The 21st-century global linguistic landscape has seen many changes for language learners. New assessments have been made in a host of areas, especially regarding learners¿ needs, motives, the target of instruction, and methodologies. The new realities, locales and purposes of communication all necessitate a shift in attitude and a new set of competencies is required of the teacher. This volume comprises a multi-faceted and thoughtful response to these changes in both modern reality and teaching philosophy. It is a study of a few of the other ways to tackle situations outside of norms and routines. The authors of this volume possess many years of teaching experience, and have stepped off the roads most travelled to explore new avenues and find novel solutions in foreign language teaching. This volume familiarises readers with contemporary theoretical debate and new research, and demonstrates how to easily translate these into practical, everyday classroom applications.

Michä B. Paradowski is an Assistant Professor at the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warsaw. He is the author of numerous book chapters and articles, an editor and reviewer for journals and research councils, and has been an invited speaker at over 60 scientific events worldwide. He also works as a teacher trainer and ELT consultant for television.

Contents: Mohammad Aliakbari/Nasrin Soltani: Learning Style Preferences of Iranian EFL Learners with Kurdish and Persian Cultures ¿ Melanie Ellis: Compulsory L3 at Age 13: The Relation Between Personal History, Attitudes to Language Learning and Achievement ¿ Mandira Halder: The Role of Cross-linguistic Awareness in Grammar Acquisition in a Multilingual Classroom ¿ Josephine P. S. Yam: From Theory to Practice: Understanding Cantonese and Mandarin English Learners¿ Pronunciation Phenomena through Optimality Theory ¿ Tomohito Hiromori: What are the Determining Factors of L2 Improvised Speech Performance? An Exploratory Study ¿ Michä B. Paradowski/Anna Wysoki¿ska: What Motivates Polyglots ¿ Anna Gonerko-Frej: Anglicizing Polishness. A Report from the ELT Frontin Post-communist Poland ¿ Mónica Lourenço/Ana Isabel Andrade: «Do Languages Die?» Promoting Awareness of Language and Linguistic Diversity in Preschool ¿ Béatrice Cabau: Optimizing the Benefits of Overseas Academic Sojourns: Pre-Departure Training for Exchange Students ¿ Debbie Ho/Alex Henry: A Text-Based Approach to Teaching Writing in the ESL Classroom ¿ Krystyna U. Golkowska: Teaching Writing Across Borders ¿ Sibo Chen: The Influence of Chinese Rhetoric on the Development of Communicative Competence in Learners of Chinese as a Foreign Language ¿ Romuald Gozdawa-Go¿¿biowski: The Primacy of Lexis. In Search of an Alternative to the Analytic /Holistic Dichotomy ¿ Hesamoddin Shahriari: Using Gestures and Paralinguistic Features of Communication in Teaching EFL Speaking ¿ Alessandro Zannirato: Teaching Linguistic and Intercultural Competence through an Emotions-based Curriculum ¿ Tito Leati: Teaching Italian with the Aesthetic Image.