This book explores the role of identity in adolescent foreign language learning to provide evidence that an identity-focused approach can make a difference to achievement in education. It uses both in-depth exploratory interviews with language learners and a cross-sectional survey to provide a unique glimpse into the identity dynamics that learners need to manage in their interaction with contradictory relational contexts (e.g. teacher vs. classmates; parents vs. friends), and that appear to impair their perceived competence and declared achievement in language learning. Furthermore, this...

This book synthesises current theory and research on L2 motivation in the EFL Japanese context carried out by internationally recognized researchers and upcoming researcher-educators working in various educational contexts in Japan. Topics covered include the issues of cultural identity, demotivation, language communities, positive psychology, possible L2 selves and internationalisation within a key EFL context. The studies in the book utilise a wide variety of research methodologies aiming to narrow the gap between theory and practice and examine L2 motivation in primary, secondary and...

Instead of viewing different perspectives on the self as competing with each other and considering one perspective on the self as being inherently 'better' than another, this book takes the view that a fuller, more comprehensive picture of the self in SLA can be gained by examining and combining insights from different perspectives. This original collection of papers thus attempts to provide a thorough overview of the ways in which the self can be conceptualised in SLA contexts. The editors have brought together a diverse range of theoretical perspectives on the self to allow the reader to...

Instead of viewing different perspectives on the self as competing with each other and considering one perspective on the self as being inherently 'better' than another, this book takes the view that a fuller, more comprehensive picture of the self in SLA can be gained by examining and combining insights from different perspectives. This original collection of papers thus attempts to provide a thorough overview of the ways in which the self can be conceptualised in SLA contexts. The editors have brought together a diverse range of theoretical perspectives on the self to allow the reader to...

Winner of the AAAL First Book Award 2017

This book outlines a framework for teaching second language pragmatics grounded in Vygotskian sociocultural psychology. The framework focuses on the appropriation of sociopragmatic concepts as psychological tools that mediate pragmalinguistic choices. Using multiple sources of metalinguistic and performance data collected during a six-week pedagogical enrichment program involving one-on-one tutoring sessions, the volume explores both theoretical and practical issues relevant to teaching second language pragmatics from a Vygotskian...

This book presents mixed-methods research into Chinese students' willingness to communicate (WTC) in an EFL classroom context. The interrelationships between WTC and motivation, communication confidence, learner beliefs and classroom environment are examined using structural equation modelling on data collected in a large-scale survey. These results are then complemented and expanded upon in a follow-up multiple case-study that identifies six themes which account for fluctuations of WTC over time and across situations. The qualitative and quantitative data provide the grounds for the...

The creation of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) has given rise to interest and debate among policy makers, testers, teachers and researchers alike in the reliability and feasibility of the assessment of second language (L2) proficiency. This volume brings together concrete ideas on identifying and measuring L2 proficiency from different branches of SLA research (psycholinguistic, sociolinguistic, corpus-based, applied linguistics) to contribute to a deeper understanding of what it means to be proficient in an L2. The chapters introduce a wide range of tools...

This edited volume seeks to highlight the effects of self-concept on L2 learning and teaching by considering a wide range of theories as well as their practical application. The book is divided into four sections and includes: chapters discussing various approaches related to self-concept; empirical studies related to the selves of the learners; research from teachers' perspectives on students' self-concept; and L2 motivational intervention studies associated with the development of self-concept of language learners. The volume contains a collection of studies from around the world...

This landmark volume offers a collection of conceptual papers and empirical research studies that investigate the dynamics of language learning motivation from a complex dynamic systems perspective. The contributors include some of the most well-established scholars from three continents, all addressing the question of how we can understand motivation if we perceive it as continuously changing and evolving rather than as a fixed learner trait. The data-based studies also provide useful research models and templates for graduate students and scholars in the fields of applied linguistics and...

This landmark volume offers a collection of conceptual papers and empirical research studies that investigate the dynamics of language learning motivation from a complex dynamic systems perspective. The contributors include some of the most well-established scholars from three continents, all addressing the question of how we can understand motivation if we perceive it as continuously changing and evolving rather than as a fixed learner trait. The data-based studies also provide useful research models and templates for graduate students and scholars in the fields of applied linguistics and...