Language Learning Strategies

This purpose of this paper is to invite language teachers to look at their teaching practices, and to investigate whether they are promoting or hindering the process of learning. It is unlikely that any teacher will want to identify personal practices that act as a barrier to learning, though most will acknowledge a strong possibility that their students will meet with counterproductive teaching practices at some time in their educational careers. When we consider the importance of affect in the classroom, and the ways in which affective barriers to learning are set up (e.g. anxiety, lack of confidence, lack of motivation, lack of self-esteem, negative attitudes to learning), it becomes apparent that the classroom educator needs to be proficient in establishing a positive and productive learning environment, as well as being a "learning expert", empowering students in terms of selfdirection, self-assessment, learner training, and self-access skills.

The Modern Language Journal, 2010

European Association For Computer Assisted Language Learning, 2012

In a flexible language learning system, developed at a French university and gradually improved through Action Research, different elements are combined: individual work on a virtual learning environment (VLE), pair-work and counselling appointments. One of the objectives of the system is to help the students involved progress towards autonomy-defined as "the ability to take charge of one's own learning" (Holec 1981: 3) or "as the capacity to take control over one's own learning" (Benson 2001: 2)-in their learning of English. The implementation of the system involves a new conception of the different actors' roles. Teachers become tutors, or counsellors, as defined by CRAPEL (Gremmo, 1995; Ciekanski, 2005) with new specific pedagogical goals (Bertin, Gravé & Narcy-Combes, 2010) and the learners have a new role to play. The introduction of two new guidance tools over the last years-a logbook, and specific sections in the existing forum of the VLE-were meant to help the students develop a reflexive approach and thus enhance autonomization, or developing learners' capacity to learn (Holec 1990: 77), and, in a second time, to promote the development of collaborative learning strategies and encourage the students to use strategies which they would not primarily have thought of. The guidance tools used in this specific language learning environment such as the counselling appointments, the logbook, and the forum, may influence the roles played by the different actors, but also the representations they have of their own roles, which may have an impact on their motivation and thus on the autonomization process (Dickinson, 1995). From the creation of the flexible system five years ago, the research has studied a population of 610 students through quantitative and qualitative analyses (Chateau, 2008; Chateau & Zumbihl, 2010). Focusing on the results obtained with the last population of students, the paper discusses the differences between them and the previous populations, and in particular whether the evolution of the roles played by the different actors, as compared with traditional language teaching/learning situations, has been enhanced.

Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2013

As Rod Ellis states in his Preface, Craig Chaudron's book, Second Language Classroom: Research on Teaching and Learning, published in 1988, reviewed systematically the L2 classroom research up to that time. Although Chaudron updated the research community on the development of classroom research in 2001 with an article published in The Modern Language Journal, the space given to it and the relatively brief nature of the review make it necessary that a new volume presenting a comprehensive survey and critical appraisal of the research into L2 learning and teaching in classrooms be available. Ellis' new book, Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy (LTRALP), serves this purpose perfectly well. Anyway, it has been over 20 years since the publication of Chaudron's 1988 book, and the rapid development of the field warrants the publication of such a comprehensive book. LTRALP includes 11 main chapters in addition to a concise Preface, where Ellis explains his own theorising of language teaching. He presents two views, one is what he refers to as the 'external view' and the other as the 'internal view'. The former regards language teaching in terms of methods, approaches, materials and techniques, and the latter in terms of it being a 'process'. He posits that such a distinction is important and that the studies he has reviewed in the book can be categorised according to this typology. It is also in his Preface that Ellis highlights the two principal research paradigms: the normative paradigm, which tends to test hypotheses and the interpretive paradigm, which 'seeks to describe and understand some aspect of teaching by identifying key variables and examining how they interrelate' (p. x). Chapter 1, 'Introduction: Developments in Language Teaching Research', as the title indicates, gives the reader a panoramic view of all the topics to be considered in the book. What needs to be stressed is that Ellis has successfully defined what language teaching research is and stated his rationale for electing to focus on it in his book. Ellis begins Chapter 2, 'Methods for Researching the Second Language Classroom', with a discussion of formal and practitioner research before examining the main research traditions in relation to their theoretical underpinnings, research design, data collection and processing methods. The focus of Chapter 3, 'Comparative Method Studies', presents studies that compare different teaching methods. Historically, such studies were once popular, as the ambition of doing so was to find the best methods for effectively teaching foreign language skills. Evidently, such studies have lost their popularity and attracted much criticism because of their insensitivity to the fact that different contexts require different methods and the search for the 'best method' has proven to be futile (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). Chapter 4, 'Second Language Classroom Discourse', examines the oral discourse in L2 classrooms and its nature in the lesson process. Ellis argues that "'teaching' is discourse. observation of the discourse that arises in actual classrooms is fundamental to developing an understanding of language teaching and its relationship to learning" (p. 75). Accordingly, discourse processes become the focus of this chapter. Descriptive research discussed in this chapter range from interaction analysis to classroom discourse analysis, types of language use, conversation analysis and the L2 classroom, and scaffolding in sociocultural theory. Chapters 5 and 6 place their foci on the teacher and the learner respectively. As can be easily imagined, the teacher is the main person that contributes to classroom discourse in most cases. Therefore, studies of teacher talk are the mainstay of a chapter with the teacher as the central figure. Various research studies on teacher talk (including teacher talk and L2 acquisition, teacher talk and teacher education) and teacher questions (including teacher questioning strategies and socially-oriented studies of teacher questions) are reviewed. There have been debates about the role of the learner's L1 in the L2 classroom, and such debates are also discussed in Chapter 5 in relation to various studies on the use of the L1 in L2 classrooms and on teachers' beliefs about the use of the L1. The use of metalanguage and related research into teachers' use of metalanguage, studies on corrective feedback, and teacher cognitions about language teaching are also reviewed. Given the centrality of the learner in the classroom in the field of language teaching and learning, Ellis rightly points out the relative scarcity of research into the learner's contribution to classroom discourse. Quoting Ortega and Iberri-Shea (2005, p. 27), who point out that 'Many questions concerning second language learning are fundamentally

Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 2013

As Rod Ellis states in his Preface, Craig Chaudron's book, Second Language Classroom: Research on Teaching and Learning, published in 1988, reviewed systematically the L2 classroom research up to that time. Although Chaudron updated the research community on the development of classroom research in 2001 with an article published in The Modern Language Journal, the space given to it and the relatively brief nature of the review make it necessary that a new volume presenting a comprehensive survey and critical appraisal of the research into L2 learning and teaching in classrooms be available. Ellis' new book, Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy (LTRALP), serves this purpose perfectly well. Anyway, it has been over 20 years since the publication of Chaudron's 1988 book, and the rapid development of the field warrants the publication of such a comprehensive book. LTRALP includes 11 main chapters in addition to a concise Preface, where Ellis explains his own theorising of language teaching. He presents two views, one is what he refers to as the 'external view' and the other as the 'internal view'. The former regards language teaching in terms of methods, approaches, materials and techniques, and the latter in terms of it being a 'process'. He posits that such a distinction is important and that the studies he has reviewed in the book can be categorised according to this typology. It is also in his Preface that Ellis highlights the two principal research paradigms: the normative paradigm, which tends to test hypotheses and the interpretive paradigm, which 'seeks to describe and understand some aspect of teaching by identifying key variables and examining how they interrelate' (p. x). Chapter 1, 'Introduction: Developments in Language Teaching Research', as the title indicates, gives the reader a panoramic view of all the topics to be considered in the book. What needs to be stressed is that Ellis has successfully defined what language teaching research is and stated his rationale for electing to focus on it in his book. Ellis begins Chapter 2, 'Methods for Researching the Second Language Classroom', with a discussion of formal and practitioner research before examining the main research traditions in relation to their theoretical underpinnings, research design, data collection and processing methods. The focus of Chapter 3, 'Comparative Method Studies', presents studies that compare different teaching methods. Historically, such studies were once popular, as the ambition of doing so was to find the best methods for effectively teaching foreign language skills. Evidently, such studies have lost their popularity and attracted much criticism because of their insensitivity to the fact that different contexts require different methods and the search for the 'best method' has proven to be futile (Kumaravadivelu, 2006). Chapter 4, 'Second Language Classroom Discourse', examines the oral discourse in L2 classrooms and its nature in the lesson process. Ellis argues that "'teaching' is discourse. observation of the discourse that arises in actual classrooms is fundamental to developing an understanding of language teaching and its relationship to learning" (p. 75). Accordingly, discourse processes become the focus of this chapter. Descriptive research discussed in this chapter range from interaction analysis to classroom discourse analysis, types of language use, conversation analysis and the L2 classroom, and scaffolding in sociocultural theory. Chapters 5 and 6 place their foci on the teacher and the learner respectively. As can be easily imagined, the teacher is the main person that contributes to classroom discourse in most cases. Therefore, studies of teacher talk are the mainstay of a chapter with the teacher as the central figure. Various research studies on teacher talk (including teacher talk and L2 acquisition, teacher talk and teacher education) and teacher questions (including teacher questioning strategies and socially-oriented studies of teacher questions) are reviewed. There have been debates about the role of the learner's L1 in the L2 classroom, and such debates are also discussed in Chapter 5 in relation to various studies on the use of the L1 in L2 classrooms and on teachers' beliefs about the use of the L1. The use of metalanguage and related research into teachers' use of metalanguage, studies on corrective feedback, and teacher cognitions about language teaching are also reviewed. Given the centrality of the learner in the classroom in the field of language teaching and learning, Ellis rightly points out the relative scarcity of research into the learner's contribution to classroom discourse. Quoting Ortega and Iberri-Shea (2005, p. 27), who point out that 'Many questions concerning second language learning are fundamentally

Education 3-13, 2012

This article discusses the strategy repertoires and strategy development of six English children who learned foreign languages at primary school. My study differs from mainstream research, in that it focuses on young children and on the development of their strategies, draws on sociocultural theory and uses ethnographic methods. My findings show that the six children developed a range of strategies over the course of a calendar year in spite of receiving no direct strategy instruction. The primary classroom encouraged learner autonomy and stimulated children to reflect on their learning which, in turn, enabled them to refine their strategies.

Texas Papers in Foreign Language Education, 1998

This paper examines trends reflecting changes in the role of the classroom foreign language teacher, particularly as these trends affect English-as-a-Second-Language instruction. This study is based on relevant literature and research being carried out in the English Language Institute at Kanda University of International Studies (Japan). Past and present teacher roles are examined first, then discussed in relation to contemporary language learning theories. The Kanda English Language Proficiency classroom, a program focusing on student-designed language programs and self-directed language learning, is described, and this classroom model is explored as a plausible design for future foreign language classrooms, highlighting the role of the teacher in such instructional systems. The authors argue that the trend toward increased learner autonomy necessitates the adoption of new teacher roles in unison with other curricular changes. (Contains 31 references.) (MSE)

4th International Online Language Conference (IOLC 2011), 2011

"Tasks have been the cornerstone of most attempts in language teaching, but it seems that the current use is going the wrong way. Among all textbooks available, it is almost impossible to find a single communicative activity in which aspects other than the conveyance of the intended meaning is the focus of the activity. As a fluent English speaker who has learnt English in an EFL context with almost no contact with the NSs of English and their culture, when something goes wrong in my present communication with English NSs, the first thing I doubt about is my lack of knowledge about their sociocultural rules of language use. In this article, the reasons why the current practice in the use of tasks has been misguided are discussed and a solution is proposed in form of a three layer view of tasks to be adopted by language teachers and material developers. "