JNCOLCTL Vol 26

The present volume of the Journal features five papers addressing pivotal issues relevant in the classrooms of less commonly taught languages across the country. The first paper, titled A Comparative Study of Learners’ Attitudes toward Foreign Language Communities explores these attitudes on a sample of learners of strategic languages (Arabic and Persian) and traditional heritage languages, Scandinavian languages. Peer response is explored in the next paper, A Qualitative Study of Chinese Heritage Language Learners’ Perspective Toward Peer Response in Writing Processes. The third paper When Less becomes More: On the Growth of Less Commonly Taught Languages in Adult Immersion Language Programs looks into LCTL immersion programs at Middlebury, comparing them to those in commonly taught languages. The fourth paper, Self-Assessment for Promoting Learner Autonomy: A Case of a Japanese Summer Immersion Camp addresses an important issue of fostering learner autonomy. Last but not least, the paper titled Fried Persimmons and Dried Oysters or Why Teaching Pitch Accent Matters: A Practical Guide
for Teachers of Japanese as a Foreign Language deals with an important yet often disregarded issue of teaching pitch accent, which is relevant not only in Japanese but also in most other LCTLs