Space, Place and Autonomy in Language Learning by Garold Murray and Terry Lamb

Abstract

Over the years, I have come to appreciate the publication of each new Garold Murray book for obliging me to engage with innovative ideas in the field. Murray’s most recent collaboration with Terry Lamb is no exception. In this collection, the editors have trained their gaze on space and place – phenomena so very ordinary and ubiquitous that many of us may never have reflected on the role they play in learning. Each of the book’s 15 chapters explores, in very different ways, the processes by which spaces are transformed into places for language learning or teaching. According to Carter, Donald and Squires (1993, ix) – “place is a space to which meaning is ascribed”. Think of your favourite café, the spot in your home you go to when you want to read, or the area in the yoga room where you like to place your mat. According to Murray and Lamb, autonomy is a key element in the process of transforming a space into a place.