Phil Benson

Beyond the language classroom

Acknowledgements Notes on Contributors Introduction P.Benson & H.Reinders Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom: An Introduction to the Field P.Benson Family, Friends and Language Learning Beyond the Classroom: Social Networks and Social Capital in Language Learning D.Palfreyman Places for Learning: Technology-Mediated Language Learning Practices Beyond the Classroom L.Kuure From Milk Cartons to English Roommates: Context and Agency in L2 Learning Beyond the Classroom P.Kalaja , R.Alanen , A.Palviainen & H.Dufva Affordances for Language Learning Beyond the Classroom V.Menezes Becoming Multilingual: An Ethnographic Approach to SLA Beyond the Classroom D.Divita Talk About Language Use: I Know a Little About Your Language E.Zimmerman A Possible Path to Progress: Out-Of-School English Language Learners in Sweden P.Sundqvist Teenagers Learning Languages Out of School: What, Why and How Do They Learn? How Can School Help Them? S.Bailly Older Language Learners, Social Learning Spaces, and Community G.Murray Tandem Learning In Virtual Spaces: Supporting Non-Formal and Informal Learning in Adults U.Stickler & M.Emke Home Tutor Cognitions and the Nature of Tutor-Learner Relationships G.Barkhuizen Materials Development for Language Learning Beyond the Classroom H.Reinders References Index

Second language identity in narratives of study abroad

1. Introduction: Narrative, Second Language Identity and Study Abroad PART I: SECOND LANGUAGE IDENTITY AND STUDY ABROAD 2. Second Language Identity 3. Study Abroad PART II: DIMENSIONS OF SECOND LANGUAGE IDENTITY 4. Identity-Related Second Language Competence 5. Linguistic Self-Concept 6. Second Language-Mediated Personal Competence PART III: PROGRAMMES AND PEOPLE 7. Programmes 8. People 9. Improving the Effectiveness of Study Abroad Programmes 10. Conclusion: Second Language Identity and Study Abroad Revisited

Teacher education and teacher autonomy: Creating spaces for experimentation in secondary school English language teaching

This article reports on a collective case study of four Hong Kong secondary school teachers’ experiences of constraints on teacher autonomy in English language teaching, and their implications for teacher education. Findings suggested that the constraints were systemic and mainly organized around ‘Schemes of Work’ and school-based supervision and surveillance mechanisms. Nevertheless, the four teachers were able to create spaces for teacher autonomy, but the nature of these spaces and what they were used for varied, partly according to the school context and partly according to the identities developed through previous experiences of the education system as learners and teachers. The study concludes that the impact of teacher education courses that depend on experimentation with new ideas in the classroom is liable to be limited in many state school systems. It also concludes that language teacher education may benefit from a greater sensitivity to the affordances in teachers’ working conditions for teacher autonomy and experimentation.

Becoming Autonomous in an Asian Context: Autonomy as a Sociocultural Process

Since the publication of Riley’s (1988) seminal paper on the “ethnography of autonomy”, the discussion on autonomy and culture has tended to focus on the relevance of the ‘Western’ idea of autonomy to learners from ‘non-Western’ cultural backgrounds. Discussion of this question has in turn been dominated by what Smith (2001: 70) has called “an ongoing debate regarding the validity of learner autonomy in Asian settings”. In the course of this debate, a particular image of the Asian learner has emerged — that of an individual whose learning styles and preferences are largely conditioned by values of collectivism, conformity and respect for authority inculcated through early experiences at school and in the family. In the light of this image of the Asian learner, contributors to the debate have questioned the cultural appropriateness of the emphasis on individual development in the Western idea of autonomy in Asian settings, leading to proposals for approaches to autonomy based more upon the idea of ‘autonomous interdependence’.

Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom: An Introduction to the Field

In a review of research on the effectiveness of formal foreign language instruction, Ellis (2008: 855) observes that acquisition probably proceeds most rapidly through a combination of form-focused instruction and exposure to the target language. He also suggests that in studies that have compared classroom learners with ‘naturalistic’ learners, we can not be sure whether the advantages for classroom learners are due to formal instruction or access to comprehensible input in classroom language. While the jury remains out on the effectiveness of language instruction, the wise language learner might be well advised to seek out a combination of instruction and exposure to language input (Krashen 1985), as well as opportunities to produce language output (Swain 1985).

Narrative inquiry in language teaching and learning research

Part I: Narrative Inquiry. Chapter 1: Narrative Inquiry. Part II: Collecting narrative data. Chapter 2: Narrative interviews. Chapter 3: Written narratives. Chapter 4: Multimedia narratives. Part III: Analyzing and presenting narrative data. Chapter 5: Data analysis in Narrative Inquiry. Chapter 6: Writing up narrative studies.

Hong Kong words: variation and context

The ideal description of a variety of English is one that is constructed within the terms of the variety itself. This paper discusses a number of issues involved in such a description in relation to the distinctive vocabulary of Hong Kong English. Attention to semantic and pragmatic relationships internal to the variety and the sociocultural context in which it operates is urged. These are illustrated with examples related to underlying definition, taxonomies, semantic opposition and the productivity of localised words.

Autonomy, Agency and Identity in Foreign and Second Language Education

Abstract This paper reviews key constructs explored in this special issue of Chinese Journal of Applied Linguistics, including autonomy, agency and identity in foreign/second language education. We first explore and compare, in relatively greater depth, the complex meanings of the two similar concepts of autonomy and agency. In discussing autonomy, we start with an analysis of the meaning of capacity and control in Benson’s (2011) broad definition of autonomy as a capacity to take control of one’s own learning, and briefly look at related issues of learner agendas and affordances. Based on a close scrutiny of the concept of agency, we propose that autonomy and agency are best treated as distinct concepts in terms of the degree of effective control over the learning-teaching process. Following a close examination of the two similar concepts of autonomy and agency, we discuss the concept of identity and finally the interrelatedness among these major concepts of autonomy, agency, and identity in language education.

Autonomy in the transition from foreign language learning to foreign language teaching

This paper discusses the historical development of the concept of teacher autonomy in foreign language education and its relationship to the idea of learner autonomy. Three major phases in the development of conceptions of teacher autonomy are reviewed, involving attention to teacher roles in autonomous learning projects, professional development and professional freedom. Different ways of conceptualising the link between teacher and learner autonomy are discussed and an alternative conception based on the notion of transition from learner autonomy to teacher autonomy in learning-teaching careers is proposed.

Narrative Inquiry in Applied Linguistics Research

The importance of narrative inquiry as an alternative approach to research in the humanities and social sciences has grown considerably over the past 20 years or so. Over the past decade, it has also become an established approach to research on second and foreign language learning and teaching through the publication of numerous data-based studies and several texts on narrative inquiry for applied linguistics. Focusing on studies published since 2008, this article outlines the scope of narrative research on language learning and teaching at the present time. It discusses recent innovations in data collection (the use of mixed and longitudinal methods and the use of narrative frames and multimodal data) and data analysis (focus on the discourse of narrative and the use of narrative writing). It concludes that these innovations represent a welcome trend toward methodological diversity that is strengthening the contribution of narrative inquiry to our understanding of the experience of language teaching and learning.