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This book provides rare insights into motivation among extremely successful learners of English and languages other than English (LOTEs) through the analysis of a longitudinal study and the examination of the factors involved in becoming multilingual in a non-multilingual environment. Based on sixteen interview sessions, conducted over the course of nine years while the learners progressed from high school to the world of work, this book offers the story of how two learners persist in English/LOTE learning. The study illuminates the long-term processes through which the interviewees develop ideal English/LOTE selves in an environment where multilingualism is not emphasized and where both English and LOTEs can still be described as foreign languages. Educators and researchers will learn from this study, which stretches our understanding of motivation beyond the recent theorizing of L2 motivation and contributes to the limited research in long-term motivational trajectories and LOTE learning motivation, which is particularly scarce in non-European contexts. The book will be of interest not only to readers in Japan but also to those in other contexts as it offers an example of successful learners who go beyond the pragmatic and instrumentalist view of language learning to hold a more holistic view, thus revealing the factors which can sustain multiple language learning, even in foreign language contexts.

The Think-Aloud Controversy in Second Language Research aims to answer key questions about the validity and uses of think-alouds, verbal reports completed by research participants while they perform a task. It offers an overview of how think-alouds have been used in language research and presents a quantitative meta-analysis of findings from studies involving verbal tasks and think-alouds. The book begins by presenting the theoretical background and empirical research that has examined the reactivity of think-alouds, then offers guidance regarding the practical issues of data collection and analysis, and concludes with implications for the use of think-alouds in language research. With its focus on a much-discussed and somewhat controversial data elicitation method in language research, this timely work is relevant to students and researchers from all theoretical perspectives who collect first or second language data. It serves as a valuable guide for any language researcher who is considering using think-alouds. Melissa A. Bowles is Assistant Professor of Spanish, Linguistics, and SLATE (Second Language Acquisition and Teacher Education) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her main research interests are instructed second/heritage language acquisition and research methods. Chapter 1 : The use of verbal reports in language research. Chapter 2 : Controversy over the use of think-alouds. Chapter 3 : Features that Make a Task Amenable to Think-Aloud: A Meta-analysis of Studies Investigating the Validity of Think-Alouds on Verbal Tasks. Chapter 4 : Data Collection Considerations. Chapter 5 : Data Analysis Considerations. Chapter 6 : Conclusion. Appendix A : Studies Included in the Meta-Analysis. Appendix B : Summary of Unique Sample Studies.

Embracing a sociocultural perspective on human cognition and employing an array of methodological tools for data collection and analysis, this volume documents the complexities of second language teachers’ professional development in diverse L2 teacher education programs around the world, including Asia, South America, Europe, and North America, and traces that development both over time and within the broader cultural, historical and institutional settings and circumstances of teachers’ work. This systematic examination of teacher professional development illuminates in multiple ways the discursive practices that shape teachers’ knowing, thinking, and doing and provides a window into how alternative mediational means can create opportunities for teachers to move toward more theoretically and pedagogically sound instructional practices within the settings and circumstances of their work. The chapters represent both native and nonnative English speaking pre-service and in-service L2 teachers at all levels from K-12 through higher education, and examine significant challenges that are present in L2 teacher education programs. Karen E. Johnson is Liberal Arts Research Professor of Applied Linguistics, The Pennsylvania State University. Paula R. Golombek is Clinical Associate Professor, Linguistics, University of Florida. 1. A Sociocultural Perspective on Teacher Professional Development Karen E. Johnson, Pennsylvania State University, US and Paula Golombek, University of Florida, US Part I: Promoting Cultural Diversity and Legitimating Teacher Identities 2. Becoming a Culturally Responsive Teacher Elizabeth Smolcic, Pennsylvania State University, US 3. I’m Not Alone\": Empowering Non-Native English Speaking Teachers Davi Schirmer Reis, Duquesne University, US 4. Working Toward Social Inclusion Through Concept Development in L2 Teacher Education William Dunn, University of Alberta, Canada Part II: Concept Development in L2 Teacher Education 5. ‘Seeing’ L2 Teacher Learning: The Power of Context on Conceptualizing Teaching Sharon Childs, Pennsylvania State University, US 6. Embracing Literacy-based Teaching Heather Willis Allen, University of Miami, US 7. Synthesizing the Academic and the Everyday Gretchen Nauman, Yanshan University, China Part III: Strategic Mediation in L2 Teacher Education 8. Dynamic Assessment in Teacher Education Paula Golombek, University of Florida, US 9. Moodle as a Mediational Space Tatsuhiro Yoshida, Hyoga University, Japan 10. The Reverse Move: Enriching Informal Knowledge in the Pedagogical Grammar Class Deryn P. Verity, Osaka Jogakuin College, Japan 11. Strategic Mediation in Learning to Teach Karen E. Johnson and Ekaterina Arshavskaya, Pennsylvania State University, US Part IV: Teacher Learning in Inquiry-Based Professional Development 12. Teacher Learning through Critical Friends Groups Priya Poehner, Lockhaven University, US 13. Teacher Learning through Lesson Study Thomas Tasker, Department of State, Kiev Part V: Navigating Educational Policies and Curricular Mandates 14. Ten Years of CLT Curricular Reform Efforts in South Korea Eun-Ju Kim, Hanyang Women's University, Korea 15. Learning to Teach under Curricular Reform Kyungja Ahn, Seoul National University, Korea

\"In the 30 years since Rod Ellis first published the award-winning Understanding second language acquisition, it has become a classic text. This new, fully updated edition continues to provide an authoritative and highly readable introduction to key areas of theory and research in second language acquisition. Ellis presents a comprehensive overview of the different theories in this field and examines critical reactions to them. The book reflects recent trends in looking at cognitive and social aspects of second language acquisition, as well as examining the roles played by implicit and explicit instruction in language learning\"--Page [4] of cover.

Second language assessment is ubiquitous. It has found its way from education into questions about access to professions and migration. This volume focuses on the main debates and research advances in second language assessment in the last fifty years or so, showing the influence of linguistics, politics, philosophy, psychology, sociology, and psychometrics. There are four parts which, when taken together, address the principles and practices of second language assessment while considering its impact on society. Read separately, each part addresses a different aspect of the field. Part I deals with the conceptual foundations of second language assessment with chapters on the purposes of assessment, and standards and frameworks, as well as matters of scoring, quality assurance, and test validation. Part II addresses the theory and practice of assessing different second language skills including aspects like intercultural competence and fluency. Part III examines the challenges and opportunities of second language assessment in a range of contexts. In addition to chapters on second language assessment on a national scale, there are chapters on learning-oriented assessment, as well as the uses of second language assessment in the workplace and for migration. Part IV examines a selection of important issues in the field that deserve attention. These include the alignment of language examinations to external frameworks, the increasing use of technology to both deliver and score second language tests, the responsibilities associated with assessing test takers with special needs, the concept of 'voice' in second language assessment, and assessment literacy for teachers and other test and score users.

What is language and how can we investigate its acquisition by children or adults? What perspectives exist from which to view acquisition? What internal constraints and external factors shape acquisition? What are the properties of interlanguage systems? This comprehensive 31-chapter handbook is an authoritative survey of second language acquisition (SLA). Its multi-perspective synopsis on recent developments in SLA research provides significant contributions by established experts and widely recognized younger talent. It covers cutting edge and emerging areas of enquiry not treated elsewhere in a single handbook, including third language acquisition, electronic communication, incomplete first language acquisition, alphabetic literacy and SLA, affect and the brain, discourse and identity. Written to be accessible to newcomers as well as experienced scholars of SLA, the Handbook is organised into six thematic sections, each with an editor-written introduction.

In this accessible introduction to Vygotskian sociocultural theory, narratives illuminate key concepts of the theory. These key concepts include mediation; Zone of Proximal Development; collaborative dialogue and private speech; everyday and scientific concepts; the interrelatedness of cognition and emotion; activity theory; and assessment. A final chapter provides readers with an opportunity to consider two additional narratives and apply the SCT concepts that they have become familiar with. We hear from learners, teachers and researchers in a variety of languages, contexts, ages and proficiencies. Intended for graduate and undergraduate audiences, this new edition of the textbook includes controversies in the field, improved questions for collaborative discussion and provides updated references to important work in the literature of second language teaching, learning and research.