Sabine Little

Inquiry‐based learning and technology—supporting institutional TEL within one pedagogical context

Following the establishment of Centres for Excellence in Teaching and Learning in England and Northern Ireland in 2005, several institutions have used these to pursue specific pedagogical approaches at a strategic level, in line with and building on existing institutional strategic thinking. Technology-enhanced learning is often one of the vehicles to implement these pedagogical approaches, leading to institution-wide attempts to identify and support suitable technologies. This paper discusses the role of the educational developer in this process and what impact this particular role might have at strategic level, bearing in mind the numerous simultaneous developments that take place in an institution at any one time.

Families’ roles in children’s literacy in the UK throughout the 20th Century

This paper explores the changing roles of families in children’s developing literacy in the UK in the last century. It discusses how, during this time, understandings of reading and writing have evolved into the more nuanced notion of literacy. Further, in acknowledging changes in written communication practices, and shifting attitudes to reading and writing, the paper sketches out how families have always played some part in the literacy of younger generations; though reading was frequently integral to the lives of many families throughout the past century, we consider in particular the more recent enhancement of children’s literacy through targeted family programmes. The paper considers policy implications for promoting young children’s literacy through work with families.

Whose heritage? What inheritance?: Conceptualising Family Language Identities

ABSTRACT Migration, global mobility and language learning are well established as independent and interrelated fields of study. With nearly one fifth of children in British primary schools classed as speakers of English as an Additional Language (EAL), there remains much to explore in the field of heritage language research. This paper reports on a survey of 212 heritage language families and ten family interviews with families who, though not living in isolation, are not part of large, well-established, local communities. The study reported here explores the families’ attitudes towards heritage language development, and their efforts to maintain, support or develop the heritage language in their families. The paper puts forward an original framework which can be used to conceptualise how different uses and perceptions of the heritage language use may be linked to identity, and concludes with recommendations on how relatively isolated heritage language families and their small community networks may be better supported to enable children more fully to benefit from the advantages of their multilingual, multicultural capital.

A generational arc: early literacy practices among Pakistani and Indian heritage language families

ABSTRACT This paper focuses on the attitudes towards reading in the home, handed down through the generations and experienced by the young children in four families of Pakistani and Indian origin. The children’s families originally arrived in the UK in the 1960s, and this paper unpicks the stories and attitudinal changes in relation to both English and the heritage language, throughout the generations. Adopting a sociocultural perspective through intergenerational family interviews, roles within the family in terms of literacy support, the families’ use of libraries, experiences, and understanding of the education system, and the impact the heritage language has on family support for reading in English, are explored. Through the dual linguistic lens of both English and the heritage language (Gujarati and Urdu), the study traces a generational arc which explores areas of concern and needs for support, seeking to inform both policy and practice in early childhood education.

‘Is there an app for that?’ Exploring games and apps among heritage language families

ABSTRACT Heritage language families inhabit multiple languages, literacies and cultures. Enabling children to participate in heritage language and culture has beneficial effects in terms of identity, and cognitive development. Games-based technologies are opening up avenues for playful engagement with heritage language and literacy, but little is known about how families use such technology to support heritage languages. This paper seeks to address this gap, reporting an original study of the relationship between heritage language families and games-based technology for heritage language and literacy development, in terms of attitude, attached values, and use. A survey involving 212 heritage language families, followed by 10 interviews, most of which included children, explored families’ attitude towards and use of games and apps for heritage language development, whilst focusing on how these technologies link to children’s self-awareness as heritage language speakers. Significantly, the study concludes that both children and parents differentiate between being ‘learners’ or ‘players’, and that collaborative family practices may help children overcome barriers not only in the way they access technology, but also how this technology impacts on their relationship with the heritage language.

‘We are not as they think about us’: exploring Omani EFL learners’ ‘selves’ in digital social spaces

Abstract This paper reports a research study of Omani EFL learners’ motivation to engage in social technologies through the medium of English, adopting Dörnyei’s L2 Motivational Self System as the main theoretical framework, whilst exploring other emergent context-sensitive motivational driving forces. The purpose of the research study was to explore identities and self-perceptions of Omani nationals using social media to learn English, an under-researched context. Reflective focused group discussions were conducted with 14 university-age students, along with individually composed language learning histories. The data of the research lend substantial support to the relevance of the L2 Motivational Self System in the Omani context, highlighting, in particular, the emerging collective national and religious identities of young Omani nationals. The paper argues for the need to deepen and broaden our understanding of the association of English social technologies and the national and religious affiliations of learners.

Promoting a collective conscience: designing a resilient staff–student partnership model for educational development

Abstract This paper discusses experiences of a student-ambassador network within one UK-based Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, problematising key issues in relation to transience in staff–student partnerships in high education, and highlighting the importance of the educational developer in facilitating institution-wide partnership models. Theoretical explorations are supported by data gathered throughout the Network’s operation, including student evaluations following the first year of operation, and a final ‘impact study’ conducted with staff and students. The article develops the notion of a ‘collective conscience’ model of student engagement, which supports all students via a variety of activities, incorporating short, mid-range, and long-term goals, and enabling a range of collaborative and individual opportunities for success.