This book focuses on case studies of vocabulary strategy use and presents an in-depth account of the vocabulary learning experiences of Chinese students in the UK. It challenges the view that vocabulary strategies result only from learners’ cognitive choices, and provides insightful analysis of the interplay between learner characteristics, agency and context in the process of strategic learning. The author makes a strong case for using qualitative methodologies to examine the dynamic, complex and contextually situated nature of strategic vocabulary learning. Drawing on multiple data sources, the book discusses issues that are central to the continuing development of vocabulary strategy research and offers theoretical, research-based and practical suggestions for future exploration. This book will appeal to students and scholars of second language acquisition, vocabulary and applied linguistics.
Examining the overseas experience of language learners in diverse contexts through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, studies in this volume look at the acquisition of language use, socialization processes, learner motivation, identity and learning strategies. In this way, the volume offers a privileged window into learner experiences abroad while addressing current concerns central to second language acquisition.
Study abroad is often seen as a crucial dimension of language learning - developing communicative proficiency, language awareness, and intercultural competence. The author provides an overview and assessment of research on language learning in study abroad settings, reviewing the advantages and constraints of perspectives adopted in this research.
Doing Research in Applied Linguistics: Realities, dilemmas, and solutions provides insight and guidance for those undertaking research, and shows the reader how to deal with the challenges of this research involving real people in real settings. Featuring over twenty chapters by experienced and up-and-coming researchers from around the world, this book: outlines the steps involved in solving the problem and completing a successful, and publishable, project; provides case studies of obstacles faced at each stage of research, from preliminary planning to report writing; addresses issues of validity and reliability during data collection and analysis; discusses ethical issues in research dealing with vulnerable groups including children, refugees, and students; includes examples from longitudinal studies, and both qualitative and quantitative research. Doing Research in Applied Linguistics is essential reading for students studying research methods, or for those embarking on their first research project in applied linguistics or language education.
This monograph reports on a longitudinal inquiry into mainland Chinese undergraduates’ language learning experiences in an English medium university in a multilingual setting with a focus on their strategic language learning efforts. This book examines the issue as to what extent language learners’ strategic learning efforts depend on their ‘choice’, if ‘the element of choice’ is the defining characteristic of language learners’ strategic learning behaviour. The inquiry, using a qualitative and ethnographic research approach, reveals dynamic interaction between learners’ agency and contextual conditions underlying the participants’ strategic learning process. Such understanding informs pedagogical efforts to foster individual learners’ capacity for strategic learning and their capacities in opening up and sustaining a social learning space for exercising their strategic learning capacity or utilizing their strategic learning knowledge.
Offers a wide-ranging overview of the issues and research approaches in the diverse field of applied linguistics Applied linguistics is an interdisciplinary field that identifies, examines, and seeks solutions to real-life language-related issues. Such issues often occur in situations of language contact and technological innovation, where language problems can range from explaining misunderstandings in face-to-face oral conversation to designing automated speech recognition systems for business. The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics includes entries on the fundamentals of the discipline, introducing readers to the concepts, research, and methods used by applied linguists working in the field. This succinct, reader-friendly volume offers a collection of entries on a range of language problems and the analytic approaches used to address them. This abridged reference work has been compiled from the most-accessed entries from The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics (www.encyclopediaofappliedlinguistics.com), the more extensive volume which is available in print and digital format in 1000 libraries spanning 50 countries worldwide. Alphabetically-organized and updated entries help readers gain an understanding of the essentials of the field with entries on topics such as multilingualism, language policy and planning, language assessment and testing, translation and interpreting, and many others. Accessible for readers who are new to applied linguistics, The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics: Includes entries written by experts in a broad range of areas within applied linguistics Explains the theory and research approaches used in the field for analysis of language, language use, and contexts of language use Demonstrates the connections among theory, research, and practice in the study of language issues Provides a perfect starting point for pursuing essential topics in applied linguistics Designed to offer readers an introduction to the range of topics and approaches within the field, The Concise Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics is ideal for new students of applied linguistics and for researchers in the field.
The way language is acquired and learnt has for long been an intriguing issue in social science. This question has attracted researchers from a variety of disciplines and people from different theoretical persuasion and predilections. The process of second language acquisition is yet another of area that is worthy of investigation, given to the agglomerate of the issues that this process engenders to second language learners (L2, henceforth). Of interest to the present study is the way this process jointly interacts with a number of factors, most important of which is the learner’s mother tongue. In this regard, a question of considerable interest is whether or not a learner’s first language affects the process of second language acquisition, in such a way that this interference may either help ease or thwart the developmental path of the learning process. Another interesting query concerns the extent of which formal education reduces or helps circumvent this interference. On this view, the present study sets as its research goals the objectives of providing an investigation of the issue of pragmatic transfer from L1 into the Interlanguage of Moroccan learners of English, namely when these learners make requests in English. More specifically, this study will seek to compare the average frequencies of direct and indirect strategies used by both native Moroccan English as a foreign language learners and native speakers of English. Finally, this study will further attempt to explore whether transfer decreases as the study level increases, namely the case of the Moroccan EFL university learners at the first and the third level of university.
Situated at the interface between study abroad and second language acquisition research, this book adopts a threefold thematic focus to study abroad and the language learner, investigating learner beliefs about study abroad, learner experiences of study abroad in relation to a range of individual, cultural and social factors, and the nature of learner development while abroad at an intercultural, personal and linguistic level. Chapters present studies of learners in different geographical contexts, with different first and second language combinations. The studies draw on different methodologies, incorporating quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method approaches. Presenting findings with implications for learner preparation, expectations and support during study abroad, and highlighting developmental issues within second language acquisition, Study Abroad and the Second Language Learner will be of interest to all study abroad and second language acquisition researchers, as well as programme organisers, language instructors and other stake holders.
This state-of-the-art volume is the first to capture a hybrid discipline that studies the role and linguistic implications of the human mind in language learning and teaching. This Handbook considers individual as well as collective factors in language learners and teachers from an array of new empirical constructs and theoretical perspectives, including implications for practice and “myths, debates, and disagreements” in the field, and points to future directions for research. This collection of stellar contributions is an essential resource for researchers, advanced students, and teachers working in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, psychology, and education.
The Routledge Handbook of Study Abroad Research and Practice is an authoritative overview of study abroad and immersive context research specifically situated within applied linguistics and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) for graduate students and researchers in these fields. Featuring contributions from established scholars from around the world, this volume provides in-depth coverage of the theoretical approaches and methodologies used in study abroad and applied linguistics research, and examines their practical implications on program implementation. The Handbook is organized around core areas of research and practice: language development and personal growth; study abroad settings; individual differences of learners; and applications concerning the preparation of students, teachers, and administrators for study abroad, the role of study abroad in foreign language curricula, and future directions. This handbook is the ideal resource for graduate students, researchers, and administrators interested in learning more about linguistic and personal development during study abroad.
