Review of Learning strategy instruction in the language classroom: Issues and implementation; Editors: Anna Uhl Chamot, Vee Harris; Publisher: Multilingual Matters, 2019; ISBN: 9781788923392; Pages: 296

The book Learning Strategy Instruction in the Language Classroom: Issues and Implementation, edited by Anna Uhl Chamot and Vee Harris, touches upon crucial issues pertaining to language learning strategies (LLS) and language learning strategy instruction (LLSI), both from a theoretical and practical perspective. All the contributors to the volume are specialists with considerable expertise in the field of LLS and LLSI, which makes the book an informative and inspirational read. The authors look at the concept of strategy instruction from different perspectives, meticulously not only investigating various LLSI models, taking account of “learner needs and settings and particular language skills,” but also “considering curricula, materials, teachers roles, the ways in which scaffolding is enacted in the classrooms” (p. viii). Since the volume adeptly combines research into LLSI with its theoretical aspects and complexities, it will prove useful to practitioners and researchers alike. Delineating new directions in the field of LLSI, the edited collection is undoubtedly a valuable contribution to ongoing discussions about LLSI and its implementation in the classroom

Review of Early instructed second language acquisition: Pathways to competence; Editors: Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow, Melanie Ellis; Publisher: Multilingual Matters, 2019; ISBN: 9781788922494; Pages: 257

In a large scale survey of teachers’ perceptions of the challenges they face in teaching English to young primary school learners (Copland, Garton, & Burns, 2014), some of the key issues that are identified are as follows: teaching speaking, using only English in the classroom, enhancing motivation, maintaining discipline, catering for different individual needs (including special educational needs), dealing with parents, and teaching grammar as well as reading and writing. The relevance of Early Instructed Second Language Acquisition, edited by Rokita-Jaśkow and Ellis, is clearly shown by the fact that it addresses most of these central issues

Editorial

This collection of papers has emerged from the Language Education across Borders conference held at the University of Graz, Austria in 2017 (see also Kostoulas, 2019). In the age of translanguaging, multilingualism, multiculturalism, globalization, international migration, transnationalism, and the blending of content and language education, there is an ever greater need in language education to reflect on the interconnections and overlap between languages, disciplines, constructs, and contexts that have traditionally been conceptualized in bounded ways. Instead, professional and personal domains have got increasingly permeable boundaries leading to emergent qualities that require new ways of theorizing, researching and teaching. The idea behind the conference was to promote interdisciplinary exchange and encourage people to challenge the notions of borders of all kinds. The aim was to promote discourse and exchange and re-think the fragmentation and separation imposed by borders – real or imagined. It was hoped that by prompting people to reflect on the kinds of borders that bound their research and practice, we would be challenged to think outside of these borders and find the rich, creative space that can lead to innovation and fresh perspectives on the familiar

Arabic language-learning strategy preferences among undergraduate students

This study elicited Arabic students’ perceptions regarding their language-learning strategy preferences (LLSPs). A sample of 120 undergraduate Arabic students participated. Data were collected through a questionnaire and interviews. The findings reveal that students tend to adopt a holistic view of the learning task and relate it to real-life, personal experience. Participants selected interaction with the teacher, speaking, and flashcards as their most preferred application-directed learning strategies. These selections demonstrate that Arabic students desire to be proactive in order to make the language more concrete for them, to enhance their performance, and to develop language skills that will last a lifetime. Whereas advanced level participants preferred interaction with the teacher, speaking, flashcards, and working individually, beginner level participants preferred learning grammar and group work. The empirical evidence from this study could have implications regarding theoretical models of effective Arabic language instruction, Arabic teacher education programs, and curriculum development

The impact of studying abroad on students’ intercultural competence: An interview study

This paper presents qualitative research examining to what extent sojourns abroad engage their participants in intercultural interactions and whether or not such experience translates into students’ intercultural growth. The results of the study demonstrated that studying abroad did not provide students with ample opportunities to immerse into the local community and fully discover a new cultural environment. However, students surrounded by local and their fellow international students met foreign cultures, which motivated them to explore and interpret the encountered diversity, and thus equipped them with knowledge about foreign cultures, sensitizing them to cultural diversity. Sometimes such contacts challenged students’ preconceived judgments and stereotypes of specific cultural groups, their ways of thinking, valuing and acting, and resulted, to a lesser or greater extent, in rethinking these, leading to changing attitudes and values. International experiences also stimulated students to self-analyze their own cultural identity, and thereby contributed to their growth in self-awareness in this respect. By offering opportunities for experiencing cultural differences and prompting students to develop coping strategies and to make references to the home culture, the sojourn is thus of significant importance for tertiary students, allowing for fostering their intercultural development to a certain degree

Weaving webs of connection: Empathy, perspective taking, and students’ motivation

L2 motivation is a relational phenomenon, shaped by teacher responsiveness (Lamb, 2017; Ushioda, 2009). Little, however, is known about the practices in which responsiveness is manifested. Drawing on research from the culturally responsive teaching paradigm (Petrone, 2013), and highlighting the role of empathy and perspective taking (Warren, 2018), the aim of this ethnographic case study of two lessons with a focus on poetry is to develop a relational understanding of the evolution of motivation. Analyses reveal how perspective taking has instructional and interactional dimensions, and how connections between lesson content and funds of knowledge with origins in students’ interactions with popular culture bring additional layers of meaning to learning. It is suggested that while connections that arise through perspective taking practices shape students’ in-the-moment motivational responses, they also accumulate in ways that lead to enduring motivational dispositions

Crossovers: Digitalization and literature in foreign language education

Digitalization produces increasingly multimodal and interactive literary forms. A major challenge for foreign language education in adopting such forms lies in deconstructing discursive borders between literary education and digital education (romance of the book vs. euphoric media heavens), thereby crossing over into a perspective in which digital and literary education are intertwined. In engaging with digital literary texts, it is additionally important to consider how different competencies and literary/literacy practices interact and inform each other, including: (1) a receptive perspective: reading digital narratives and digital literature can become a space for literary aesthetic experience, and (2) a productive perspective: learners can become “produsers” (Bruns, 2008) of their own digital narratives by drawing on existing genre conventions and redesigning “available designs” (New London Group, 1996). Consequently, we propose a typology of digital literatures, incorporating functional, interactive and narrative aspects, as applied to a diverse range of digital texts. To further support our discussion, we draw on a range of international studies in the fields of literacies education and 21st century literatures (e.g., Beavis, 2010; Hammond, 2016; Kalantzis & Cope, 2012; Ryan, 2015) and, in turn, explore trajectories for using concrete digital literary texts in the foreign language classroom

Editorial

The goal of the special issue is to provide robust examples of how we as a field can research the dynamic nature of learner individual differences (IDs). The papers in this volume provide both a sound theoretical discussion of several IDs in relationship to their (posited or empirically attested) role(s) in L2 learning, as well as specific methodological ideas on how to best reveal the dynamic nature of IDs

The role of international student interactions in English as a lingua franca in L2 acquisition, L2 motivational development and intercultural learning during study abroad

Crossing borders features prominently as a theme in study abroad, not only in terms of students’ physical border crossings but also in their intercultural interactions with second language (L2) speakers whose background (linguistic and otherwise) they may perceive as markedly different from their own. Researchers have had a long-standing interest in study abroad participants’ interactions with other L2 speakers abroad for their perceived potential to enhance L2 development, L2 motivation and intercultural learning processes. The focus of existing studies in this area has been on the interactions of study abroad participants with host national students, while their interactions with other international students who are also L2 users abroad have received far less attention, despite the ever-growing international student populations at European universities. This study examined students’ views regarding the role that lingua franca (LF) interactions with other international students played in their L2 acquisition, their L2 motivational development and their intercultural learning during study abroad. The data were derived from an empirical study that involved 81 German ERASMUS students who were studying in the UK for up to one academic year. The students’ views were elicited at the end of their stay with open-ended questionnaire items, and their verbal responses were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The analysis of the students’ reflections revealed a number of functions in each of the three areas, highlighting the potential of international student interactions as a viable source of L2 acquisition, L2 self-motivation, and intercultural learning during study abroad

Working memory and second language development: A complex, dynamic future?

Working memory (WM) is inherently dynamic and complex, being a multi-faceted system that links storage and processing components; yet it is widely understood as internal. Hence, in second language (L2) research, its connection to complex dynamic systems theory (CDST) remains underspecified. This paper seeks to bridge a gap between CDST and WM in L2 research. First, definitions of WM are reviewed, along with evidence for its relationship to L2 outcomes. Next, a brief overview of CDST highlights its metatheoretical and methodological implications. Three perspectives are presented to illustrate how WM can be viewed in terms of major tenets in CDST. These consider WM effects as: (1) context-dependent, (2) interrelated with those of other variables, and (3) amenable to change across the lifespan. Despite this reappraisal, numerous challenges remain. Thus, in addition to noting research opportunities, the paper also considers measurement issues, such as the determination of boundaries and selection of appropriate timescales. In closing, while WM studies have shown its influence on L2 proficiency and processing, to more fully understand its dynamic nature, what is needed is further research on the reciprocal influences of bilingual development and changes in WM components, such as control of attention