Teaching and learning foreign languages in Uzbekistan. CEFR: learning, teaching and assessment

The Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is the most comprehensive, and the most widely used set of foreign language education standards throughout the world. The recent reforms in foreign language teaching in Uzbekistan have mainly touched upon teaching English language in all levels and stages of education. At this point CEFR plays as the main framework to be adopted in developing the national standard. In this article, we shall discuss reforms of adoption and implementation of the new standard which was a requirement of time and has started a new era in the whole system of foreign languages learning in Uzbekistan.

This study focuses on primary foreign language teaching and learning. It seeks to reveal the perspectives and practice of three different stakeholders: specialist teachers, generalist teachers and head teachers. The study then places these beliefs and practice within a local, national and international context, considering the supporting factors for Primary Foreign Languages (PFL), as well as the challenges. It is a timely piece of research as it was conducted during the period when foreign language learning, for the first time in England, became statutory in primary schools. Furthermore, it took place during a timeframe of rapid change at all levels of education, which has had an effect on the translation of policy to practice. Data collection took place in two phases. In Phase One, an initial PFL practice mapping online questionnaire was sent to all schools in the Local Authority (LA) (n=69). Three schools agreed to participate. In Phase Two data collection methods employed in each of the three schools consisted of participant observations, semi-structured interviews, a self-reflective diary, informal conversation with staff and analysis of policy documents. The findings of the study show that all stakeholders in each school were supportive of PFL. However, this support did not translate into practice as the responsibility for PFL often rested solely with the specialist. As a result, the subject and specialists could be described as annexed, not fully integrated into the curriculum, and the specialists sought support from private companies instead of internally within the school. The majority of generalist teachers did not feel qualified to deliver the subject and there was a lack of future training options open to teachers wishing to train as PFL specialists. Those teachers who did express an interest in learning how to teach PFL felt that they could not engage fully with this endeavour due to internal and external pressure imposed upon them to achieve the highest possible pupil attainment in English and Maths. A disconnect was also revealed between the teachers’ most popular rationale for PFL teaching, which was preparing children to be ‘21st century global citizens’, and their actual practice. The teachers in the study recognised that, through learning a language and experiencing its culture, it may be possible to move from “egocentricity and ethnocentricity to a more altruistic sense of mutual benefit” (Byram, 2008:131). However, while espousing support for the teaching of intercultural understanding (ICU), the study reveals a lack of understanding in practice from stakeholders, policy writers and teachers. Overall, there is much goodwill for PFL as a subject, however, due to national and international drivers, it occupies a vulnerable place within the curriculum.

The Types and the Functions of the Listening Activities in Turkish and English Course Books

The scholarly interest in the field of foreign language teaching and learning has recently widened its scope within the competence-paradigm from learners’ competences to competences of teachers. Foreign language teacher education has thus been subject of many international and national publications and studies. Focussing on the situation of foreign language teacher education in Germany, results of international research can only partly be applied. This is primarily due to different standards in certain phases of teacher education. From a national perspective, one of the challenges in foreign language teacher education is rooted in the federal system: The 16 federal states of Germany have different regularities concerning the second phase of teacher education (in-service training). Looking at national research on foreign language teacher education, emphasis on investigating knowledge of foreign language teachers based on concepts of pedagogical content knowledge (Shulman) has to be noted. Throughout this article, we would like to critically evaluate underlying competence models, and establish lesson planning as a key category of identifying competence development of foreign language teachers. Lesson planning is conceptualised as an activity that requires language teachers to draw upon all areas of their knowledge. Presenting results of an empirical research study conducted with teacher trainees, the article concludes with relevant research foci that should be addressed in the field of foreign language teacher education.

Due to the changes in the approaches and methods in English language teaching throughout history, the use of mother tongue (L1) has been one of the most important topics discussed in the foreign language teaching field. Although most of the approaches used nowadays do not support the use of mother tongue, there is a change in the perception towards teachers’ code-switching in foreign language (L2) learning classrooms. There are various recent studies suggesting that using mother tongue facilitates foreign language learning. In this respect, the purpose of this study was to examine the teachers’ and students’ perceptions towards L1 use in L2 classrooms and under which circumstances they preferred using mother tongue. In addition, learners’ preferences of teachers’ code switching were also analyzed. Both teachers’ and students’ perceptions and beliefs on code switching were investigated using the questionnaires, classroom observations and interviews as data collection tools. There were 2 hour-observation periods (90 minutes) in the classrooms of 2 nd grade, 4 th grade and 7 th grade in which the circumstances of L1 use were analyzed to determine if there were any common characteristics of the L1 use. Findings of the revealed that there were some common circumstances where teachers code-switched to facilitate learning in the classroom and that students had some clear preferences for their teachers to switch to L1.

The aim of this article is to bring the experience of Albanian schools in renewing the teaching of foreign language grammar. Grammar occupies a significant place in the process of foreign language teaching and learning at all teaching levels in the Albanian schools. It has been long since it constitutes the focus of seminars organized by the department of education of the region and the institutions of both high and higher education. Grammar has been considered as the main linguistic component in foreign language classes. Grammar exercises practiced in there are multifarious. Teaching grammar is based on the grammar material informed by grammar French language textbooks and teachers’ ability to integrate grammar as a significant component of foreign language teaching with other components as the lexis, phonetics and so on, in order that it could better serve communication in a foreign language. Through examples and questionnaires, this article brings out the experience of Albanian teachers concerning the teaching of French grammar. Keywords: activities, grammar teaching, method, questionnaire, renovation.

Currently, European education systems, aware of need to know how to use languages, are developing bilingual and even multilingual programs, thus promoting research in the field of teaching and learning of foreign languages. In recent studies, the affectiveemotional aspects are emphasized, especially linguistic anxiety. The main objective of the present study is to measure the levels of linguistic anxiety of 519 students in Aragon (Spain) with the Spanish version of the FLCA scale (Perez and Martinez, 2001). From 1st to 4th of Secondary in the study of the French foreign language. According to the statistic the results show significant differences between boys and girls, depending on the gender, the teaching method of French (elective / bilingual) and the support, or not, in the study of the language.

In this conceptual paper we look at the concept of mediation in foreign language learning from a translation studies perspective. Through an analysis of the most important European language teaching policy document, namely the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR), we will study the conceptualizations of mediation and translation in the CEFR and identify elements that are important with respect to understanding translatoriality and its role in the framework. We argue that a narrow concept of translation goes against CEFR’s explicit aims of mediation. We therefore propose that the concept of translatoriality might be used instead to help teachers and learners orient to a wide variety of translatorial mediation practices while still also benefitting from well-established and widely studied strategies of professional translation and interpreting. Further collaboration between translation and interpreting trainers and foreign language teachers will be needed, as well as fieldwork research on best classroom practices, and a solid and shared conceptual basis will enhance the possibilities of combining the accumulating findings collected through fieldwork.

Family factors significantly influence the development of critical thinking (CT) dispositions. Yet, the dynamics of this influence among foreign language (FL) learners remain underexplored, with potential moderating factors still unclear. Building on social capital theory, social support theory, and ecological systems theory, this study explored this relationship among FL learners and further investigated whether teacher support moderates this connection. A total of 16,006 secondary students from China participated in the study, spanning grades 7 through 12 (M age = 14.842 years, SD = 1.416). Data were collected using student-reported CT disposition scale, FL teacher support scale, and SES questionnaire. Multiple regression analysis revealed a positive relationship between SES and CT dispositions of FL learners. Furthermore, moderation analysis showed that teacher support positively moderated this relationship. That is, higher levels of teacher support enhanced the positive effect of SES on CT dispositions among FL learners. This research has both theoretical and practical implications for the development of CT dispositions among FL learners.

Foreign language anxiety (FLA) has been a perennial concern in language learning, as foreign language (FL) learners often communicate feelings of anxiety, stress, or nervousness. This study explored the role of artificial intelligence (AI) applications in speaking practice for FLA management of 48 undergraduate participants in an EFL class in Egypt. An eight‐week, quasi‐experimental pretest–posttest design examined learner anxiety levels using a 33‐item FLA questionnaire. Their oral proficiency was assessed via roleplaying using an interaction‐enhanced public version of the IELTS speaking evaluation rubric. The results confirmed that FL learners experienced FLA pre‐ and post‐intervention. The identified anxiety levels played a facilitative role in FL learning with several ensuing gains. The use of conversationally enhanced AI chatbots in interactive activities slightly intensified learners' FLA, thus meriting further investigation of these objectives. Overall, subject to further development, AI chatbots are promising for significantly improving linguistic output gains; however, this study found that learners' speech‐related anxieties were not reduced following the interactions with the chatbots. It is concluded that FLA plays an underexplored facilitative role in sharpening learner cognitive faculties and linguistic capacities. Moreover, AI chatbots may be beneficial in advancing FL learning with significant potential in EFL contexts, facilitating improved interaction and oral communication. These findings support the integration of AI technologies as effective tools in FL education, providing flexible, interactive, and learner‐centred learning. This study is expected to be of considerable interest to FL educators and learners.

This special issue of NJLTL comprises contributions from researchers and practitioners engaged in foreign language teaching and learning in higher education – both within a Nordic context and beyond. Due to the large number of contributions received, the special issue will be published in two parts. The first part is scheduled for publication at the end of 2025, with the second part due to appear in Spring 2026. The first part includes 6 research contributions in the main section and 8 articles in the forum section. The articles, which focus on teaching and/or learning English, French, German, and Spanish as foreign languages, are written in Danish, English, Norwegian, and German.

Learning is a combination formed from several elements, including materials, which can influence the achievement of learning objectives. Material elements include: textbooks, so that research on the design of Arabic reading and writing materials for beginners based on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) is worth doing. This study aims to determine: (1). Design of Arabic reading and writing materials for beginners based on CEFR at MTS Khoiru Ummah, Central Maluku Regency. (2). Supporting and inhibiting factors in designing Arabic reading and writing materials for beginners based on CEFR at MTS Khoiru Ummah, Central Maluku Regency. This research is a development research. Research and development include one of the methods to obtain certain new results, models, methods, strategies, ways, designs, or steps with descriptions and development of results and trials to obtain maximum results. Learning reading and writing skills continues to experience curriculum development from time to time. CEFR theory has contributed to the development of the curriculum design for learning these two Arabic language skills. This CEFR-based curriculum is designed by determining the limits of learning objectives at levels A1 and A2. CEFR has 6 levels, the lowest A1 and the highest C2 in the order of A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. Levels A1 and A2 are designed for beginners in every foreign language learning based on this theory. At the beginner level, students are able to distinguish the sounds of hijaiyah letters, read and write words that are heard and seen, write and read simple phrases and sentences found around them well. Teaching materials are presented in the form of a communicative approach to make students more active and participate in the learning process by using modern learning media either in the form of materials or learning applications that support the achievement of goals. While the evaluation is presented by paying attention to the differences in students' intellectual abilities. Namely starting from easy questions then increasing in difficulty according to level. So that the curriculum for reading and writing language is presented in gradual teaching materials with familiar themes and following the development of the era and the environment of the students. Supporting and inhibiting factors in designing Arabic reading and writing materials based on CEFR at MTs Khoiru Ummah, Central Maluku Regency. a. Supporting Factors, 1) There is a curriculum used by MTs based on the 2013 curriculum for junior high school/MTs level and will implement the Merdeka curriculum at MTs. 2) Teaching staff in accordance with their fields, 3) Textbooks used. The school facilities and environment are very supportive in learning Arabic for beginners because students are required to be in the dormitory. b. Inhibiting Factors, 1) The level of student ability was not identified at the time of input or at the time of registration and entrance exams for MTs..2) The teaching materials in the textbooks used do not focus on reading and writing lessons, making it difficult for students to master Arabic reading and writing skills..

The ongoing debate on code switching (CS) in multilingual societies and Foreign Language (FL) classes is still relevant and worth considering. This linguistic phenomenon simply refers to altering from one language to another during speech and writing (Richards and Schmidt 2013). While some authorities propose that interactions between learners and instructors in the FL class be carried out only in the target language, other opinions favour a careful blend of both target and source languages. Ghana, a multilingual country in West Africa, adopted English as its official language during the colonial era. French was later introduced to promote regional integration among Ghana and her neighbours, especially since Ghana is greatly surrounded by francophone countries within the subregion (Gandolfi et al. 2021). French has since then been the second most widely taught FL in the country, with a presence in almost all stages of the Ghanaian academic trajectory. This multilingual position of Ghana makes it common to find elements of CS present in FL classrooms, where both instructors and learners occasionally resort to English for instructional conversations (Chachu 2016). This study focuses on university students’ perceptions of CS between English as the source language and French as a foreign language (FFL) during the instruction of the latter. Some frameworks for teaching and learning FFL in Ghana prefer that the language of instruction and interaction be limited to the target language only (Soku and Azanku 2015). The Common European Framework of References for Languages (CEFR) however, suggests the possible use of CS for purposes of instruction when there are favourable conditions (Council of Europe 2001). To identify the roles of CS and investigate FL students’ opinions on this, our data was gathered from classroom observations and questionnaires that had both Likert scale and open-ended questions. This was at the end of their first semester of studying university-level FFL. It was observed that CS plays a significant role in the understanding of linguistic concepts and greatly improves students’ engagement and participation in the FL class. Of the 36 respondents, 34 felt their academic needs were met when the language of instruction and interaction alternated between French and English. Twenty-nine students reported losing focus easily in the FFL class in instances where the medium of interaction was limited to French alone, while 26 reported feeling nervous whenever they were asked to only communicate in French. For metalinguistic aspects of the language, 33 students, constituting 91.7% were of the view that a careful blend of English and French could go a long way to aid their understanding and foster the learning of grammatical concepts. Generally, students attested to better retention of vocabulary in the target language when there was a good blend of both languages. It is recommended therefore that language instructors resort periodically to CS to ensure understanding and engagement from students. CS also helps learners have the opportunity to intervene with their limited linguistic structures when they are faced with linguistic challenges in the FL classroom. Click here to read the corresponding ISSOTL blog post.

This study aims to provide foreign language professionals with a sound methodology for selecting a suitable lexicon apropos of their students’ level in the language. The justification of said selection is, herein, rooted in a cognitive argument: If we are able to observe the manner in which words are organized within the mind, we will be better able to select the words needed for the natural process of communication. After analyzing over lists of lexical availability compiled by previous analyses, this study puts forth a glossary filtered by way of an objective procedure based on the mathematical concept known as Fuzzy Expected Value. I begin first by rigorously defining the concept of lexical availability and then thoroughly examining and explaining the manner in which I have obtained the results. Next, I employ the cognitive theory of prototypes to expound upon the organizational apparatus which arranges words within speakers’ minds. Subsequently, and in accordance with objective criteria, a lexical selection is proposed. To end, I contemplate and muse upon the significance of a program that would enable us to identify the most appropriate vocabulary according to the students’ level of linguistic competence. In order to further substantiate this study, it will be juxtaposed with the specific notions outlined by the curriculum of The Cervantes Institute. Moreover, it will relate to the teaching levels proposed by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) and Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).

Foreign language (FL) is playing a predominant role in daily life, however, there are numerous problems in university FL teaching. Through comparing project management and FL teaching, the paper finds out the similarities between the two and imports project management ideologies and methods into FL teaching to realize optimization and improve its practical character and efficiency.