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International audienceThis paper tests a new method of teaching vocabulary to young second language learners through the medium of drama, specifically the effect of drama teaching techniques on vocabulary acquisition among primary school learners of Welsh. Vocabulary Acquisition via Drama (VAD) is based on principles derived from both process drama and communicative and task-based approaches to language teaching, and involves three phases: pre-drama, drama and post-drama activities. The research design involves two experimental and one control group, and a pre-post-retention test format on three measures of vocabulary acquisition: picture naming, sentence formulation and improvisation tasks. Results show a beneficial effect for VAD. The discussion section of the paper addresses the potential contribution of this approach to teaching second/foreign language vocabulary

This qualitative study investigates the relationship between learning opportunities and teacher cognition in the context of a videoconferencing (VC) project for foreign languages (FL) in French primary schools. Six generalist primary teachers were followed throughout the initial six-month stage of the initiative, and data were collected from learners, teachers, and trainers via questionnaire, video and audio recordings of class and feedback sessions, online teacher and trainer discussion, and video-stimulated recall interviews. Interview data revealed distinct teacher profiles involving differences in orientation to teaching and the teacher, learning and learners, and technology. These profiles corresponded to different teaching strategies and resulted in varying patterns of learner interaction in VC sessions. Teachers' comments showed them to be guided by general rather than FL-specific pedagogical principles, and pedagogical concerns frequently intersected with technical issues as teachers learned to exploit the new VC technology. While most teachers valued spontaneous FL interaction as a key VC affordance, the filmed sessions revealed little unplanned learner-learner communication. This finding is related to teachers' views of second language acquisition as product rather than a process; for more learner-centred teachers, spontaneity was affected by rehearsal, and for more teacheroriented practitioners, sustained teacher intervention influenced patterns of learner participation. In addition to these classroom findings, the study highlights the value of this type of participant research in facilitating the exchange of resources and expertise, classroom video footage, and participants' comments and queries, and thus contributing to professional development in CALL and CMC-based teacher education.

Second language study in French universities includes both modern language (literary) and foreign language (communicative) approaches, although teaching is dominated by the literary strand. Traditional educational models based on the transmission of knowledge are unable to accommodate recent progress in our understanding of learning theory, which offers cognitivist and constructivist approaches to learning and teaching. Similar advances specific to second language learning and teaching cannot be reconciled with the standard grammar-translation method, but instead call for communicative, task-oriented classrooms. This article traces the development of learning theory and second language teaching with respect to the roles of teacher and learner, conceptions of language as process or product, and individual versus group learning. It recommends an activity-oriented, project-based approach to second language teaching, learning and evaluation as an appropriate foundation for foreign (non-literary) language learners, including future school teachers, and calls for greater academic recognition of second language research.

The term communicative competence captures the notion that the ability to use language in interaction requires not just control of linguistic form but also awareness of rules of use in different contexts (Hymes 1972). Communicative competence is a slippery term: different actors in second language (L2) research, education, and assessment interpret the term in a variety of ways and use it for a range of purposes, perhaps particularly in the field of languages for specific purposes (LSP). This is unfortunate because it is a key concept in LSP, as in applied linguistics more generally. Communicative competence can be considered to be the target of second language acquisition, a main goal of second or foreign language teaching and learning, or the object language testers seek to measure via performance tests. In addition, current interpretations of communicative competence may be somewhat questionable adaptations of Hymes’ concept, modified and often simplified to reflect current approaches in both formal and functional linguistics, and to respond to practical concerns in language teaching and testing. This paper seeks to re-examine communicative competence from three perspectives – L2 research, teaching, and testing – highlighting problems in terms of theory and practice with respect to LSP. Drawing on recent research on indigenous assessment criteria, the paper concludes with a revised model of communicative competence for LSP offering a richer interpretation closer to the original concept and to current concerns in the field.