroom behavior: a micro-analysis of self-reports versus classroom observations with implications for language teachers. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 1–35.

05–109Byon, Andrew Sangpil (Albany State U, USA; [email protected]), Learning linguistic politeness. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 37–62.

05–110Carrell, Patricia L., Dunkel, Patricia A. (Georgia State U, USA; [email protected]) & Mollaun, Pamela, The effects of notetaking, lecture length, and topic on a computer-based test of ESL listening comprehension. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 83–105.

05–111Chacón, Carmen Teresa (U of Los Andes Tachira, Venezuela; [email protected]), Teachers' perceived efficacy among English as a foreign language teachers in middle schools in Venezuela. Teaching and Teacher Education (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 21.3 (2005), 257–273.

05–112Dewey, Dan P. (U of Pittsburgh, USA), Connections between teacher and student attitudes regarding script choice in first-year Japanese language classrooms. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 567–583.

05–113Dogancay-Aktuna, S. (Southern Illinois U, USA), Intercultural communication in English language teacher education. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 99–107.

05–114Doyé, Peter (Technische Universität Brunschweig, Germany; [email protected]), A methodological framework for the teaching of intercomprehension. Language Learning Journal (Rugby, UK) 30 (2004), 59–68.

05–115Erling, Elisabeth J. (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany), The many names of English. English Today (Cambridge, UK) 21.1 (2005), 40–44.

05–116Flowerdew, Lynne (Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China; [email protected]), An integration of corpus-based and genre-based approaches to text analysis in EAP/ESP: countering criticisms against corpus-based methodologies. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 24.3 (2005), 321–332.

05–117Grabe, William (Northern Arizona U, USA; [email protected]), Research on teaching reading. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 44–69.

05–118Jackson, J. (Chinese U of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China; [email protected]), An inter-university, cross-disciplinary analysis of business education: perceptions of business faculty in Hong Kong. English for Specific Purposes (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) 24.3 (2005), 293–306.

05–119Jarrell, Douglas (Nagoya Women's U, Japan; [email protected]) & Mark R. Freiermuth (Gunma Prefectural Women's U, Japan; [email protected]), The motivational power of internet chat. RELC Journal (Thousand Oaks, CA, USA) 36.1 (2005), 59–72.

05–120Jenkins, Jennifer (Kings College London, UK; [email protected]), Research in teaching pronunciation and intonation. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 109–125.

05–121Kern, Richard, Ware, Paige (California U, Berkeley, USA; [email protected]) & Warschauer, Mark, Crossing frontiers: new directions in online pedagogy and research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 243–260.

05–122Lou Leaver, Betty (New York Institute of Technology, USA), Ehrman, Madeline & Lekic, Maria, Distinguished-level learning online: support materials from LangNet and RussNet. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 556–566.

05–123McCarthy, Michael (Nottingham U, UK) & O'Keefe, Anne, Research in the teaching of speaking. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 26–43.

05–124McGarry, Richard (Appalachian State U, NC, USA), Error correction as a cultural phenomenon. Applied Language Learning (Monterey, CA, USA) 14.1 (2004), 63–82.

05–125Nassaji, Hossein (Victoria U, Canada; [email protected]) & Fotos, Sandra, Current developments in research on the teaching of grammar. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 126–145.

05–126Perrin, G. (German Government Language Centre, Germany), Teachers, testers, and the research enterprise – a slow meeting of minds. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 144–150.

05–127Seidlhofer, Barbara (Vienna U, Austria; [email protected]), Research perspectives on teaching English as a lingua franca. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 209–239.

05–128Silva, Tony (Purdue U, USA; [email protected]) & Brice, Colleen, Research in teaching writing. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 70–106.

05–129Simmons-Mcdonald, Hazel (West Indies U, Barbados; [email protected]), Trends in teaching standard varieties to creole and vernacular speakers. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 187–208.

05–130Stoller, Fredricka L. (Northern Arizona U, USA; [email protected]), Content-based instruction: perspectives on curriculum planning. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (Cambridge, UK) 24 (2004), 261–283.

05–131Tan, M. (U of Central Lancashire, UK), Authentic language or language errors? Lessons from a learner corpus. ELT Journal (Oxford, UK) 59.2 (2005), 126–134.

05–132Wilberschied, Lee (Cleveland State U, USA) & Berman, Peiyan M., Effect of using photos from authentic video as advance organisers on listening comprehension in an FLES Chinese class. Foreign Language Annals (Alexandria, VA, USA) 37.4 (2004), 534–540.

05–133Xu, Y., Gelfer, J. & Perkins, P. (U of Wisconsin, USA), Using peer tutoring to increase social interactions in early schooling. TESOL Quarterly (Alexandria, VA, USA) 39.1 (2005), 83–106.

05–134Yeh, Aiden (National Kaohsiung First University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, China; [email protected]), Poetry from the heart. English Today (Cambridge, UK) 21.1 (2005), 45–51

Ideologies and communication practices vary hugely in multilingual workplaces. On the one hand, many companies include Diversity Management in their corporate culture because there are theoretical and empirical reasons to believe that a company which employs a diverse workforce enhances its opportunities in a global marketplace whilst improving employee satisfaction and thus productivity. On the other hand, globally oriented companies, often the same ones, choose English preferentially as their corporate language as it has become widely accepted that this is the language of international business. Thus, diversity in general (i.e. cultural diversity) and linguistic diversity are dissociated.

06–01Akira, Mochida & Harrington, Michael (U Queensland, Australia), The Yes/No test as a measure of receptive vocabulary knowledge. Language Testing (Hodder Arnold) 23.1 (2006), 73–98.

06–02Biddle, Rodney (Gunma Prefectural Women's U, Japan), What makes a good English class? Perceptions of individuality and the group among Japanese EFL students. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.8 (2005), 3–8.

06–03Burden, Peter (Okayama Shoka U, Japan), The castor oil effect: Learner beliefs about the enjoyment and usefulness of classroom activities and the effects on student motivation. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.10 (2005), 3–9.

06–04Corbeil, Giselle (Acadia U, Canada), Effectiveness of focus on forms instruction: Different outcomes on constrained and free production tasks?Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics) 8.1 (2005), 27–46.

06–05Dastjerdi, Hossein Vahid, Talebinezhad & Mohammad Reza (U Isfahan, Iran), Chain-preserving deletion procedure in cloze: A discoursal perspective. Language Testing (Hodder Arnold) 23.1 (2006), 58–72.

06–06Guan Eng Ho, Debbie (U Brunei Darussalam, Brunei; [email protected]), Why do teachers ask the questions they ask?RELC Journal (Sage) 36.3 (2005), 297–310.

06–07Honna, Nobuyuki (Aoyama Gakuin U, Japan; [email protected]) & Yuko Takeshita, English language teaching in Japan: Policy plans and their implementations. RELC Journal (Sage) 36.3 (2005), 363–383.

06–08Jenkins, Jennifer (King's College, U London, UK), Implementing an international approach to English pronunciation: The role of teacher attitudes and identity. TESOL Quarterly (Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages) 39.3 (2005), 535–543.

06–09Kato, Asako (Fudoka Seiwa High School, Japan), The visual text speaks louder than the written text: An examination of the revised Monkasho English I textbooks. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.5 (2005), 3–13.

06–10Lazaraton, Anne (U Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA; [email protected]) & Noriko Ishihara, Understanding second language teacher practice using microanalysis and self-reflection: A collaborative case study. The Modern Language Journal (Blackwell) 89.4 (2005), 529–542.

06–11Li, Defeng (Chinese U Hong Kong, China; [email protected]), Teaching of specialized translation courses in Hong Kong: A curricular analysis. Babel (John Benjamins) 51.1 (2005), 62–77.

06–12McCaughey, Kevin (California, USA; [email protected]), Thekashasyndrome: English language teaching in Russia. World Englishes (Blackwell) 24.4 (2005), 455–459.

06–13McEachron, Gail (College of William and Mary, VA, USA) & Ghazala Bhatti, Language support for immigrant children: A study of state schools in the UK and US. Language, Culture and Curriculum (Multilingual Matters) 18.2 (2005), 164–180.

06–14Reza Hashemi, Mohammad & Farah Gowdasiaei (Ferdowsi U Mashhad, Iran; [email protected]), An attribute-treatment interaction study: Lexical-set versus semantically unrelated vocabulary instruction. RELC Journal (Sage) 36.3 (2005), 341–361.

06–15Savickienė, Ineta & Violeta Kalėdaitė (Vytautas Magnus U, Kaunas, Lithuania), Cultural and linguistic diversity of the Baltic states in a new Europe. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development (Multilingual Matters) 26.5 (2005), 442–452.

06–16Sercu, Lies (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium), María del Carmen Méndez García & Paloma Castro Prieto, Culture learning from a constructivist perspective: An investigation of Spanish foreign language teachers' views. Language and Education (Multilingual Matters) 19.6 (2005), 483–495.

06–17Stempleski, Susan (City U New York, USA), Developing fluency: Some suggestions for the classroom. The Language Teacher (Japan Association for Language Teaching) 29.6 (2005), 31–33.

06–18Swan, Michael (Freelance), Legislation by hypothesis: The case of task-based instruction. Applied Linguistics (Oxford University Press) 26.3 (2005), 376–401.

06–19Ter-Minasova, Svetlana G. (Moscow State U, Russia; [email protected]), Traditions and innovations: English language teaching in Russia. World Englishes (Blackwell) 24.4 (2005), 445–454.

Presented at the AAAL Annual Conference, Atlanta, Georgia, USA, 6 March 2010.

The purpose of this colloquium was to update professional appreciation of language learning in study abroad, with special reference to projects illustrating contemporary interest in the socially situated nature of this phenomenon. Introducing the panel, Celeste Kinginger (Pennsylvania State University) noted that while a sojourn abroad can enhance every aspect of language ability, it is most effective in domains related to social interaction. The colloquium was motivated by several limitations of current research on study abroad. First, the vast majority of studies address the experiences of US-based students learning commonly taught languages. Second, the research would benefit from a shift away from conservative, academic views of language to more usage-based models reflecting the full range of living language that students encounter abroad. Finally, an exclusive focus on the student perspective, in qualitative studies, may yield incomplete and potentially ethnocentric findings.

Ever since Aristotle and Plato (The Categories; Cratylus), linguists have considered language to be the pairing of form (sounds or gestures or written strings) and meaning. This is true for all meaningful linguistic units from morphemes, through words, phrases and sentences, to discourse. Generally speaking, semantics is the study of how form and meaning are related. However, semantics is more narrowly construed as excluding those meanings that derive from speaker intensions and psychological states, as well as sociocultural features of the context. Furthermore, the boundary between semantics proper and pragmatics is intensely debated and to some researchers constitutes an empirical question. Formal semantics came into being as a system describing formal languages, that is, the mathematical and logical languages of computing machines as opposed to the natural languages of human beings. However, in the late 1960s the philosopher Richard Montague argued that natural languages such as English could be fruitfully described using the same rigorous rules and correspondences utilized in the description of formal languages. Modern formal semantics was born and is currently prospering as a branch of linguistics.

This seminar took place on 19 April, 2013 at the Centre for Language and Communication, Faculty of Language and Education Studies, The Open University. The seminar was coordinated by Janet Maybin and Theresa Lillis and there were 28 participants, including four postgraduate students, from universities in Britain, Belgium and South Africa.

The problem of the applications of grammatical theories to language teaching occupied a prominent place in applied linguistics in the Sixties. This article reviews the most important publications of the period on the subject. It shows how structural and transformational-generative grammars, often applied too directly and crudely, were accorded too dominant a place in language teaching methodology; they were later integrated into pedagogic grammars, which take into account the acquisition and use of the language as an instrument of communication.

Ema Ushioda is a professor and Head of the Department of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick. She has been interested in motivation and autonomy in language learning for over 30 years, particularly from pedagogical and qualitative research perspectives. Recent books include Teaching and researching motivation (3rd ed.), co-authored with Zoltán Dörnyei (Routledge, 2021), and Language learning motivation: An ethical agenda for research (Oxford University Press, 2020).

Recent research has shown that music interventions involving body movements are beneficial for reinforcing music learning. Given the reported positive transfer between music training and phonological skills, we investigated, for the first time, the value of an embodied music training program for improving pronunciation skills. In a classroom experiment, 48 Chinese adolescent learners of English participated in three 40-minute sessions of either Dalcroze-inspired embodied music training or treatment-as-usual non-embodied music training. Participants in the embodied music group were involved in a series of activities designed to develop their rhythmic and melodic skills through bodily experiences. Participants in the non-embodied music group followed music lessons designed by their music teacher, appreciating music pieces and receiving music knowledge. Before and after training, participants were tested with a language imitation task using six unfamiliar languages and an oral reading task in second language English. Results show that the embodied music group significantly outperformed the non-embodied music group in both tasks. Overall, our findings suggest that an embodied music training program has beneficial effects on pronunciation skills, supporting an embodied-based language teaching approach.