<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article reports Chilean and Finnish foreign-language (FL) teachers’ perceptions of teaching and study realities in their own FL classrooms. Communicative language teaching (CLT) is used as the teaching–studying–learning methodological framework of an international KIELO project (= the acronym for Finnish “kieltenopetus” meaning “language teaching”), whose online survey was used to collect data for this article. We aim at answering the following research question: What are the FL teachers’ main approaches to teaching and studying in Chilean and Finnish FL classrooms and what is the FL classroom teaching and study reality like in these two countries? The data were collected from 83 Chilean and 147 Finnish FL teachers through an online survey covering 15 key themes of CLT and including 115 Likert-scale statements and 8 open-ended questions. In the descriptive data analysis, both Chilean and Finnish FL teachers claim that they encourage their students to use the target language considerably and that they use communicative oral tasks. For both groups of participants, however, teacher-centeredness and use of textbook score relatively high. The two-cluster analysis revealed a context-dependent cluster and a context-independent cluster. Context-dependent teachers tended to favor communicative oral tasks, real-life tasks and their own language tasks, whereas context-independent teachers favored more non-communicative tasks. Context-dependent teachers proved more student-centered than context-independent teachers. For Chilean and Finnish research participants, the use of mother tongue in foreign language classrooms appears to be an issue despite the growing need of foreign language communication.</abstract>

Foreign-language teaching and studying in Chilean and Finnish classrooms as seen by teachers

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The study investigates predictors of the acquisition of selected English phonemes in a foreign language context. Czech students’ pronunciation was diagnosed by two tests; their ability to produce seven selected phonemes was assessed. Furthermore, data regarding the students’ learning histories was obtained through a questionnaire. Then a multiple regression analysis was conducted in order to identify predictors of the acquisition of the selected phonemes. The analysis uncovered several factors, the most significant being pre - school exposure to English and positive attitudes to English in adolescence, which appeared to influence the subjects’ pronunciation positively. Interestingly, several factors which relate to learning English at school appeared to exert a negative influence on the acquisition of the selected phonemes. Furthermore, besides the importance of long-term exposure to English starting before the age of six, the study also underscored the importance of metacognition in relation to autonomous learning.</abstract>

Predictors of the Czech learners’ acquisition of selected English phonemes

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Phonological awareness is considered a key phenomenon having crucial position among abilities and processes which are important and responsible for the development of reading and writing (initial literacy). The paper deals with the significance and level of development of selected cognitive functions of a child in relation to the abilities of phonological awareness. The child’s current cognitive development is a predictor for certain level of phonological awareness. The paper is focused on a description of speech perception, language, oral vocabulary and phonological memory of children in preschool age. It is an output of the research project VEGA no. 1/0637/16 Development of a Diagnostic Tool to Assess the Level of Phonemic Awareness of Children in Preschool Age.</abstract>

Abilities of phonological awareness in the context of cognitive development in preschool age

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The aim of this article is to analyse subject expression evaluation of the non-author language, i.e. the author whose thoughts, discoveries, research results or assumptions are relied on in scientific texts in Lithuanian and English languages, elucidate both universal properties of expression evaluation and the specific ones determined by a particular language and culture. Publication texts of education science field of social science area were selected for the research. Expression evaluation of a quoted author was analysed identifying neutral (surname / name and surname, nationality and residence, scientific and professional activity, time, scientific discoveries, activity achievements, family relations) and subjective (logic and emotional evaluation) attributes. It was determined that education science texts of both languages, Lithuanian and English, do not exhibit a variety of quoted author expression. No examples purveying all possible semantic meanings of attributes were found in both languages. Prevalence of neutral attributes of science subjects and similar aspects of usage of some attributes (surname / name and surname, nationality or residence) reveal general citation traditions determined by universal scientific text regularities rather than a particular language or culture. On the other hand, some tendencies were observed characteristic only to the texts of one or another language and reflecting specific evaluation features of science subject. In the articles of native English speakers, scientific discoveries, results of scientific activity of quoted authors are emphasised whereas Lithuanian authors are more liable to highlight scientific or professional activity and time. Moreover, it is essential to mention that every text represents its author‘s personality to some extent. Thus, the choice of the particular means of expression can be determined by personal qualities of an author.</abstract>

Expression evaluation of a quoted author in academic discourse: Inter-language (Lithuanian and English) case study

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This study arises out of the intention to examine the features of expert-lay interaction in a jury trial. The paper studies closing arguments constructed by legal experts as possible worlds which would be attractive for jurors. Theory of possible worlds is employed to present discourse practices as versions of the real world which may overlap, supplement or contradict one another. Legal experts construe and present possible worlds to jury members who deliver verdicts on the case, i.e. possess decisional power. Efficient involvement of jurors into the possible world constructed by the legal expert signals formation of discourse of concord. In order to make their own possible world more credible than the world of the procedural opponents, legal experts employ different interaction tools: description of legal concepts, empathy, appeals to social values, imperative and question utterances, personalization.</abstract>

Expert-lay interaction in jury trials (case study of closing arguments)

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">On a theoretical level with the support of literature, we offer some definitions of the concept of redundancy, point to the similarities and differences in the perception of this phenomenon in technical, social and pedagogical communication. We point out the positive and negative aspects of redundancy in the teacher's language. The research part is aimed at mapping the presence of redundancy in the language of primary education teachers. We were interested in which grade in the subject of mathematics is redundancy the most represented and whether it may be considered positive or unnecessary. The research was conducted at five primary schools on a sample of twenty teachers. The method of the research was the direct observation of lessons. The accuracy of the observation was ensured by audio recording and its analysis. We have found that redundancy is most often present in the third grade.</abstract>

Redundancy in the verbal communication of teachers in primary education

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The approximation of the pragmatic knowledge of English language learners to native speakers has been a realm of concern for the scholars and researchers in applied linguistics. Thus, this research was an endeavor to figure out the association between the proficiency level and politeness strategies and external/internal modifications in written communication skills in the speech act of requests in Iranian English language learners. To this end, a written Discourse Completion Test (DCT), adapted from <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_jolace-2017-0031_ref_021_w2aab3b7b7b1b6b1ab1ac21Aa">Rose (1994)</xref>, including 8 situations was administered to elicit data from Iran Language Institute120 female and male EFL learners, 60 upper-intermediate and 60 intermediate. The data were sorted out using Brown and Levinson’s politeness strategies taxonomy (<xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_jolace-2017-0031_ref_004_w2aab3b7b7b1b6b1ab1ab4Aa">Brown and Levinson 1987</xref>) and external/internal modifications developed by <xref ref-type="bibr" rid="j_jolace-2017-0031_ref_011_w2aab3b7b7b1b6b1ab1ac11Aa">Faerch and Kasper (1989)</xref>. The written request utterances provided by each participant were analyzed in terms of frequency and types of politeness strategies, namely, positive, negative, bald on record, and off-record as well as external/internal modifications utilized in requests. The Pearson Chi-Square test results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference between upper-intermediate and intermediate learners’ type of politeness strategies and external/internal modifications.</abstract>

Politeness strategies in written communications: the issue of Iranian EFL learners

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This paper is going to argue that while early childhood teachers seem to have positive perceptions about intercultural education, the in-question students seem to be compelled to adopt different cultural habits. Data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed in 9 areas of Thessaloniki, completed by 161 teachers. The results showed that most teachers feel that they have enough knowledge about the curriculum regarding intercultural education, perform activities regarding interculturalism and diversity; they believe that students from different cultures feel welcomed and equally treated and participate in all class activities. Teachers suggest that students from different cultures build good relationships with all their peers and there is positive communication between students from different cultures as well as between their parents and teachers. However, the suggestion of most of the sample that students are compelled to adopt Greek cultural habits constrains this positive picture. It is possible that teachers feel that they are achieving positive results regarding intercultural education. It may be possible to recommend that the approaches that teachers report as part of their current practice should continue or that teachers’ own recommendations should be explored further to determine what sort of approach to intercultural education is being adopted.</abstract>

Early childhood teachers’ perceptions of intercultural education in state schools of Thessaloniki and surrounding areas

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">This article presents an innovative approach to teaching English tenses, more precisely to teaching the grammar of questions and negative sentences. It describes, analyses and compares the innovative top-down approach with the traditional methods. It introduces the reader to the theoretical concept of the English predicate structure, on which the new approach is based. Consequently, the paper explains how the theoretical approach may be beneficial in practice, i.e. in English language teaching. Compared to the traditional methods, the paper shows that the grammar of questions and negatives of all tenses can be explained using three simple rules. Finally, the paper lists the advantages and disadvantages of the new method and suggests suitable target students.</abstract>

Teaching the grammar of questions and negations: an innovative approach

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The English language has become the so called “world wide language” due to the fact that it is used globally in many spheres of everyday life - education, business, labour market, technology, tourism, travel and others. In Slovakia, the educational system supports schools in the acquisition of the language by granting more English classes per week, by financing textbook materials, by bridging teaching practice with research as well as making English a mandatory subject of school leaving exams.One of the crucial components in the English language education of Slovak learners appears to be the pronunciation. This language feature has its specificities and therefore it must be approached carefully. Although many researchers in Slovakia have focused on various aspects of English pronunciation, this article aims at the English teachers and their perception of this important issue. The survey focuses on Slovak teachers’ opinions about teaching English pronunciation to non-native learners, more specifically, about teaching techniques, error corrections, textbook materials and university teacher training.</abstract>

Teaching English pronunciation by non-native teachers as seen by Slovak teachers

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Journal of Language and Cultural Education

 Journal of Language and Cultural Education (JoLaCE) is a double-blind peer-reviewed international journal promoting international scholarly exchange among researchers, academics, and professionals. It carries only original, previously unpublished full-length research and survey articles that reflect the latest research and developments in both theoretical and practical aspects of language, literary and cultural education. Review studies, research-in-progress reports, short research notes, commentaries, and in-field publications reviews are invited to be published as well.  Rejection Rate   53,2%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 