This collection of papers brings together a diverse range of conceptualisations of the self in the domain of second language acquisition and foreign language learning. The volume attempts to unite a ...fragmented field and provides a thorough overview of the ways in which the self can be conceptualised in SLA contexts.
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.
This book focuses on issues regarding the learning of a foreign language in older adults (aged 60 and over). It details a multidisciplinary study on Japanese older learners of Spanish and discusses ...the influence of learning experiences on vocabulary learning strategy use. It also proposes concrete techniques for teachers of older learners.
This volume includes fourteen papers on the acquisition of Romance languages, eleven of which were presented at the Romance Turn 9, held in Bucharest in September 2018.
Includes chapters on key aspects of second language assessment such as test construct, diagnosis, exam design, and the growing range of public policy, social and ethical issues. Each of the ...contributors is an expert in their area; some are established names while others are talented newcomers to the field.
The chapters present new research or perspectives on traditional concerns such as test quality; fairness and bias; the testing of different language skills; the needs of different groups of examinees, including English language learners who need to take content tests in English; and the use of language assessments for gate-keeping purposes. The volume demonstrates how language assessment is informed by and engages with neighbouring areas of applied linguistics such as technology and language corpora.
The book represents the best of current practice in second language assessment and, as a one volume reference, will be invaluable to students and researchers looking for material that extends their understanding of the field.
This insightful, practical book can be used as a stand-alone guide for families on their language journey, or as an accompaniment to the author's successful seminars for families and schools. Learn ...from the author's extensive experience of helping and advising families on how to raise their children as successful bilinguals and multilinguals.
Why Only Us Berwick, Robert C; Chomsky, Noam
2015, 2016-01-15
eBook
Berwick and Chomsky draw on recent developments in linguistic theory to offer an evolutionary account of language and humans' remarkable, species-specific ability to acquire it.
This book examines the various ways in which age affects the process and the product of foreign language learning in a school setting. It presents studies that cover a wide range of topics, from ...phonetics to learning strategies. It will be of interest to students and researchers working in SLA research, language planning and language teaching.
This monograph reports on a longitudinal inquiry into mainland Chinese undergraduates’ language learning experiences in an English medium university in a multilingual setting with a focus on their ...strategic language learning efforts. This book examines the issue as to what extent language learners’ strategic learning efforts depend on their ‘choice’, if ‘the element of choice’ is the defining characteristic of language learners’ strategic learning behaviour. The inquiry, using a qualitative and ethnographic research approach, reveals dynamic interaction between learners’ agency and contextual conditions underlying the participants’ strategic learning process. Such understanding informs pedagogical efforts to foster individual learners’ capacity for strategic learning and their capacities in opening up and sustaining a social learning space for exercising their strategic learning capacity or utilizing their strategic learning knowledge.
The Action-oriented Approach Enrica Piccardo, Brian North
Multilingual Matters,
2019, 2019-07-31, 2019-07-24, Letnik:
72
eBook, Book
This book presents the background to the current shift in language education towards action-oriented/action-based teaching, and provides a theorization of the Action-oriented Approach (AoA). It ...discusses the concepts and theories that paved the way for the AoA and explores their relevance for the way language education is conceived and implemented in the classroom. In the process, it revisits the concept of competence and discusses the dynamic notions of mediation and plurilingualism. The authors explain the way in which the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and its recent update, the CEFR Companion Volume, broaden the scope of language education, in particular in relation to the actional turn. The book provides scholars and practitioners with a research-informed description of the AoA, explains its implications for curriculum planning, teaching and assessment, and elaborates on its pedagogical implications.
