Marion Williams

Students' Developing Conceptions of Themselves as Language Learners.

This article describes a small-scale study into learners’ attributions for success and failure in learning French. The study investigated the way in which learners conceptualise the notion of doing well, together with their perceived reasons for their successes and failures. Interviews were conducted with students from 10 to 15 years of age who were learning French in the Southwest of England. The results indicated that most of these learners tended to judge their success by external factors such as teacher approval, marks, or grades, and that the range of attributions increased with age. Many of the attributions mentioned, however, were superficial in nature. It appears that the teacher plays a significant role in the development of students’ attributions. Implications are drawn with regard to language teaching and to the nature of the learning environment.

Learners' perceptions of their successes and failures in foreign language learning

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the Language Learning Journal

In at the deep end: Difficulties experienced by Hong Kong Chinese ESL learners at an independent school in the United Kingdom

This study investigated the difficulties encountered by a group of Hong Kong Chinese learners studying in an educational environment where English was used as the first language. Although language was widely perceived as a problem for these learners, the findings of the study showed that social, cultural, and affective aspects were also a cause of problems for the learners. These aspects were often interrelated and linked to the linguistic problems of the learners. Some implications are presented regarding ways to help raise the awareness in schools of the difficulties experienced by this particular group of ESL learners.

Conclusion: Final Remarks

In compiling this book we have strongly encouraged each author to bring their own perspectives on their respective topic. Our aim is to include a range of theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches that provide an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of thinking about language learning psychology. There are many different ways of understanding and approaching the psychology of the language learning experience and clearly not all questions can be answered using the same approach. However, despite the variety and individuality of the different chapters, some common themes emerge, which are suggestive of the direction in which the field as a whole is moving. In this final chapter, we would like to bring together some of these themes and consider possible future developments in the field.