Most language learning research is carried out either in classrooms or among classroom learners. As Richards (2015) points out, however, there are two dimensions to successful learning: what happens inside classrooms and what happens outside them. Rapid development of online media, communications technologies and opportunities for travel has also expanded the world beyond the classroom for language learners. Language learning and teaching beyond the classroom (LBC) is, thus, emerging as a field ripe for the development of new research agendas (Benson & Reinders 2011; Nunan & Richards 2015). We propose potentially fruitful avenues for research here under the headings of settings for learning, learning processes and teaching.

In 1998, Wolfe-Quintero, Inagaki & Kim published a monograph describing measures used in assessing writing development. Despite more recent research on linguistic development (e.g., Bulté & Housen 2012; Verspoor, Schmid & Xu 2012; Connor-Linton & Polio 2014), the volume is still a valuable resource and good starting point for anyone wanting to select measures of fluency, accuracy, and complexity for second language (L2) writing research. The volume, however, was limited to research on language development within the context of writing, and this is certainly one way to think about writing development. A recent edited volume by Manchón (2012), however, has greatly expanded conceptions of writing development showing that it involves much more that linguistic development, for example, genre knowledge (Tardy 2012) and goal setting (Cumming 2012) as well. Writing development can also focus on various aspects of the writing process and how writers’ change their approach to text production as they become more expert writers (e.g., Sasaki 2004; Nicolás-Conesa, Roca de Larios & Coyle 2014). This expansion of focus, of course, makes development more difficult to define.

This paper considers research and practice relating to listening in instructed classroom settings, limiting itself to what might be called unidirectional listening (Macaro, Graham & Vanderplank 2007) – in other words, where learners listen to a recording, a TV or radio clip or lecture, but where there is no communication back to the speaker(s). A review of the literature relating to such listening reveals a tendency for papers to highlight two features in their introductory lines: first, the acknowledged importance of listening as a skill underpinning second language (L2) acquisition more broadly, and second, the relative paucity of research into listening compared with the skills of speaking, reading or writing. In the last ten years or so, however, there has been a growth in the number of studies conducted in the field, as evidenced in Vandergrift's review in 2007 and Vanderplank's more recent overview (2013). Consequently, my view is that it is possible to identify from that research certain key principles in relation to listening within instructed settings, particularly regarding listening strategies.

This article discusses the phenomenon of task-based language teaching (TBLT) in instructed additional language settings. It begins from the premise that, despite considerable theoretical and empirical support, TBLT remains a contested endeavour. Critics of TBLT argue that, particularly with regard to time-limited foreign language instructional contexts, TBLT's learner-centred and experiential approach to second language acquisition fails to provide an adequately structured environment that allows for sufficient exposure to frequent language, and processing and practising of grammatical form. At the same time, differences emerge between how TBLT is conceptualised in theory and how TBLT is operationalised practically in many additional language classrooms. These realities signal the need to look at the interface between theory, research and practice. The article considers what current research into TBLT has not succeeded in getting through to classrooms, what has succeeded in getting through reasonably well, and what has been over-applied. It is concluded that the under- and over-application of theory and research in practice highlight the difficulty in identifying exactly what TBLT is or should be in instructed contexts. The article proposes a way forward to strengthen the effectiveness of the TBLT endeavour.

After finishing a B.A. degree in History and Political Sciences from Valparaiso University, I began my post-undergraduate life going into the U. S. Peace Corps and spending three years as an English as a foreign language (EFL) teacher in lycees in Morocco. After all, in 1973, agreeing to a free summer vacation in Morocco for Peace Corps training, if nothing else, seemed like a good deal. Little did I know that an EFL/ESL (English as a second language)/applied linguistics life would begin at that point. I did learn that I liked teaching (which surprised me a bit) and the opportunities for creativity it provided (even if teaching with ‘Martin and Jillian’ (Broughton 1968) and First things first (Alexander 1972) (for those who remember). As a young teacher, I vividly remember, as a break from the routine, teaching my senior students the lyrics to ‘All Along the Watchtower,’ first the Bob Dylan version, then the Jimi Hendricks version. Sometimes we just have to take some chances. Morocco was also a great place to be in the middle of multilingualism in action: Moroccan Arabic, Berber, Modern Standard Arabic, French, Spanish, and English. For many of my students, English was their fifth language.

I started out as a budding English as a second language (ESL) teacher in 1976 at UCLA where I went through the M.A. TESL (Teaching English as a Second Language) and Applied Linguistics Ph.D. programs. Sadly, those two programs were ‘disestablished’ in 2014, which provides a stark lesson to any departments that think they are hot stuff that nothing lasts forever. Nonetheless, my training in those programs provided me with an excellent start down three professional paths: second language testing, curriculum development, and research methods.

I have always been interested in learning. I chose to study psychology as an undergraduate because it was in my psychology courses that I got to study theories of learning. I learned that the psychologists couldn't agree on what the explanandum was. Some thought it was human behavior; others argued for mental competence. It was only later that I found my own focus: I became interested in understanding the learning of language (although the issue of behavior versus mental competence persisted).

As one of the two ‘educational special zones’ in China, Shanghai is launching a new round of curriculum reforms centring on lide shuren, viz. ‘fostering integrity and promoting rounded development of people’ (Hu 2012). Apart from piloting a new plan for Gaokao, the national college entrance examination in 2014, a ground-breaking endeavour by the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission was to establish 17 key research centres at higher institutions for 16 basic education subjects in an effort to push forward city-wide curriculum innovations through in-depth university-school collaborations. Founded in 2016, the Shanghai Centre for Research in English Language Education (SCRELE) is one of these key research platforms.

This seminar was hosted by York St John University, UK, from 24–26 June 2015, and the co-ordinators were Chris Hall and Rachel Wicaksono (aided by Indu Meddegama, Clare Cunningham, Vicky Crawley, Ruth Ataçocuğu and Christian Sims). The seminar aimed to share diverse understandings of the ontological status of ‘English’ and to stimulate debate regarding the ways in which the language can be most effectively conceptualised for first language and second language learning, teaching and assessment. The seminar was organised around five sessions representing different frameworks. Following each session, an invited discussant highlighted major themes and led a general discussion. Individual papers are reported on below and the conclusion suggests their implications for applied linguistics.

Since 2008, the Swedish government has launched occasional offers of funding for graduate schools aimed at practising teachers. The fundamental purpose of this initiative is to enhance quality in the Swedish school system by implementing what is stated in the Education Act, namely that education at all levels should be based upon scientific knowledge and evidence-based experience.

Since its inception in 1990, the Language Testing Research Centre (LTRC) at the University of Melbourne has earned an international reputation for its work in the areas of language assessment and testing as well as program evaluation. The mission of the centre is: (1) to carry out and promote research and development in language testing; (2) to develop tests and other appropriate proficiency measurement instruments for English and other languages; (3) to evaluate programmes of language learning and teaching; (4) to provide consultancy services in evaluation and testing; and (5) to provide education and training in the area of language assessment.

Dr Stephen Evans (Hong Kong Polytechnic University) also contributed to the symposium. Unfortunately Stephen fell seriously ill soon after and was unable to write up his part of the proceedings. We have recently received the very sad news that Stephen has passed away. The field of Applied Linguistics has lost a meticulous scholar and a wonderful colleague.

This seminar was held at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, on 27 May 2016. It was jointly organised by BAAL members Nicola Bermingham (Heriot-Watt University) and Gwennan Higham (Swansea University) in collaboration with COST Action IS1306 New Speakers in a Multilingual Europe: Opportunities and Challenges, and supported by the Intercultural Research Centre and the Department of Languages and Intercultural Studies at Heriot-Watt University. Ten papers and two keynote speeches were given. The keynote speakers were Professor Alison Phipps (Glasgow University) and Professor Máiréad Nic Craith (Heriot-Watt University). A round-table discussion was also held, with invited speakers including Ms Mandy Watts from Education Scotland; Professor Bernadette O'Rourke, chair of COST Action IS1306; Dr Cassie Smith Christmas, University of the Highlands and Islands; and Dr Kathryn Jones, Director of Language Policy and Research at the Welsh Centre for Language Planning.

This paper discusses four studies from a recently completed Ph.D. thesis (van Zeeland, 2014a) on L2 listening and vocabulary knowledge. Two studies focused on the recognition of spoken vocabulary knowledge in isolation and in context, as well as the assessment of it, and two studies explored lexical inferencing and incidental vocabulary acquisition from listening. This paper summarises the main findings and discusses implications for future research. Together, the studies emphasise the need for more research attention to spoken vocabulary knowledge, especially in continuous speech. They also show how listening could contribute to expanding vocabulary knowledge, and emphasise several factors that future research on this topic should take into account.

A dedicated teacher, keen to try out new methods of teaching English and French and different ways of getting learners to talk. The teacher knows it is important to motivate the learners by bringing the real world and the target culture into the classroom and uses authentic newspaper articles on current events and takes the class out of the classroom to observe and discuss a phenomenon of physical geography which was mentioned in one of the reading texts. For three years this teacher keeps a diary of ideas for individual lessons, questions about materials and procedures as well as learner reactions and their learning difficulties and successes. Their language work is documented and analysed. As a result of these analyses, the teacher selects different procedures for further lessons, which are likewise analysed. Finally, the teacher publishes his observations, reflections and analyses for the benefit of other language teachers as well as academic discussion on language teaching methodology.