Gerd Bräuer - Böcker

DAVID R. RUSSELL English Department of Iowa State University, U. S. A. I was fortunate to attend, as a visitor from the U. S. , the first European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) conference in 2001 at Groningen. I was struck by the similarities in the challenges higher education faces on both sides of the Atlantic in terms of developing students’ academic writing, and students’ learning through writing. It is indeed an international ‘problem. ’ But I was equally struck by the profound differences in responding to these challenges – among - tions, institutions, disciplines, and even within disciplines. The essays in this - traordinary volume address a growing demand for help with academic writing, on the part of students and academic staff alike. And they do so in ways that bring fresh approaches, not only to Europeans, who have only recently begun to study academic writing, but also to researchers and academic staff in the U. S. , where we have a c- tury-old tradition of attention to the problem – but are much in need of these fresh approaches. Academic writing has become a ‘problem’ in higher education – all around the world – because higher education sits smack between two contradictory pressures. On one end, far more students (and far more diverse students) come streaming into higher education – bringing in a far greater diversity of linguistic resources (often interpreted as ‘standards are falling,’ as Frank, Haacke & Tente point out).

DAVID R. RUSSELL English Department of Iowa State University, U. S. A. I was fortunate to attend, as a visitor from the U. S. , the first European Association for the Teaching of Academic Writing (EATAW) conference in 2001 at Groningen. I was struck by the similarities in the challenges higher education faces on both sides of the Atlantic in terms of developing students’ academic writing, and students’ learning through writing. It is indeed an international ‘problem. ’ But I was equally struck by the profound differences in responding to these challenges – among - tions, institutions, disciplines, and even within disciplines. The essays in this - traordinary volume address a growing demand for help with academic writing, on the part of students and academic staff alike. And they do so in ways that bring fresh approaches, not only to Europeans, who have only recently begun to study academic writing, but also to researchers and academic staff in the U. S. , where we have a c- tury-old tradition of attention to the problem – but are much in need of these fresh approaches. Academic writing has become a ‘problem’ in higher education – all around the world – because higher education sits smack between two contradictory pressures. On one end, far more students (and far more diverse students) come streaming into higher education – bringing in a far greater diversity of linguistic resources (often interpreted as ‘standards are falling,’ as Frank, Haacke & Tente point out).

The first volume of the serial is dedicated to writing, merely for the reason that writing can still be considered in language education to be a skill to which little attention is paid, where as discourses on listening, reading, and especially speaking experienced major advances over the last two decades. With the intention to question this rather international tendency from as many as possible different perspectives, this book unifies articles from Switzerland and Italy, Denmark, Germany, and the US, dealing with French, Italian, German, and English as foreign or second languages in all levels of instruction. The aim of this first volume is mainly to encourage the understanding of an expanded function of writing in the field of language education, in theoretical terms and within the framework of classroom practice. Writing is understood here not only as a tool for recording knowledge but also as a means of developing it. Writing seen as such reaches beyond the realm of a foreign language, connecting the learner's expertise of his/her native language and culture with the ones to be studied. When we acknowledge language as a social phenomenon, the potential uses of writing for learning across the curriculum are revealed.

The first volume of the serial is dedicated to writing, merely for the reason that writing can still be considered in language education to be a skill to which little attention is paid, where as discourses on listening, reading, and especially speaking experienced major advances over the last two decades. With the intention to question this rather international tendency from as many as possible different perspectives, this book unifies articles from Switzerland and Italy, Denmark, Germany, and the US, dealing with French, Italian, German, and English as foreign or second languages in all levels of instruction. The aim of this first volume is mainly to encourage the understanding of an expanded function of writing in the field of language education, in theoretical terms and within the framework of classroom practice. Writing is understood here not only as a tool for recording knowledge but also as a means of developing it. Writing seen as such reaches beyond the realm of a foreign language, connecting the learner's expertise of his/her native language and culture with the ones to be studied. When we acknowledge language as a social phenomenon, the potential uses of writing for learning across the curriculum are revealed.

Fifteen authors from the United States, Australia, and Germany contribute articles on issues such as the political agenda of higher institutions, language across the curriculum, service learning, adult education, artistic and aesthetic practice, intercultural awareness through electronic media, extra-curricular consultation, and language learning outreach, related to Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, French, German, and English as a foreign and second language.The second volume of the series Advances in Foreign and Second Language Pedagogy is an introduction to the pedagogy of language learning in higher education focusing on learner motivation, classroom environments, relationships for learning, and the future of language education. The book reveals numerous links to language education on the secondary level, appealing to a wide audience.

Fifteen authors from the United States, Australia, and Germany contribute articles on issues such as the political agenda of higher institutions, language across the curriculum, service learning, adult education, artistic and aesthetic practice, intercultural awareness through electronic media, extra-curricular consultation, and language learning outreach, related to Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, French, German, and English as a foreign and second language.The second volume of the series Advances in Foreign and Second Language Pedagogy is an introduction to the pedagogy of language learning in higher education focusing on learner motivation, classroom environments, relationships for learning, and the future of language education. The book reveals numerous links to language education on the secondary level, appealing to a wide audience.

Highlights the bridging character of drama-based foreign and second language teaching for intercultural learning. Drama here is not limited to theater-related work, but means the interplay between body and language in general, to include, for example, sports, dancing, singing, and storytelling. The major techniques and curricular structures of educational drama and its application in the foreign and second language classroom are introduced.What are the techniques, methods, strategies, and curricular structures that engage language learners in continuing dialogue between one's own culture and the one yet to be discovered? What comprises the language we speak in order to understand and be understood? Which body is it we communicate through and to? This volume answers these and other questions of the pedagogy of drama-based teaching across the foreign/second language curriculum and on all levels of the educational pyramid.There are two major issues currently discussed in drama-based foreign and second language methodology. The first is goal-oriented, asking whether the acquisition of accuracy or fluency is more important, and whether a controlled (learning through imitation) or an open (through improvisation) learning environment is more efficient. The second issue concerns using drama in language teaching: either its use is process-oriented, where drama becomes an immediate medium for language learning, or product-oriented, where it becomes primarily the reason for language learning. The book outlines the theoretical frameworks of both issues and introduces personal narrative, comparative observation, and analytical reflection, illuminating opportunities for learning at both ends of the seemingly contradictory poles of both issues.