English as a Foreign Language: Perspectives on Teaching, Multilingualism and Interculturalism

This book introduces the reader to the ongoing research on teaching English as a foreign language and highlights recent trends in theories of acquisition, teaching and development of communication and intercultural skills. As English as a third language is increasingly recognised as a common world reality, research around this particular subject certainly provides useful answers to questions regarding the most desirable pedagogical method when teaching it at school, the strategies that students use when learning foreign languages, the best age for introducing additional languages in the school curriculum, and the attitude of pupils when learning a foreign language, and English in particular, given its global significance.The contributions gathered here will give the reader a general idea of where research on English as a foreign language is heading now in the areas of teaching, pedagogy, intercultural and multilingual studies and teaching students with learning difficulties. The authors situate their research in current debates in terms of theory and empirical data. They address issues of English as a foreign language in a wide variety of settings, countries and orientations, coming from Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, the UK and the USA.

About the Author :
Fotini Anastassiou is an Adjunct Lecturer of Linguistics at the University of Athens and at the Hellenic Open University, Greece. She holds a PhD in Applied Linguistics from the University of Thessaly, Greece, and an MA in Translation from the University of Surrey, UK. Her work primarily focuses on multilingualism, third language learners and speakers, multilinguals' speech production and their language dynamics, English as a third and foreign language, and issues of interculturalism and accessibility. She is a member of the Greek Applied Linguistics Association and the International Association of Multilingualism. Georgia Andreou is a Professor in Neurolinguistics/Psycholinguistics and Director of the Laboratory of Bilingual Education at the Department of Special Education of the University of Thessaly, Greece. She holds an MSc in Language and Communication Impairment from the Department of Human and Communication Sciences of the University of Sheffield, UK, and a PhD in Neurolinguistics from the Department of Special Education of the University of Thessaly. Her publications include one book, nine book chapters, and more than 100 journal articles. Her research interests include bilingualism and multilingualism, language and communication impairment, and cognitive development in individuals with developmental disorders.