Annual Review Of Applied Linguistics Research Articles

Why do Moroccan English Foreign Language learners experience more Peace of Mind (外语平和心态) than Chinese EFL learners and how does it affect their performance?

AbstractThe current study considers the effects of the Chinese low arousal emotion Foreign Language Peace of Mind (FLPOM) and the medium-to-high arousal emotion of Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) on the performance of 400 Chinese and 502 Moroccan English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. The database consists of two merged datasets collected with the same instruments from learners with comparable profiles for English. The data on Chinese EFL learners was collected and used in Zhou et al. (Applied Linguistics Review, 2023a) while the data on Moroccan EFL learners was used in Dewaele and Meftah (Journal of the European Second Language Association, 2023); Dewaele et al. (Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 2023a). The comparison revealed that all students reported higher levels of FLE than FLPOM. Moroccan students scored significantly higher on FLPOM and FLE than their Chinese peers. They also had significantly higher scores on the FLE Personal dimension. Finally, FLPOM was more strongly associated with performance than FLE among the Moroccan EFL learners, confirming the pattern in Zhou et al. (Applied Linguistics Review, 2023a). FLPOM did explain slightly more variance in the performance of Chinese EFL learners. Pedagogical implications are presented.

Multilingual development through study abroad in multilingual Asian universities: a case study of a Vietnamese international student in Taiwan1

ABSTRACT With the rise in the number of international students (ISs) in many Asian universities, some recent research has investigated ISs’ linguacultural experience in the new Asian educational hubs. Current research has shown that while English is used as the de facto academic lingua franca in many of these hubs, the local language of the host nation also plays critical roles in shaping ISs’ social and academic interaction in multilingual Asian universities. Nevertheless, in most studies, ISs were generally positioned as a homogeneous group, dismissing the idiosyncrasies in their historical and sociocultural backgrounds. Informed by multilingualism [Kramsch, C. 2009. The Mmultilingual Ssubject. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press] and the theory of identity and investment (Darvin, R., and B. Norton. 2015. “Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35:36–56), this study adopted a qualitative case study methodology to investigate the multilingual development of a male, doctoral Vietnamese international student in a Taiwanese university where English and Chinese are the academic lingua francas. Data were collected through interviews, reflection journals, observation of social media posts, and relevant documents. Findings of the study illuminate how capital, ideologies, and identities worked in tandem to shape the participant’s multilingual development in a Taiwanese university. These findings invite educators to challenge the hegemony of monolingualism and cultivate multilingual users in the globalized world.

Interrogating critical digital literacies in the Chinese context: insights from an ethnographic case study

ABSTRACT Building on Darvin and Norton’s (2015. “Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35:36–56) model of investment that recognises the intersection of identity, capital, and ideology, this ethnographic case study traces a Chinese EFL learner – Frances (Pseudonym) and examines how she transcends the barriers of entry to engage in critical digital literacies in the wider transcultural and transnational digital world. The analysis of data from multiple sources reveals that what constitutes Frances’s criticality as a digitally literate person includes: (1) the stance she adopted to interrogate technological affordances and constraints; (2) the great deal of capital she was able to negotiate in the digital wilds; (3) the positions she agentively took for self-expression and equitable communication in the multicultural, diverse, and unjust world. The findings also highlight that critical digital literacies can present a socially imaginable and cosmopolitan future for Chinese college students in the era of globalisation. Based on the discussion of these findings, a situated understanding of critical digital literacies and a critical digital pedagogy model are proposed to advance the agenda of critical digital language education in China and beyond.

Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Strengthens Semantic Representations of Foreign Language Tone Words during Initial Stages of Learning.

Difficulty perceiving phonological contrasts in a second language (L2) can impede initial L2 lexical learning. Such is the case for English speakers learning tonal languages, like Mandarin Chinese. Given the hypothesized role of reduced neuroplasticity in adulthood limiting L2 phonological perception, the current study examined whether transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS), a relatively new neuromodulatory technique, can facilitate L2 lexical learning for English speakers learning Mandarin Chinese over 2 days. Using a double-blind design, one group of participants received 10 min of continuous priming taVNS before lexical training and testing each day, a second group received 500 msec of peristimulus (peristim) taVNS preceding each to-be-learned item in the same tasks, and a third group received passive sham stimulation. Results of the lexical recognition test administered at the end of each day revealed evidence of learning for all groups, but a higher likelihood of accuracy across days for the peristim group and a greater improvement in response time between days for the priming group. Analyses of N400 ERP components elicited during the same tasks indicate behavioral advantages for both taVNS groups coincided with stronger lexico-semantic encoding for target words. Comparison of these findings to pupillometry results for the same study reported in Pandža, N. B., Phillips, I., Karuzis, V. P., O'Rourke, P., and Kuchinsky, S. E. (Neurostimulation and pupillometry: New directions for learning and research in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 56-77, 2020) suggest that positive effects of priming taVNS (but not peristim taVNS) on lexico-semantic encoding are related to sustained attentional effort.

What can a migrant child gain through linguistic investment in juku? findings from a longitudinal narrative inquiry study in Japan

ABSTRACT This study investigates the language learning experiences of a migrant child in an underprivileged migrant-marriage family in Japan through narrative inquiry. Data were collected over the course of a year through a migrant child survey, reflective journals and interviews with the migrant child and his mother, homeroom teacher and tutor to interpret the migrant child’s narratives. Drawing on (Darvin, R., and B. Norton. 2015. “Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35: 36–56) investment model, the study reveals how and why the subject invested in juku (private tutoring) to bridge linguistic constraints and social barriers. The juku was regarded by the migrant child as a place to build connections and further expand his social network with juku classmates of a higher socioeconomic status in the hope of obtaining the economic capital necessary to overcome indigence. The findings from this study also show that emotions had a positive impact on the participant’s identity development. This study has important implications pertaining to the lack of language learning opportunities among migrant children in Japan and the need for further studies on the language learning experiences that migrant children obtain through participation in supplementary tutoring.

Investment and motivation in language learning: What's the difference?

The year 2020 marked the 25th year since Bonny Norton published her influential TESOL Quarterly article, ‘Social identity, investment, and language learning’ (Norton Peirce, 1995) and the fifth year since we, Darvin and Norton (2015), co-authored ‘Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics’ in the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics. From the time Norton's 1995 piece was published, investment and motivation have been conceptually imbricated and often collocated, as they hold up two different lenses to investigate the same reality: why learners choose to learn an additional language (L2). In our 2015 article, we made the case that while it is important to ask the question, ‘Are students motivated to learn a language?’ it is equally productive to ask, ‘Are students invested in the language practices of the classroom or community?’ (Darvin & Norton, 2015, p. 37). We recognize that the relationship between language teachers and learners is unequal, and that teachers hold the power to shape these practices in diverse ways. Teachers bring to the classroom not only their personal histories and knowledge, but also their own worldviews and assumptions (Darvin, 2015), which may or may not align with those of learners. Relations of power between learners can also be unequal. As Norton and Toohey (2011, p. 421) note: A language learner may be highly motivated, but may nevertheless have little investment in the language practices of a given classroom or community, which may, for example, be racist, sexist, elitist, anti-immigrant, or homophobic. Alternatively, the language learner's conception of good language teaching may not be consistent with that of the teacher, compromising the learner's investment in the language practices of the classroom. Thus, the language learner, despite being highly motivated, may not be invested in the language practices of a given classroom.

Ethnicity is in the blood, not in the language: exploring Korean-Chinese bilingual families’ multilingual planning

ABSTRACT This study aims to explore how ethnic identity, linguistic ideology, and family capital work in interaction in shaping Korean-Chinese migrant families’ multilingual planning against the backdrop of China’s rapid urbanisation and internal migration. A model of investment (Darvin and Norton [2015]. “Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35: 36–56) was drawn upon. Data were collected via a questionnaire survey on 30 Korean-Chinese bilingual families in Shanghai, and semi-structured interviews and home visits with six focal families over a period of four months. The findings revealed a shift to Chinese and English and a suspension of Korean learning in the families. It was shown that the bilingual parents reconstructed their ethnic identity through linguistic socialisation, acquired hierarchical language ideologies, and made differentiated use of family capital. Moreover, when facing ideological conflicts and structural constraints, these parents attempted to sever the assumed link between language and ethnic identity, claiming that ethnicity is in the blood but not in the language. They made family language investment decisions guided by imagined identities they had for their children. The study contributes to the body of FLP research by eliciting a more nuanced understanding of how identity mediates the investment of different forms of family capital in different languages.

Teachers’ accounts of learners’ engagement and disaffection in the language classroom

ABSTRACT The concept of learner engagement, widely researched in educational psychology, has recently gained attention of language acquisition researchers (cf. Mercer, S. and Z. Dörnyei. 2020. Engaging Students in Contemporary Classrooms. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; Mercer, S. 2019. Language learner engagement: setting the scene. In International Handbook of English Language Teaching, ed. X. Gao, C. Davison and C. Leung. Cham: Springer; Philp, J. and S. Duchesne. 2016. Exploring engagement in tasks in the language classroom. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36: 50–72. DOI:10.1017/S0267190515000094). The study of the construct in connection with language learning appears a promising line of enquiry since it might help teachers understand in greater depth how to promote engagement and prevent disaffection. The present study looks into learner engagement and the lack of it from the perspective of a language teacher. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight language teachers to establish descriptors of both states, possible causes, as well as steps teachers take to counteract disaffection and enhance involvement and agency. As the results suggest, teachers concentrate on the behavioural dimension and have little access to learners’ emotions and less concern for other components of the construct. Some teachers in the context studied (higher education in Poland) tended to believe that changing learners’ attitudes remains beyond their control as they are related to deeply ingrained beliefs and fixed general dispositions, whose origins can be traced back to early childhood, negative school experiences or lack of parental encouragement.

MulTINCo: multilingual traditional immersion and native corpus. Better-documented multiliteracy practices for more refined SLA studies

ABSTRACT Whilst the links between learner corpus research (LCR) and Second Language Acquisition (SLA) have long been debated, McEnery et al. (2019. “Corpus Linguistics, Learner Corpora, and SLA: Employing Technology to Analyze Language Use.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 39: 74-92. doi:10.1017/S0267190519000096) claim that learner corpus data are not yet sufficiently integrated in SLA research. This article aims to go one way towards bridging the LCR/SLA gap by illustrating the benefits of collecting and analyzing data sets that better document multiliteracy practices. We first contextualize our work within the field of LCR where calls for more multidimensional data sets have been made. We then present a new database called MulTINCo - Multilingual Traditional, Immersion, and Native Corpus - collected in the framework of a project on Content and Language Integrated Learning in French-speaking Belgium. As our data set contains rich metadata and blends corpus data with other data types, we illustrate its potential for SLA research. In Sections 3 and 4, we describe the data collected and the interface. In the last section of the paper, we wrap up with a discussion on the methodological assets of such multidimensional data sets for SLA studies, and present directions for future research.

The Annual Review of Applied Linguistics at 40: Looking Back and Moving Ahead

AbstractIt is a privilege to be Editor-in-Chief of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics in 2020 as it celebrates its 40th year. This is my fifth issue as Editor. I will begin this short introduction by paying tribute, with the help of Bill Grabe (Northern Arizona University), to the founding editor of the journal, Robert Kaplan (1929–2020). Without Robert Kaplan, none of us would be reading these pages. We will then turn to some comments from each of the previous editors on a few of the highlights of their time editing the journal, along with words for the future. After this, I will describe some recent updates, go through a few of the historical successes of the journal, and then turn to the contents of the exciting current issue, “Looking back and moving ahead.”

Reflect, Revisit, Reimagine: Ethnography of Language Policy and Planning

AbstractTracing applied linguists’ interests in language policy and planning (LPP) as reflected in the pages of theAnnual Review of Applied Linguisticssince its founding in 1980, I focus on the emergence of, and current boom in, ethnographic LPP research. I draw on the ethnographic concept of ideological and implementational LPP spaces as scalar, layered policies and practices influencing each other, mutually reinforcing, wedging, and transforming ideology through implementation and vice versa. Doing so highlights how the perennial policy-practice gap is given nuance through exploration of the intertwining dynamics of top-down/bottom-up language planning activities and processes, monoglossic/heteroglossic language ideologies and practices, potential equality/actual inequality of languages, and critical/transformative research paradigms in LPP.

Safe spaces, agency, and resistance: a metasynthesis of LGBTQ language use

The purpose of this metasynthesis is to present a structured review of the literature on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) language usage. Much of the rhetoric surrounding individuals who identify as LGBTQ focuses on their victimization and oppression. To problematize this limited perspective, this metasynthesis of literature suggests that LGBTQ youth are actively working against marginalization, oppression, and silencing through language practices that employ critical literacy and elicit the disruption of hegemonic ideology. Drawing on Darvin and Norton’s (2015, Identity and a model of investment in applied linguistics. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 35, 36–56) key concepts from the model of investment and queer theory, I explore three uses of LGBTQ language: the creation of safe spaces, agency, and resistance. My findings reveal the need for safety within classrooms in order for LGBTQ students to participate successfully in critical literacy practices.

Learning Korean honorifics through individual and collaborative writing tasks and written corrective feedback

Abstract To date, the majority of task-based instructed second language acquisition studies have investigated the effects of tasks on second language morphosyntactic development, and little attention has been paid to the effectiveness of dialogic tasks on the learning of pragmatics in classroom contexts (Plonsky, L. & Y. Kim. 2016. Task-based learner production: A substantive and methodological review. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 36. 73–97). The present study is a partial replication study of Taguchi and Kim (2016. Collaborative dialogue in learning pragmatics: Pragmatic-related episodes as an opportunity for learning request-making. Applied Linguistics 37. 416–437) and aims to compare learning outcomes between collaborative and individual task groups while written corrective feedback is provided. Thirty-two high beginner learners of Korean from two classes participated in this study. Each class was randomly assigned to either a collaborative or an individual group to complete e-mail writing tasks. In the collaborative group, students wrote e-mails with a partner, whereas the individual group wrote e-mails independently to introduce their professors during study abroad using four types of Korean honorifics. Both groups received indirect corrective feedback on honorifics used during task performance. Written description tests (WDT) were designed to investigate the short-term and long-term learning of Korean honorifics in line with the instructional tasks. Students’ responses on the WDT were analyzed in terms of the number of suppliance and accurate production of each target feature. Students’ responses to teacher feedback were analyzed using the following categories: resolved correctly, resolved incorrectly, and unresolved. The results showed that there was no significant difference in the production of target features during task performance when indirect WCF was provided to both conditions. Furthermore, both groups significantly outperformed in the immediate and delayed posttest than the pretest. However, the results found no difference in learning of Korean honorifics between the two groups.

The English-medium paradigm: a conceptualisation of English-medium teaching in higher education

ABSTRACTThe discourse on English-medium teaching in higher education uses several terms and concepts to describe practices, very often synonymously. This contribution aims to fill the research gap of a conceptualisation of English-medium teaching in higher education. It will identify relevant approaches and their corresponding terminology, as well as clarify which approaches are most suitable for higher education. Given that the past decades have seen a substantial rise in the use of English as a teaching language in European compulsory schooling [Dalton-Puffer, C. 2011. “Content and Language Integrated Learning: From Practice to Principles?” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31: 182–183], the paper will also draw parallels between the secondary and the tertiary levels of education. At the same time, it will also be shown why insights drawn from research conducted in secondary education cannot simply be transferred to the tertiary level of education.The main focus of the paper is on the ‘English-medium Paradigm,’ a framework created to identify prevalent instructional types in English-taught programmes at universities in non-Anglophone countries [Unterberger, B. 2014. “English-medium Degree Programmes in Austrian Tertiary Business Studies: Policies and Programme Design.” Dissertation, University of Vienna, 45–52]. The paradigm is based on terminological and conceptual considerations gained from the critical discussion of English for specific purposes, English for academic purposes, Content and language integrated learning and English-medium instruction literature [e.g. Bhatia, V. K. 1993. Analysing Genre: Language use in Professional Settings. London: Longman; Hyland, K. 2006. English for Academic Purposes: An Advanced Resource Book. London: Routledge; Dalton-Puffer, C. 2007. “Academic Language Functions in a CLIL Environment.” In Diverse Contexts - Converging Goals: CLIL in Europe, edited by D. Marsh, 201–209. Mehrsprachigkeit in Schule und Unterricht 6. Frankfurt am Main: Lang; Dafouz, E., and U. Smit. 2014. “Towards a Dynamic Conceptual Framework for English-medium Education in Multilingual University Settings.” Applied Linguistics. doi:10.1093/applin/amu034]. The paper therefore provides a timely conceptualisation of the varieties of English-medium teaching in higher education which also takes into account pedagogical considerations as well as implications for curriculum design.

Organizing Bilingual Biology Lessons to Develop English Skills in High School Students

English is one of the most vital and necessary tools for people’s successes in many aspects of life. Therefore, building good ways to develop English skills in students is an urgent demand. Organizing English-Vietnamese bilingual lesson is interpreted as educational method in which a foreign language enrichment measure packaged into content teaching, so it is one of the effective ways to improve this skill for students. By investigating 457 students and 27 high school biology teachers in An Giang province, the study pointed out two issues of the reality of using English in biology teaching in high schools: (1) Teachers have rarely used English in teaching activities, (2) Students’ English ability has been really weak. The study has built up the processes of organizing an English-Vietnamese bilingual lesson. The paper demonstrated that high school students’ English ability and qualification has been improved by using these proposed processes.
 Keywords
 Bilingual biology lessons, bilingual teaching, English ability, biology teaching
 References
 Dinh Quang Bao & Nguyen Duc Thanh (1998). Theories of biology teaching. Vietnam Education Publishing House (in Vietnamese).Bonces, J. R., 2012. Content and language integrated learning (CLIL): Considerations in the Colombian context. Gist Education and Learning Research Journal, 6, 177-189.Dalton-Puffer, C., 2011. Content-and-language integrated learning: From practice to principles? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, 31, 182–204.Dong Hai Nguyen, 2013. Bilingual education in Vietnam: Successes and challenges. Cambrigde Educational Leadership Seminar, Ho Chi Minh city. Retrieved from ttp://www.cambridgeassessment.org.uk/images/137032-dr-dong-hai-nguyen-presentation-slides-.pdfPhan Duc Duy, 1999. Trainning biology teaching skills for students based on studying pedagogy cases. Doctor thesis, Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam, 34-57 (in Vietnamese).Hadisantosa, N., Huong, T. T. T., Johnstone, R., Keyuravong, S., & Lee, W., 2010. Learning through English: Policies, challenges and prospects (Insight from East Asia). Malaysia: British Council.Nguyen Van Hien, 2009. Developing the skills of applying information technology in organizing biology lessons in students. Doctor thesis, Hanoi National University of Education, Hanoi, Vietnam, 62-65 (in Vietnamese).Tran Trung Hieu, 2017. Organizing English-Vietnamese bilingual lessons in biology teaching in high school. Teacher of Vietnam Scientific Magazine, 123, 37-39 (in Vietnamese).Dao Thi Hoang Hoa, 2014. Teaching Chemistry through the medium of English using content and language integrated learning approach. Journal of Science, Ho Chi Minh city University of Education, 54 (in Vietnamese).Tran Ba Hoanh, 1993. Techniques of biology teaching. Vietnam Education Publishing House (in Vietnamese).Nguyen Tan Hung, 2010. Dual language instruction – The best way for the improvement of professional knowledge and foreign language competence. Journal of Science and Technology, Da Nang University, 2(37), 192-197 (in Vietnamese).Nha, T. T. V., & Burn, A., 2014. English as a medium of instruction: Challenges for Vietnamese tertiary lecturers. The journal of Asia TEFL, 11(3), 1-31.Thuong Nguyen, 2017. Vietnam national foreign language 2020 project after 9 years: A difficult stage. The Asian Conference on Education & International Development 2017, National Chengchi University, Taiwan.

Tenure-track Faculty Determine the Success of Online Graduate Education

Tenure-track Faculty Determine the Success of Online Graduate Education Carmen King de Ramírez Keywords courses/cursos, faculty/profesoriado, graduate/graduado, language/lenguas, online/en línea Response 1 to "Meeting Twenty-First-Century Needs: Spanish for the Professions as the Future of Spanish Graduate Education?" "Meeting Twenty-First-Century Needs: Spanish for the Professions as the Future of Spanish Graduate Education?" provides insights to how one particular university is confronting the decreased student enrollments seen across foreign language (FL) graduate programs in the United States. The author discusses the importance of online post-graduate language courses through examples of how such courses would meet a variety of working professionals' needs as well as increase languishing enrollments in post-graduate FL programs. This argument is followed by an overview of an existing online Spanish for the Professions Master of Science degree (SPMS). While the SPMS clearly fills a gap in FL education, the widespread skepticism that many language educators harbor regarding online language courses may impede the quality, vitality, and implementation of such programs (Blake 2007). Elizabeth Harsma (2017) briefly alludes to and refutes common objections to online FL language education but admits that faculty interest continues to be an issue since two faculty members primarily teach the courses. While the programmatic structure is innovative and promising, the reader is left to question the longevity and quality of the program as the author fails to mention strategies for training and recruiting tenured and tenure-track faculty who are qualified to teach at the post-graduate level. The lack of tenured and tenure-track faculty interest in online education (Allen and Seaman 2010; Kim and Bonk 2006) is illustrated by the numerous studies on non-tenured online faculty in comparison to limited publications regarding online tenured and tenure-track faculty (Drewelow 2013; LoBasso 2013). One factor that may contribute to this phenomenon is that tenured and tenure-track positions are evaluated largely on research production with little incentive for undertaking new pedagogical endeavors (Zhao and Cziko 2001). The lack of incentive that the tenure track system places on pedagogical innovation is compounded by the fact that novice online instructors must invest a considerable amount of time in familiarizing themselves with course materials, digital platforms, and resources provided by ancillary staff such as instructional designers and web programmers (Bartolic-Zlomislic and Bates 1999; Stone and Perumean-Chaney 2011). Such distractions from academic research may explain why part- time and adjunct faculty are more frequently assigned online teaching assignments than full-time faculty (Seaman 2009). Despite the aforementioned challenges in recruiting tenured and tenure-track faculty to teach online, experienced online professors reported an increase in productivity as the flexibility of online instruction allowed them to spend more time on service or research (Meyer 2012). In order to help T/TT faculty reconceptualize online teaching, departmental training and faculty [End Page 153] mentorship programs are an indispensable means of helping faculty integrate technology in a way that presents minimal disturbances to their established academic routine (Gabriel and Kaufield 2008; Zhao and Cziko 2001). In conclusion, the future of online graduate programs such as SPMS does not depend on the clever creation of online courses but the department's commitment to training/incentivizing tenured and tenure-track faculty members to teach online. Carmen King de Ramírez University of Arizona WORKS CITED Allen, I. Elaine, and Jeff Seaman. (2010). "Class Differences: Online Education in the United States, 2010." Sloan Consortium. Print. Google Scholar Bartolic-Zlomislic, Silvia, and AW Tony Bates. (1999). "Investing in On-line Learning: Potential Benefits and Limitations." Canadian Journal of Communication 24.3. n.p. Print. Google Scholar Blake, Robert J. (2007). "New Trends in Using Technology in the Language Curriculum." Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 27: 76–97. Print. Google Scholar Drewelow, Isabelle. (2013). "Exploring Graduate Teaching Assistants' Perspectives on their Roles in a Foreign Language Hybrid Course." System 41.4: 1006–22. Print. Google Scholar Gabriel, Martha A., and Kandra J. Kaufield. (2008). "Reciprocal Mentorship: An Effective Support for Online Instructors." Mentoring and Tutoring: Partnership in Learning 16.3: 311–27. Print. Google Scholar Harsma, Elizabeth. (2017). "Meeting Twenty-First-Century Needs: Spanish for the Professions as the...

‘I’m never going to be part of it’: identity, investment and learning Korean

ABSTRACTThis study investigated the willingness of 14 English-speaking EFL instructors living and working in South Korea to invest in practices connected with learning and using the Korean language. A model of investment for the ‘new world order’ (Darvin, R., and B. Norton. 2015. “Identity and a Model of Investment in Applied Linguistics.” Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 35: 36–56. doi:10.1017/S0267190514000191) was used as a theoretical lens through which to analyse the interview data to explore how attempts to negotiate membership into local communities of practice affected participants’ investment in Korean, as well as the ways in which participants interpreted and reacted to perceived inequities of power between themselves and these communities of practice. This study found that the ways in which participants perceived that they were positioned as native English speakers tended to work against sustained investment in Korean language learning, as potential returns in terms of valued forms of capital seemed very limited. For the vast majority of participants, entry into local communities of practice did not occur, but where a sense of belonging was evident, investment in the language was seen as a key to enabling deeper levels of engagement.

Extending talk on a prescribed discussion topic in a learner-native speaker eTandem learning task

Abstract Opportunities for language learners to access authentic input and engage in consequential interactions with native speakers of their target language abound in this era of computer mediated communication. Synchronous audio/video calling software represents one opportunity to access such input and address the challenges of developing pragmatic and interactional competence (Barron and Black 2015, Constructing small talk in learner-native speaker voice-based telecollaboration: A focus on topic management and backchanneling. System 48. 112–128). The synthesis of telecollaborative technology with the development of pragmatic and interactional competence is an area of burgeoning research (Taguchi 2011, Teaching pragmatics: Trends and issues. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 31. 289–310). The present study represents a contribution to this growing area set in the particular context of an eTandem partnership. Data is drawn from Language LINC, a corpus of telecollaborative eTandem interactions between German-speaking learners of English and English-speaking learners of German. The eTandem meetings that comprise this corpus were centred around tasks to be completed for the students’ respective language classes. The study investigates how learners and native speakers manage a pre-specified discussion topic set for the English portion of an eTandem meeting. As the topic is prescribed, it imposes constraints on the students’ interactions and requires them to continue talk on this topic for an extended amount of time. Student participants delimit their talk by clearly initiating and later closing down the topic. Within these boundaries, questions are used as a resource to confront the interactional problem of extending talk on the prescribed topic.

The Investigation of Learning Strategies of American Learners of Chinese and Japanese for Character Learning

It has been widely recognized that Chinese and Japanese languages are exceptionally difficult to learn. One of the reasons is their logographic characters (i.e. hanzi in Chinese, kanji in Japanese) that are extremely different from alphabet-based orthography (Tong & Yip, 2015; Xu & Padilla, 2013). Accordingly, there have been research investigating how L2 learners of Chinese and Japanese deal with the difficulty by exploring learners’ strategy (Gamage, 2003; Shen, 2005). However, learning strategies for a certain aspect of characters (i.e. shape, sound) have not been investigated as much as learning strategies in general (but see Shen, 2005). In addition, there are limited longitudinal research exploring how learners change their strategies. Therefore, the researchers investigate strategies that L2 learners of American university students are using most frequently for Chinese and Japanese character learning. The study had 66 L2 learners taking either Chinese or Japanese course at an American university. They took a questionnaire at the beginning and at the end of a semester. It was found that reading, context, decomposition, rote-writing, and listening were the most frequently used strategies. Moreover, the results indicated that strategies vary depending on which aspect of characters they learn. Furthermore, learners did not change their learning strategies over three months to a notable extent.
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New directions for the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics

To begin with some history, reflecting the breadth of the field, the 35 issues of the Annual Review of Applied Linguistics (ARAL) published since 1980 have covered a substantial range of topics. These have included broad surveys of the field of applied linguistics; language and language-in-education; identity; written discourse; literacy; bilingual communities worldwide; language and the professions; communicative language teaching; second language acquisition research; discourse analysis; issues in foreign language teaching and learning; language policy and planning; technology and language; multilingualism; foundations of second language teaching; applied linguistics as an emerging discipline; language and psychology; discourse and dialogue; language contact and change; advances in language pedagogy; lingua franca languages; neurolinguistics; cognitive aspects of language processing; language assessment; and formulaic language.