Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education

Facing Diversity in Child Foreign Language Education
Author: Joanna Rokita-Jaśkow
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2021-04-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3030660222

This edited book uses the concept of diversity in child foreign language education as a major organizing principle. Since a foreign language, most typically English, is taught globally to an increasing number of children, the variability in the process and varied learning outcomes are inescapable phenomena. This book has been constructed on the premise that heterogeneity, first, concerns young language learners, who due to the disparity in the pace of development need appropriately tailored educational solutions, and, second, it refers to a diversity of contexts in which learning takes place. The contexts can be defined on a macroscale (e.g. different countries), mesoscale (e.g. different institutions), and microscale (e.g. specific learner groups). The book consists of four thematic strands. In Part One the learner-internal causes of heterogeneity of young language learners are clarified. Part Two presents a sample of classroom studies in which learner variables, such as gender, learner preferences, and special needs are taken into account. Part Three looks at teaching materials and how they meet learners’ needs. Finally, Part Four highlights diversity issues that teachers should be prepared to face.

Early Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

Early Foreign Language Learning and Teaching
Author: Marianne Nikolov
Publisher: Channel View Publications
Total Pages: 527
Release: 2024-09-27
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 180041871X

Over the past six decades, the field of teaching modern foreign languages to young learners has come a long way, from the early surmises about the advantages of a young start to today’s widespread integration of foreign languages into curricula in public and private schools. The chapters in this book bring together internationally renowned researchers who have been vocal in establishing early language teaching and learning as an independent area of research and novice voices who represent a new generation of devoted researchers to present a state-of-the-art volume on the topic. The authors address key questions about young learner second/foreign language (L2/FL) development, methodological issues when conducting research with young learners, L2/FL teaching pedagogy, language education policy, technology enhanced learning and assessment. Together, the chapters capture the reality of early FL development in the context of a globalized world and will be of great interest to researchers and postgraduate students of SLA and Applied Linguistics, specifically in the field of early language development and teaching languages to young learners.

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Language Learning Environments

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Language Learning Environments
Author: Becerra-Murillo, Karina
Publisher: IGI Global
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2023-06-21
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1668436345

Inclusive pedagogy adopts the premise that all students are able to learn, and practitioners are prepared to help them reach this goal. Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced previously unknown circumstances that have prompted the field of language education to question whether the rushed changes and transfer to online learning environments supported diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Even though inclusive pedagogy holds the potential to empower students and teachers, this matter may have been neglected in the turbulence of emergency remote teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Language Learning Environments shares research on how instructors and teacher educators integrate DEI in their instruction. It raises awareness of the experiences and challenges of DEI in language learning environments and understands how language educators draw upon DEI, their experiences, and student needs as resources in language teaching and learning. Covering topics such as culturally responsive teaching, postcolonial language classrooms, and vernacular experience, this premier reference source is a dynamic resource for administrators and educators of both K-12 and higher education, preservice teachers, teacher educators, instructional designers, policymakers, researchers, librarians, and academicians.

Research on Integrating Language and Content in Diverse Contexts

Research on Integrating Language and Content in Diverse Contexts
Author: MaryAnn Christison
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2022-05-09
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1000575292

Co-published with The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF), the ninth volume in the Global Research on Teaching and Learning English series presents research on the practice of integrating content and language in diverse contexts where English is used as a medium of instruction. With chapters written by TIRF Doctoral Dissertation Grant awardees and other scholars, the volume offers an overview of a wide range of methodological approaches to teaching content in English to English learners and examines factors that impede or contribute to effective instruction. The chapters include findings from original empirical research, as well as overviews of existing research and model programs, providing valuable insights and taking into account a multitude of contextual features. Offering up-to-date research on integrating language and content at the primary, secondary, and postsecondary levels, this book familiarizes readers with the latest advances in theory and practice. It is a key text for teacher education courses for preservice teachers, a resource for professional development programs for practicing teachers, and a useful reference for researchers.

What English Language Teachers Need to Know Volume III

What English Language Teachers Need to Know Volume III
Author: MaryAnn Christison
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 294
Release: 2021-10-25
Genre: Foreign Language Study
ISBN: 1000463656

Designed for pre-service and novice teachers in ELT, What English Language Teachers Need to Know Volumes I, II, and III are companion textbooks organized around the key question: What do teachers need to know and be able to do in order to help their students to learn English? Thoroughly revised and updated, the second edition of Volume III explores the contexts for ELT curricula; explains key processes in curriculum design; and sets out approaches to curricula that are linguistic-based, content-based, learner centered, and learning centered. Organized around the three pillars of teaching—planning, instructing, and assessing—chapters in the second edition are updated to include current research and theory to meet the needs of today’s teachers, and feature new or revised vignettes and activities. New chapters help teachers understand both the technological and multilingual approaches that learners need to succeed today. The comprehensive texts of this series are suitable resources for teachers across different contexts—where English is the dominant language, an official language, or a foreign language; for different levels—elementary/primary, secondary, university, or adult education; and for different learning purposes—general English, workplace English, English for academic purposes, or English for specific purposes.

Individual differences in Computer Assisted Language Learning Research

Individual differences in Computer Assisted Language Learning Research
Author: Miroslaw Pawlak
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 152
Release: 2022-08-26
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1000645142

This book syntheses cutting-edge research on the role of individual differences (IDs) in the field of SLA and in computer assisted language learning. It also outlines the theoretical and methodological issues at the heart of this research, presents empirical findings and charts future directions of this research. Pawlak and Kruk provide an overview of the latest theoretical developments in research on IDs in SLA as well as methodological considerations that are crucial when researching individual variation, with special emphasis on data-collection procedures that are most prominent in CALL. The book goes on to summarize and explore a body of empirical evidence concerning the role of individual difference factors in CALL, singling out existing gaps, methodological problems, and areas in need of further investigation. Finally, the authors provide a guide on how empirical investigations of individual difference factors in CALL can be improved by incorporating latest developments from the broader field of SLA. This book will be of great interest to postgraduates and scholars in the domain of applied linguistics and second language education who are interested in CALL, as well as those studying and undertaking research in second language learning and teaching.

Second Language and Heritage Learners in Mixed Classrooms

Second Language and Heritage Learners in Mixed Classrooms
Author: Patricia Bayona
Publisher: Channel View Publications
Total Pages: 450
Release: 2022-11-29
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1800415036

This book addresses the complexity of mixed language classroom learning environments in which heritage learners (HL) and second language (L2) learners are concurrently exposed to language learning in the same physical space. Heritage speakers, defined widely as those exposed to the target language at home from an early age, tend to display higher oral proficiency and increased intercultural proficiency but lesser metalinguistic and grammatical awareness than L2 learners. The theoretical and pedagogical challenges of engaging both types of learners simultaneously without polarizing the classroom community dictates the need for well-defined, differentiated learning strategies; in response this book offers best practices and reproducible pedagogical initiatives and methodologies for different levels of instruction. The chapters address themes including translanguaging, linguistic identity, metalinguistic awareness and intercultural competence, with contributions from Europe, Africa and the United States.

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition

Cognitive Individual Differences in Second Language Acquisition
Author: Zhisheng (Edward) Wen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2023-04-03
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1614514747

This book presents comprehensive, thorough and updated analyses of key cognitive individual difference factors (e.g., age, intelligence, language aptitude, working memory, metacognition, learning strategies, and anxiety) as they relate to the acquisition, processing, assessment, and pedagogy of second or foreign languages. Critical reviews and in-depth research syntheses of these pivotal cognitive learner factors are put into historical and broader contexts, drawing upon the multiple authors' extensive research experience, penetrating insights and unique perspectives spanning applied linguistics, teacher training, educational psychology, and cognitive science. The carefully crafted chapters provide essential course readings and valuable references for seasoned researchers and aspiring postgraduate students in the broad fields of instructed second language acquisition, foreign language training, teacher education, language pedagogy, educational psychology, and cognitive development.

Exploring the Interface Between Individual Difference Variables and the Knowledge of Second Language Grammar

Exploring the Interface Between Individual Difference Variables and the Knowledge of Second Language Grammar
Author: Mirosław Pawlak
Publisher: Springer Nature
Total Pages: 139
Release: 2021-08-24
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 3030848795

The last few decades have seen extensive research focusing of the relative effectiveness of different instructional options that can be employed in teaching grammar structures (e.g., deduction and induction, different types of corrective feedback, input-based vs. output-based practice). However, the contribution of such pedagogical intervention and the resulting knowledge of target language grammar are mediated by a number of factors related to a specific context, the properties of the features being taught and, most importantly, individual learner profiles. Nonetheless, research into the moderating role of individual difference variables has been scant, limited to only several factors, and seldom taking into account complex interactions between variables. The book seeks to fill this evident gap by investigating the mediating effect of selected cognitive and affective factors on explicit and implicit (or highly automatized) knowledge of the English passive voice. In doing so, the study sheds the so-much-needed light on the predictors of second language grammar knowledge but also, to some extent, on the usefulness of instructional techniques used to develop it.