Learning opportunities outside school are met with increasing interest. Not only the visual character of leisure time venues supports foreign language learning, but also their aesthetic quality is enjoyed by students and teachers. Other learning venues outside school like work places and places visited during stays abroad are appreciated for their interactional support. However, as the ten papers of this volume show, the opportunity to experience free choice learning and hence the chance for life-long learning has to be well balanced with the scaffolding and the sheltered space that language...

The role of teaching reading, spelling, and writing in two languages at primary school has become more important over the last few years. Current research therefore needs to answer more specific questions than ever before and, e.g., explore the challenges of developing literacy skills in a foreign language, appropriate teaching approaches and innovative assessment procedures. This volume features contributions on theoretical and methodological aspects, teachers' diagnostic skills and issues in educational policy. Researchers from Germany, Great Britain, Portugal, and Switzerland share their...