This book presents theoretical considerations and the results of empirical research on pronunciation learning strategies (PLS) deployed by pre-service trainee teachers majoring in English as a foreign language who experienced different levels of language anxiety (LA). The theoretical part focuses on the concepts of pronunciation learning, pronunciation-learning strategies and language anxiety and includes an overview of recent empirical research dealing with various related issues. The empirical section of the book presents the findings of a research project that investigated the interplay between PLS and LA, in which both quantitative and qualitative data were collected. Based on the findings, the author proposes two profiles of anxious and non-anxious EFL trainee teachers who support their pronunciation learning with an array of pronunciation learning strategies and tactics.

The challenge to improve second language acquisition efficiency has always been at the heart of education because a good command of a language provides new opportunities to manipulate information and apply acquired knowledge and skills to novel problems in new situations. Thus, there is a necessity for creating an alternative to either task-based or form-focused methods commonly employed in today's instruction. An Invariant-Based Approach to Second Language Acquisition: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that elaborates on traditional 2L concepts and terms and provides new practical tools and mechanisms for developing student communicative competencies. Featuring research on topics such as syllabus design, language interpretation, and speech types, this book is ideally designed for educators, administrators, researchers, and academicians.

Beginning with a thorough survey of approaches to communicative syllabus design, Melrose deals with the early 1970s functional approach and subsequent criticism of it as well as the contemporary search for a process approach to language learning. It proposes a meaning negation model, which draws upon the seminal work of Halliday, Martin, Fawcett and Lemke, and is illustrated through their analysis of a unit from a communicative course book. Its topical-interactional approach is placed within the context of the current debate on language teaching and learning.

Understanding metaphor raises key questions about the relationship between language and meaning, and between language and mind. This book explores how this understanding can impact upon the theory and practice of language teaching. After summarising the cognitive basis of metaphor and other figures of speech, it looks at how this knowledge can inform classroom practice. Finally, it sets out how we can use these insights to re appraise language learning theory in a way that treats it as consonant with the cognitive nature of language. MARKET 1: Academic libraries and departments of English as a Second Language, Modern Languages, Linguistics, especially Applied Linguistics and Language Learning Theory, and Cognitive Linguistics MARKET 2: English language teachers

Bringing together multiple sources of data and combining existing theories across language teacher cognition, teacher education, second language motivation and psychology, this empirically-grounded analysis of teacher development in action offers new insights into the complex and dynamic nature of language teachers' conceptual change.

Reading ability and vocabulary knowledge are two of the most important components of performance in a second language, especially in academic settings. Each depend on the other, as vocabulary knowledge is the single most important factor in reading comprehension, while reading is the single most important means by which intermediate and advanced learners acquire new words. This symbiotic relationship is the subject of this volume. The authors argue that building vocabulary through reading is a fruitful but complex activity that needs better understanding and more careful guidance. This book is unique in its emphases on original research. Eight of the 14 chapters are empirical studies published for the first time, including classroom-based case studies, experimental research, and think-aloud protocol analysis. In every chapter, consideration is given to the pedagogical implications and possible applications of the research findings. Lengthy editorial comments at the end of each chapter reinforce this practical concern.

This book updates the latest research in the field of 'English pronunciation', providing readers with a number of original contributions that represent trends in the field. Topics include sociophonetic or sound-symbolic aspects of pronunciation English pronunciation teaching and learning.

It is commonly believed that foreign language skills improve through social interaction with speakers of the language. However, there is little research addressing the issue of access to such interaction. This book explores this issue, examining longitudinal case studies of interaction between language learners and speakers of the target language within their informal social networks. It looks at the complex social and personal factors that influence language choice. Kurata reveals that even for motivated learners opportunities to use the target language are limited, and suggests factors that promote language use and opportunities for learning.She proposes ways around obstacles to opportunities for second language use and second language learning and sets out important implications for language learning in and outside classrooms.

Addressed to researchers in Applied Linguistics, and to professional teachers working in, or studying teaching and learning processes in, multilingual classrooms, "Critical Reading in Language Education" offers a distinctive contribution to the question of how foreign language learners can be helped to acquire effective literacy in English. At the heart of the book is first-hand classroom research by the author as both teacher and researcher, demonstrating an innovative research methodology and empirical evidence to support a critical reading pedagogy.

This book brings together the voices of teacher educators working in different national and educational settings. It Covers themes such as change in teacher education practices, the influences of context on practice, and of interculturality, to provide rich insights into the processes and effects of second language teacher education.

"Language for Specific Purposes" is a growth area in research and application in both academic and occupational settings. The book contains an overview of key concepts and research findings, grounded and analyzed in case studies from current teaching situations. A series of project reviews illustrate research methods, aiming to stimulate further research, and a guide to research resources is provided. In the process, teaching methods, materials, motivation, communicative language skills and subject specific requirements are discussed.

The authors describe evaluation as a way of understanding and developing language programs: the thematic and background section sets out the decision-making, quality management, and learning functions of evaluation. Case studies illustrate the diversity of evaluation contexts, functions and approaches, documenting the ways in which evaluation processes and outcomes inform and facilitate program development, and contribute to explaining how language and teacher education programs constitute opportunities for learning. The ways in which evaluation practice can be researched and developed to maximize policy, institutional and program effectiveness is included, and a comprehensive set of resources for those commissioning, undertaking or researching language program evaluations concludes the text.

This book is a guide to current research and debate in the field of literacies practice and education. It provides both an historical and lifespan view of the field as well as an overview of research methodologies with first-hand examples from a range of researchers involved in literacy research.

Starting from the key idea that learners and teachers bring diverse linguistic knowledge and resources to education, this book establishes and explores the concept of the 'multilingual turn' in languages education and the potential benefits for individuals and societies. It takes account of recent research, policy and practice in the fields of bilingual and multilingual education as well as foreign and second language education. The chapters integrate theory and practice, bringing together researchers and practitioners from five continents to illustrate the effects of the multilingual turn in society and evaluate the opportunities and challenges of implementing multilingual curricula and activities in a variety of classrooms. Based on the examples featured, the editors invite students, teachers, teacher educators and researchers to reflect on their own work and to evaluate the relevance and applicability of the multilingual turn in their own contexts.

This book presents evaluation cases from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) context, investigating the various facets of evaluation in different parts of the MENA region and beyond. In 19 chapters, it explores cases from Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Sudan, Syria, the UAE, Turkey, Iran and Morocco. The book highlights the impact of evaluation on a range of stakeholders, arguing that it has repercussions at the individual, societal, economic, cultural and political levels, that it also has an ethical dimension, and that it is tailored to people's needs, helping them to remain abreast of the effectiveness and efficiency of programs. Further, the book explores controversial issues concerning different evaluation themes, such as teacher and staff evaluation, assessment practices, text genre analysis evaluation, assessment of productive skills, textbook and ICT evaluation, evaluation of ELT certificates and programs, quality assurance, ESP needs analysis, assessment literacy, and dynamic assessment. It addresses key challenges, such as who the "right people" to implement evaluation are, and the appropriate use of evaluation results to avoid any misuse or harm to any stakeholder. In closing, the book calls for further research venues on the relevance of evaluation, testing and assessment in the MENA context and beyond.

This book investigates the ways in which 'language' and 'culture' come to be standardized through ideology, representation in textbooks and in classroom practices. In doing so, it provides insights into the standardization processes which address the theoretical and practical concerns of researchers and educators. The cases that this book illustrate a wide range of Japanese language/culture standardization processes in numerous contexts: translation in Meiji-era Japan, the ideologies of the standardization of regional dialects in Japan, practices in college Japanese-as-a-Foreign-Language classrooms in the United States, discourses in journals of Japanese language education, and classroom practices in nursery and primary schools in Japan. Japan has undergone extensive standardization in terms of its culture and language to such a degree that they are commonly believed to be homogeneous, providing an important case for a study of standardization. Few such studies have been published in English, making this book all the more important.

Why do conceptions of 'learning' vary so much in L2 learning research? Is there a conceptualisation of 'learning' to which members of different schools of SLA can subscribe? These questions and more are answered in this book by world-leading researchers in the field.

Winner of the AAAL First Book Award 2017! This book outlines a framework for teaching second language pragmatics grounded in Vygotskian sociocultural psychology. The framework focuses on the appropriation of sociopragmatic concepts as psychological tools that mediate pragmalinguistic choices. Using multiple sources of metalinguistic and performance data collected during a six-week pedagogical enrichment program involving one-on-one tutoring sessions, the volume explores both theoretical and practical issues relevant to teaching second language pragmatics from a Vygotskian perspective. The book represents an important contribution to second language instructional pragmatics research as well as to second language sociocultural psychology scholarship. It will be of interest to all those researching in this field and to language teachers who will find the pedagogical recommendations useful.

As non-natives are increasingly found teaching languages, particularly English, both in ESL and EFL contexts, the identification of their specific contributions and their main strengths has become more relevant than ever. This volume provides different approaches to the study of non-native teachers: NNS teachers as seen by students, teachers, graduate supervisors, and by themselves. It contributes seldom-explored perspectives, like classroom discourse analysis, and social-psychological framework to discuss conceptions of NNS teachers.

This book closes the gap between theory and classroom application by capitalizing on learners' individuality in second or foreign language learning. The book examines the existing literature and theoretical underpinnings of each of the most prominent learner characteristics including anxiety, beliefs, cognitive abilities, motivation, strategies, styles and willingness to communicate. This strong foundation, coupled with the wide variety of activities that are suggested at the end of each chapter, arms the reader with ideas to conquer the problems created by negative affect and to capitalize on positive, facilitative emotions. The tasks are unrestricted by language and can be modified for use with technology, emergent learners and large classes, making this book a useful resource for both in-service teachers and pre-service teachers in university language teacher education programs.

To Advanced Proficiency and Beyond: Theory and Methods for Developing Superior Second Language Ability addresses an important issue in Second Language Acquisition - how to help learners progress from Intermediate and Advanced proficiency to Superior and beyond. Due to the pressures of globalization, American society encounters an ever-increasing demand for speakers with advanced language abilities. This volume makes available cutting edge research on working memory and cognition and empirical studies of effective teaching. In addition it can serve as a practical handbook for seasoned and pre-professional instructors alike. The bringing together of the latest in second language acquisition theory, decades of empirical research, and practical classroom application makes for an unprecedented volume examining the achievement of Superior-level foreign language proficiency.

Learning Languages, Learning Life Skills offers an autobiographical reflexive approach to foreign language education. The orientation of the book is practical, containing rich descriptions of language learning situations including authentic language use and student stories. Teaching, including planning, methods, classroom work and evaluation, and case studies of good language learning and how dialogue based on reminiscing can be used to promote students' well-being in the language classroom are described in detail. Many practical examples of how to develop autobiographical reflexive approach, based on the phenomenological philosophy, and methodology, are presented. Learning Languages, Learning Life Skills significantly enhances the communicative approach and going beyond it into a new paradigm, whereby foreign language teaching and learning are seen as foreign language education. The book offers unique ways of developing vocational language teaching as an integrated holistic approach combining language contents with vocationally relevant topics and the interactive, dialogical processes of working in language classes. readers, Learning Languages, Learning Life Skills will be of interest to teachers as well as researchers in the areas of applied and educational linguistics.