Innovation in Language Learning

When discussing learner participation in language learning the emphasis is in general on learner verbal activity which can be measured. However, research on online language learning highlights how learner participation can also emerge through non-activity and how it can be measured as non-verbal [1]. This paper will explore a number of additional notions that are used in the literature to discuss learner participation such as learner engagement [2] and willingness to communicate [3]. Examples will be provided from both face-to-face contexts and online learning. The paper will also examine learner participation from the point of view of teacher participation and will attempt to illustrate how conceptualizations around the teacher’s role and teaching and learning may impact on what emerges as participation and play an important role in curriculum development and testing. The final part of the paper will take a look at how traditional and Anglocentric discussions of language learner participation in the literature may be providing a narrow take on participation and actually be limiting in terms of language learning and measuring performance. The paper will also present a reflective practice exercise for teachers who are interested in gaining insight into how their classroom practice may be impacting on student participation.

References

[1] Panichi, L. (2015) Participation in language learning in virtual worlds. An exploratory case-study of a Business English course. Unpublished PhD Thesis, School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, University of Hull, UK.

[2] Hiver, P. Al-Hoorie, AH, Vitta, JP and Wu, J., (2021) Engagement in language learning: A systematic review of 20 years of research methods and definitions

Language Teaching Research.

[3] MacIntyre, P. (2020), “Expanding the theoretical base for the dynamics of willingness to communicate”, Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, Vol. 10 No. 1, pp. 111-131.