Developing Cross-Cultural Relational Ability in Foreign Language Learning
Developing Cross-Cultural Relational Ability in Foreign Language Learning

Author: Gerrard Mugford

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-07-23

Total Pages: 174

ISBN-13: 1000412075

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By reconceptualizing successful communication in a foreign language as an enjoyable and uplifting experience, this volume moves beyond a focus on grammatical accuracy and fluency to foreground the ways in which foreign language learners can be encouraged to build on previous achievements and communicative successes in the target language and so develop confidence, commitment and cross-cultural relational ability. Building on Mugford’s previous volume, Addressing Difficult Situations in Foreign-Language Learning (2019), this text draws on grounded qualitative data collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and conversations with Spanish-speaking learners of English, to illustrate how learners’ experiences and insights can be used to inform a productive pedagogy centred around language users’ communicative objectives and interactional successes. Chapters highlight bilingual speakers’ conscious language use, practices and choices in the target language and the reasons and implications for such deliberate communicative practices and relational behaviour. In doing so, Mugford is able to outline a critical relational pedagogy designed to better equip language learners with the confidence and pragmatic resources they require to engage in positive cross-cultural relational work. As a valuable, student-centred contribution to teaching and learning of modern foreign languages, this volume will be key reading for researchers, scholars and educators with an interest in language education, TESOL, World Language teaching and Applied Linguistics.

Exploring the Power of Social Talk in a Foreign Language
Exploring the Power of Social Talk in a Foreign Language

Author: Gerrard Mugford

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-12-13

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 1003826121

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This book examines the fundamental interactional dimension to foreign language communication, including the establishment, development, consolidation and maintenance of interpersonal relations. It argues that interpersonal language use such as small talk, casual conversation and gossipy talk is not only key to meaningful and productive communication but that it is an essential dimension with respect to successful foreign language interaction and that engaging in interpersonal language is communicatively valuable and worthwhile in its own right. Crucially, it explores how teaching and learning can utilize the role of social talk and relational engagement in helping interactants to express, voice and convey their own values, attitudes and beliefs. Finally, it develops a critical relational pedagogy focused on language speakers’ needs, objectives and desires. Redressing the imbalance between transactional and interactional language teaching, and stressing the importance of phatic and relational language use in helping language users achieve their communicative goals, it will appeal to researchers, postgraduates, and scholars in the fields of education and linguistics.

Towards a New Pedagogy for Teaching Foreign Language Politeness
Towards a New Pedagogy for Teaching Foreign Language Politeness

Author: Gerrard Mugford

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2022-11-18

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 1000784959

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This book examines how foreign language speakers establish and maintain social and transactional relationships in their target language, and how pedagogic intervention can help learners implement practices that will allow them to participate and react in both socially acceptable and individualistically empowering ways. Arguing that ‘doing’ foreign-language politeness and culture does not simply involve the indiscriminate and uncritical adoption and implementation of target-language patterns and practices, the author advocates instead for active, judicious and even critical social action. As such, the book presents a dynamic and vibrant dimension to target language politeness and cultural practices, demonstrating that raising learners’ critical language awareness in identifying productive communicative resources and assets can lead to successful interpersonal and transactional communication. Building on this notion of a ‘positive’ pedagogy, Halliday’s model of ideational, interpersonal and textual is utilised as a framework for exploring how foreign language users can approach target language politeness in terms of prosocial, interpersonal and contested politeness, with reference to a study of Mexican speakers of English as a foreign language. Heightening awareness of foreign language politeness patterns and practices, as well as presenting knowledge and resources for overcoming challenges and accentuating benefits of a nuanced learning scheme for politeness in foreign language, this book will appeal to language educators, researchers and bilingual speakers. It will also benefit those working across pragmatics, sociolinguistics, TESOL, cultural studies.

Effective Teacher Collaboration for English Language Learners
Effective Teacher Collaboration for English Language Learners

Author: Bogum Yoon

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-09-23

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 100042569X

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This volume explores the value of teacher collaboration in meeting the needs of diverse English language learners (ELLs). A range of research-based chapters demonstrate examples of effective collaboration between English language specialists and content area teachers and offer recommendations for collaborative practice. Foregrounding the ways in which teacher collaboration can better support the needs of ELLs in elementary, middle, and high school classrooms, this volume provides evidence-based insights and suggestions to underpin effective teacher collaboration across the curriculum. Through case study examples, readers can understand common challenges and pitfalls, as well as best practices and how to apply teacher collaboration in real classroom settings. Research studies in subject areas including mathematics, science, and English language arts provide a basis for practical, evidence-based recommendations to engender mutual trust, teacher agency, and the development of shared goals to enhance instruction for ELLs’ achievement. This book provides educators with new insights from empirical studies, and is vital reading for researchers, scholars, teachers, and teacher educators who are aware of the importance of collaboration for student success. Those involved in ESL, bilingual, and dual language programs may be particularly interested in this volume.

Engaging in Critical Language Studies
Engaging in Critical Language Studies

Author: John W. Schwieter

Publisher: IAP

Published: 2022-09-01

Total Pages: 337

ISBN-13: 1648029884

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The Readings in Language Studies series presents international perspectives on important and emergent themes in language studies: critical pedagogy, language and power, language and identity, second language acquisition, conceptualizations of language, teachers and teaching. Each volume in the series is developed and edited in partnership with the International Society for Language Studies (www.isls.co), an interdisciplinary association of scholars who explore critical perspectives on language. A resource for students and scholars, each themed volume in the series represents the latest thought, literature, research, and methodology in language studies and features authors from across the globe. The series, which includes this current volume, is an essential scholarly resource for universities and personal libraries. ENDORSEMENTS: "This volume illuminates critical issues in language studies by questioning unequal relations of power regarding race, gender, sexuality, ability, language, multimodality, communication, and more. The authors’ critical engagement offers renewed understandings of identity, pedagogy, and policies." — Ryuko Kubota, University of British Columbia "ISLS continues to deliver on its mission of promulgating critical scholarship in language-related studies. This volume continues this now two-decades long mission and includes contributions from both well known and promising scholars. This volume belongs on the shelves of those who recognize the role languages play in sustaining and interrupting relationships of power. "— Terry A. Osborn, University of South Florida

Becoming and Being a TESOL Teacher Educator
Becoming and Being a TESOL Teacher Educator

Author: Rui Yuan

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2021-10-05

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 100046315X

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This book offers insights into the lived experiences (e.g., teaching, research, and practicum supervision) of TESOL teacher educators in diverse institutional and socio-cultural contexts. Informed by a situated, ecological perspective, it draws on a variety of research approaches (e.g., qualitative, action research, and self-study), and sheds light on how language teacher educators engage in daily practice and social interactions. This edited collection examines how TESOL educators cope with potential contextual obstacles (e.g., the theory-practice divide), and how they seek their continuing professional development in complex, shifting higher education settings. The book offers critical and thoughtful reflections of current practice and policies in language education and higher education, and provides practical implications on the preparation and development of frontline language teachers.

Improving Learner Reflection for TESOL
Improving Learner Reflection for TESOL

Author: Li-Shih Huang

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-06-03

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1000403211

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Presenting comprehensive research conducted with learners and educators in a range of settings, this volume showcases self-reflection as a powerful tool to enhance student learning. The text builds on empirical insights to illustrate how language professionals can foster critical self-reflection amongst learners of English as an additional language. This text uses ecologically sensitive practitioner research that addresses issues of both practical and pedagogical significance in the fields of TESOL, language teaching and learning, and teacher education. By synthesizing interdisciplinary research and theory, chapters show how various types of self-reflection—including guided and non-guided; group and individual forms; and written, oral, and technology-mediated reflection—can promote autonomous, self-regulated learning amongst students at various levels. Whilst offering readers a strong grounding in the theoretical and empirical knowledge that supports self-reflection, the volume gives constant attention is given to praxis, with a focus on effective pedagogical strategies and tools needed to implement, encourage, and evaluate critical learner reflection in readers’ own teaching or research. This volume will be a critical resource for language-teaching professionals interested in critical learner reflection, including in-service, pre-service, and teacher educators in the field of TESOL. Scholars and researchers in the fields of applied linguistics and language education more broadly will find this volume valuable.

Interculturality in Fragments
Interculturality in Fragments

Author: Fred Dervin

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-10-28

Total Pages: 166

ISBN-13: 981195383X

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This book continues the author’s long-term reflections (over 20 years of scholarship and experience in intercultural communication education) around the fascinating and yet contestable notion of interculturality in education. As an unstable and polysemic notion, interculturality deserves to be opened up again and again and there is a need to engage with it continuously, observing, critiquing and problematizing its complexities. This book urges researchers, students and interculturalists to take the time to think carefully and deeply about interculturality and to find inspiration beyond the dominating ‘Western’ ideological world of intercultural research and education. This book starts from short fragments written by the author for himself over a period of one year. In these short statements and notes about interculturality, the author reflects creatively on the questions he had in mind at the time of writing and offers some (temporary) answers, which, in turn, are questioned and revised. Over the 1000 fragments that the author wrote, he selected about 100, for which he wrote commentaries, referring to and reviewing current research and debates on interculturality in the process. One of the specificities of the book is to be highly multidisciplinary to help us get used to looking for inspiration in other fields of research and creativity. The fragments can be read randomly – the reader may open the book at any page and pick any fragment. The author suggests reading each individual fragment first and then the accompanying explanatory texts. While reading them, the reader is also invited to reflect on any potential addition to what the author wrote – anything they might dis-/agree with, anything they would have wanted to discuss with the author. Questions have been added at the end of each chapter for readers to reflect on and to enrich their own criticality and reflexivity. The book serves as continuous guidance for engaging with interculturality.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning
Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning

Author: Tafazoli, Dara

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2018-06-08

Total Pages: 431

ISBN-13: 1522554645

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The ability to effectively communicate with individuals from different linguistic and cultural backgrounds is an invaluable asset. Learning a second language proves useful as students navigate the culturally diverse world; however, studying a second language can be difficult for learners who are not immersed in the real and natural environment of the foreign language. Also, changes in education and advancements in information and communication technologies pose a number of challenges for implementing and maintaining sound practices within technology-enhanced language learning (TELL). Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Technology-Enhanced Language Learning provides information on educational technologies that enable language learners to have access to authentic and useful language resources. Readers will explore themes such as language pedagogy, how specific and universal cultural contexts influence audio-visual media used in technology-enhanced language learning (TELL), and the use of English video games to promote foreign language learning. This book is a valuable resource for academicians, education practitioners, advanced-level students, and school administrators seeking to improve language learning through technology-based resources.

Encyclopedia of Language Development
Encyclopedia of Language Development

Author: Patricia J. Brooks

Publisher: SAGE Publications

Published: 2014-03-28

Total Pages: 785

ISBN-13: 1483346439

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The progression from newborn to sophisticated language user in just a few short years is often described as wonderful and miraculous. What are the biological, cognitive, and social underpinnings of this miracle? What major language development milestones occur in infancy? What methodologies do researchers employ in studying this progression? Why do some become adept at multiple languages while others face a lifelong struggle with just one? What accounts for declines in language proficiency, and how might such declines be moderated? Despite an abundance of textbooks, specialized monographs, and a couple of academic handbooks, there has been no encyclopedic reference work in this area--until now. The Encyclopedia of Language Development covers the breadth of theory and research on language development from birth through adulthood, as well as their practical application. Features: This affordable A-to-Z reference includes 200 articles that address such topic areas as theories and research tradition; biological perspectives; cognitive perspectives; family, peer, and social influences; bilingualism; special populations and disorders; and more. All articles (signed and authored by key figures in the field) conclude with cross reference links and suggestions for further reading. Appendices include a Resource Guide with annotated lists of classic books and articles, journals, associations, and web sites; a Glossary of specialized terms; and a Chronology offering an overview and history of the field. A thematic Reader’s Guide groups related articles by broad topic areas as one handy search feature on the e-Reference platform, which includes a comprehensive index of search terms. Available in both print and electronic formats, Encyclopedia of Language Development is a must-have reference for researchers and is ideal for library reference or circulating collections.