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Contemporary Issues in Foreign Language Education
This edited volume offers an insightful theoretical conceptualization of issues central to 21st century foreign language learning and teaching. Drawing on research results obtained in the fields of pedagogy, social psychology and sociology of education, this book provides a comprehensive practical exploration of issues experienced by researchers in Poland and in Europe, and which can easily find far-reaching implications in other educational contexts. Part I, Focus on the Teacher, includes seven texts discussing topics relevant to teacher initial and in-service education, as well as the functioning of foreign language instructors in educational systems. The eight contributions included in Part II, Focus on the Learner, explore learner-internal and learner-external factors that affect the effectiveness of the language learning process. The exploration of key contemporary topics and the wide range of methodologies applied make this book of high relevance to Second Language Acquisition scholars, teacher educators, teachers, and language education policy makers.
Boredom in the Foreign Language Classroom
The book focuses on boredom, a construct that has been explored in educational psychology but has received only scant attention from second language acquisition researchers. Although recent years have seen a growing interest in positive emotions in second or foreign language learning and teaching, negative emotions are always present in the classroom and they deserve to be investigated in their own right. The theoretical part provides an overview of the construct of boredom (e.g., definitions, types, empirical studies in the L2 classroom). The empirical part reports the findings of an empirical study which aimed to examine the changes in the levels of boredom experienced by a group of English majors in English classes and identify the factors accounting for such changes. The book closes with a discussion of directions for further research as well as some pedagogic implications.
Positive Psychology in SLA
Positive psychology is the scientific study of how human beings prosper and thrive. This is the first book in SLA dedicated to theories in positive psychology and their implications for language teaching, learning and communication. Chapters examine the characteristics of individuals, contexts and relationships that facilitate learning: positive emotional states such as love, enjoyment and flow, and character traits such as empathy, hardiness and perseverance. The contributors present several innovative teaching ideas to bring out these characteristics among learners. The collection thus blends new teaching techniques with cutting-edge theory and empirical research undertaken using qualitative, quantitative and mixed-methods approaches. It will be of interest to SLA researchers, graduate students, trainee and experienced teachers who wish to learn more about language learning psychology, individual differences, learner characteristics and new classroom practices.
Language Teaching and the Older Adult
The aging of the population and the increasing number of older adults pursuing foreign language courses call for a greater understanding of the ways in which these individuals learn foreign languages. This book offers a pioneering contribution to the literature on foreign language education for older adults (aged 60 and over), termed foreign language geragogy. It details an empirical, multidisciplinary study on Japanese older learners of Spanish and focuses on the influence of learning experiences on vocabulary learning strategy use. It discusses the constraints that preconceptions impose on learners, researchers, instructors and administrators, and it offers a set of practical recommendations for foreign language activities for elderly individuals. It also introduces the notion of ‘learner re-training’, an instructional mechanism that contributes to older learners' self-acknowledgment and autonomy development in foreign language learning. The book is directed at teachers and trainee teachers of foreign languages to older adults, and also at education professionals and researchers in the field of foreign language learning in general.
Pronunciation Learning Strategies and Language Anxiety
This book presents theoretical considerations and the results of empirical research on pronunciation learning strategies (PLS) deployed by pre-service trainee teachers majoring in English as a foreign language who experienced different levels of language anxiety (LA). The theoretical part focuses on the concepts of pronunciation learning, pronunciation-learning strategies and language anxiety and includes an overview of recent empirical research dealing with various related issues. The empirical section of the book presents the findings of a research project that investigated the interplay between PLS and LA, in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Based on the findings, the author proposes two profiles of anxious and non-anxious EFL trainee teachers who support their pronunciation learning with an array of pronunciation learning strategies and tactics.
Willingness to Communicate in Instructed Second Language Acquisition
This book offers a comprehensive account of individual differences variables as well as contextual factors that impinge on second language learners’ willingness to communicate (WTC). Firstly, it adopts a macro-perspective on WTC, which entails an attempt to identify variables that are related to WTC, taking into account the specificity of the Polish higher education setting. Secondly, it embraces a micro-perspective on WTC, striving to pinpoint the individual and contextual influences on levels of WTC in the course of regularly-scheduled, naturally-occurring English classes, as well as to capture the dynamic nature of WTC during such classes. Together, these perspectives bring the reader closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying WTC in specific contexts, thereby providing a basis for recommendations for classroom practice that could translate into learners’ success. It will be of interest to second language acquisition researchers and students, as well as to methodologists and materials writers who can use the research findings to improve the practice of teaching and learning speaking in the language classroom.
Capitalizing on Language Learners' Individuality
This book closes the gap between theory and practice for teachers and researchers wishing to capitalize on learners' individuality in second or foreign language learning. Issues of content are targeted through a description of the variables of anxiety, beliefs, cognitive abilities, motivation, strategies, styles and willingness to communicate.
The Psychology of the Language Learner
The scope of individual learner differences is broad, yet there is no current, comprehensive, and unified volume that provides an overview of the considerable amount of research conducted on various language learner differences, until now.
Bored Games
Make your next party a hit and keep all your guests entertained with these 100 fun and easy party games like Fishbowl, Guess that Tune, and more! Planning a party can be stressful and hosting a bad party can ruin your social life! There’s nothing worse than inviting people over and having nothing planned for them to do. With Bored Games you can make sure that never happens again! This book has everything you need to make your next get together a success! With 100 classic party games, including ice breakers, truth or dare variations, races and relays, trivia games, contests of strength and speed, minute challenges, and so much more, you can avoid awkward small talk and get your guests laughing, interacting, and having fun in no time! Games include: -How’s Yours? -Improv in a Bag -Back-to-Back Sumo -Broom Spin and Dodge -And more!
English Education in Oman
This book explores an area that has been somewhat overlooked in the literature to date – the current status and future trends of English education in Oman. It offers a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the subject and explores areas of English education in Oman that have, until now, been little investigated. It explores these issues from a variety of perspectives: the professionalization of English teachers in the country; the implementation of novel teaching methodologies, curricula, and assessment approaches, into what are, in many ways, still very traditional education settings; the integration of learner identity into English language instruction; country- and culture-specific concerns with conducting research with Omani participants; the strategic demands of building stronger links between education and workforce needs; and developing learner autonomy and motivation.
