Research on language teaching and learning in Austria (2004–2009)

Abstract

This overview of six years of research on language learning and teaching in Austria covers a period of dynamic development in the field. While all the studies reviewed here illustrate research driven by a combination of local and global concerns and theoretical frameworks, some specific clusters of research interest emerge. The first of these focuses on issues connected with multilingualism in present-day society in terms of language policy, theory development and, importantly, the critical scrutiny of dominant discursive practices in connection with minority and migrant languages. In combination with this focus, there is a concern with German as a second or foreign language in a number of contexts. A second cluster concerns the area of language testing and assessment, which has gained political import due to changes in national education policy and the introduction of standardized tests. Finally, a third cluster of research concerns the diverse types of specialized language instruction, including the introduction of foreign language instruction from age six onwards, the rise of academic writing instruction, English-medium education and, as a final more general issue, the role of English as a dominant language in the canon of all foreign and second languages in Austria.

The Dynamic Multicausality of Age of First Bilingual Language Exposure: Evidence From a Longitudinal Content and Language Integrated Learning Study With Dense Time Serial Measurements

“…This is where content and language integrated learning (CLIL) comes in. As “a major contribution to make to the [European] Union's language learning goals” (European Commission, 2003, p. 8), CLIL is a method in which school subjects are taught in a language different from the mainstream school language, thereby extending FL exposure and motivating FL communication (e.g., Cenoz, Genesee, & Gorter, 2014; Coyle, Hood, & Marsh, 2010; Dalton–Puffer, Faistauer, & Vetter, 2011; Dalton–Puffer & Smit, 2013). The rapid expansion of CLIL‐type (pre)primary teaching cries out for a systematic discussion of the role of the age factor in early multilingual education of this type, based on longitudinal studies with a respectable number of participants.…”

Research in language teaching and learning in Austria (2011–2017)

“…In this article, readers who also consulted the earlier 'Country in Focus' report on Austria (Dalton-Puffer et al, 2011) will have noticed several lines of continuation in the major concerns pursued by the country's researchers. However, the article also points to major shifts (some in reaction to political events such as the migration crisis in 2015), and to a broadening of interests in many areas, as well as the consolidation of research interests that were only in their beginnings in the late 2000s (e.g.…”

“…In addition, there are seven official language minorities (including Austrian sign language) and numerous non-official immigrant ones. It is thus evident that this is a country where languages are always on the agenda – for basic information on Austria's sociolinguistic situation and educational system see Dalton-Puffer et al (2011).…”

“…A call to the national research community was issued in 2016, which resulted in a database of over 1,200 publications (continuously updated in the course of writing the article), about three times as many as for the first country overview (Dalton-Puffer et al, 2011). The necessary decisions regarding selection were guided by a combination of formal and thematic criteria.…”

“…1. Introductionpurpose, scope, and methodology This research overview for Austria covers the period between 2011 and 2017 and follows up on an earlier one covering 2004to 2009(Dalton-Puffer, Faistauer, & Vetter, 2011. The overview aims to give an international readership access to the most recent research on language teaching and learning by scholars based in Austria, a small landlocked country in central Europe bordering on eight neighbouring states that have nine different official languages.…”