Effects of authority: Voicescapes in children’s beliefs about the learning of English

This paper examines learner beliefs from a dialogical point of view. Drawing on the writings of the Bakhtin circle, it sees beliefs as shared and recycled viewpoints that are multivoiced: they echo the voices of others as well as the voice of the speaker. A longitudinal interview study was conducted among a group of young Finnish learners of English. The analysis of the data focused on the voicework present in the learners’ answers: how they, on the one hand, echoed or even repeated the voices of authority, and, on the other hand, brought forward their own insights. The results indicate that the authoritative voices strongly influence how the individual viewpoints are formed and presented a…

Revisiting Research on L2 Learner Beliefs : Looking Back and Looking Forward

The Book in a Nutshell

In second language (L2) learning and teaching, an emic (or insider) perspective has gained ground in the past few years. This perspective highlights the subjective nature of L2 learning: it throws light on the learner’s beliefs about the language to be learned (when compared, for example, with his or her first language (L1) or other languages he or she may know), being a learner, the learning process, and the learning contexts, all of which are charged with positive and negative experiences and loaded with personal meanings. We would argue that this is also true of aspects of teaching.

Kieli objektina : miten lapset mieltävät kielen

In this article, children’s views to language are discussed. The data comes from a project called Situated metalinguistic awareness and foreign language learning. It is argued that in children’s conceptualizations, the knowledge and skills that are required at school are separate from the skills of everyday life. For example, the English they learn in everyday life - “Play Station English” - is not identified with the “Classroom English”. It is suggested that the gap between school and everyday life, or, between different school subjects dealing with language (mother tongue and foreign languages) should be better bridged. peerReviewed

Speakers and doers : polyphony and agency in children's beliefs about language learning

Mari Aro perehtyi väitöskirjassaan 7-12-vuotiaiden suomalaislasten kielenoppimiskäsityksiin. Aro havaitsi, että heidän käsityksiinsä englannin kielen oppimisesta ja käyttämisestä vaikutti vahvasti kaksi kulttuurista totuutta: ajatus siitä, että englantia tarvitaan ulkomaalaisten kanssa puhumiseen, ja siitä, että englantia opitaan kirjoista lukemalla.Lapset puhuivat erilaisista englannin kielistä: oli kouluenglanti, joka johtaa oikeaan, ulkomailla käytettävään englantiin, ja harraste-englanti, joka liittyi vapaa-aikaan, mutta ei sen paremmin englannin oppimiseen kuin sen käyttämiseenkään.Kaikkihan tiedämme että ”englantia tulee oppia, jotta osaisi puhua maailmalla”. Tästä olivat tutkimukseen…

Kielen oppijasta kielen osaajaksi

The present article discusses the concepts of language learning and language use. When are learners engaged in learning and what is it that they should learn? At what point do they become legitimate users of language and stop thinking of themselves as learners? In layman's terms learning usually precedes language use: one first learns a language and can then use it. In linguistic research, particularly within the sociocultural approaches, it has recently been questioned whether a distinction between learning and using should be made at all. In the article, the definitions and boundaries pertaining to language learning and use are reflected on both from the point of view of the public and fr…

Effects of authority: voicescapes in children's beliefs about the learning of English

This paper examines learner beliefs from a dialogical point of view. Drawing on the writings of the Bakhtin circle, it sees beliefs as shared and recycled viewpoints that are multivoiced: they echo the voices of others as well as the voice of the speaker. A longitudinal interview study was conducted among a group of young Finnish learners of English. The analysis of the data focused on the voicework present in the learners' answers: how they, on the one hand, echoed or even repeated the voices of authority, and, on the other hand, brought forward their own insights. The results indicate that the authoritative voices strongly influence how the individual viewpoints are formed and presented a…

Comparing and Contrasting the Studies Reported: Lessons Learnt

This volume, with its title Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching and the seven empirical studies reported in Chapters 3–9, has explored the phenomena of believing, acting, and identifying (or identity construction), and the interconnectedness of these phenomena in the learning and teaching of English or other foreign languages.

Key Issues Relevant to the Studies to Be Reported: Beliefs, Agency and Identity

As pointed out in Chapter 1, this volume is a response to the recent calls for research on learner and teacher beliefs that would be not only contextual and longitudinal, but also interconnected. In other words, beliefs should be viewed in relation to other issues that play a role in learning and teaching foreign languages. These include aspects of those involved in the processes of learning and teaching foreign languages, that is, learners and teachers — their agency and identity, for example. This chapter provides background to the seven studies that will be reported later in Chapters 3–9 by reviewing the key issues addressed: beliefs, agency and identity. In the following, an attempt wil…