Abstract
ABSTRACTThis paper outlines the context in which Language Awareness (LA) research is currently situated and where it might be going. The starting point is Eric Hawkins's vision (40 years ago) of LA as a bridge between school subjects and, in wider society, between people of different backgrounds and languages. Although considerable progress has been made in language education, this vision remains very relevant in today's society, characterised by large population movements and economic instability. In the UK, there is a mismatch between the multilingualism of communities with roots outside the UK and the shortage of foreign language skills sought by employers. Globally, English as a foreign language dominates, especially in higher education. Against this background, The paper reflects on LA research in the last four years; the topic areas which are most commonly addressed, the languages targeted, and the context in which research is taking place. It is noted that a complex dynamic systems world view is evident in much of current LA research, and discuss some of the implications.
Highlights
Following on from my state-of-the-art article on Language Awareness and language teaching (Svalberg 2007), in this paper I will discuss specific research tasks which are centrally concerned with different aspects of Language Awareness (LA), i.e. ‘explicit knowledge about language, and conscious perception and sensitivity in language learning, language teaching and language use’ 1
The overall argument is that research is needed into how LA is constructed by language learners and teachers through ENGAGEMENT WITH LANGUAGE (Svalberg 2007; 2009)
The findings suggest that the learning effect of CONSCIOUSNESS RAISING (CR) might be enhanced by tasks that produce a measure of tension
Summary
Following on from my state-of-the-art article on Language Awareness and language teaching (Svalberg 2007), in this paper I will discuss specific research tasks which are centrally concerned with different aspects of Language Awareness (LA), i.e. ‘explicit knowledge about language, and conscious perception and sensitivity in language learning, language teaching and language use’ 1. The second task was TEXT REPAIR, which involved converting a string of base forms into accurate and coherent text (e.g. he get back we if be problem > He will get back to us if there is a problem.) It could not be predicted what the students would notice and discuss, and what learning opportunities (affordances) might arise The study included both a detailed analysis of the students’ interaction (e.g. the 6 hypotheses they formed), and a measure of the learning effect in pre/post and delayed posttests. Research Task 2: In order to interpret the psychological/affective and social aspects of EWL it is useful to draw on research on group work, whether related to the language classroom (Kramsch 1985, Lockhardt & Ng 1995, Tocalli-Beller 2003, Tocalli-Beller & Swain 2005) or other educational contexts. The researcher and the learner can both pause at what they feel are significant episodes to let the student talk about what happened and what they were thinking, reasons for their decisions and so on
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