Engagement in language learning: A systematic review of 20 years of research methods and definitions

2021 ◽  
pp. 136216882110012
Author(s):  
Phil Hiver ◽  
Ali H. Al-Hoorie ◽  
Joseph P. Vitta ◽  
Janice Wu

At the turn of the new millennium, in an article published in Language Teaching Research in 2000, Dörnyei and Kormos proposed that ‘active learner engagement is a key concern’ for all instructed language learning. Since then, language engagement research has increased exponentially. In this article, we present a systematic review of 20 years of language engagement research. To ensure robust coverage, we searched 21 major journals on second language acquisition (SLA) and applied linguistics and identified 112 reports satisfying our inclusion criteria. The results of our analysis of these reports highlighted the adoption of heterogeneous methods and conceptual frameworks in the language engagement literature, as well as indicating a need to refine the definitions and operationalizations of engagement in both quantitative and qualitative research. Based on these findings, we attempted to clarify some lingering ambiguity around fundamental definitions, and to more clearly delineate the scope and target of language engagement research. We also discuss future avenues to further advance understanding of the nature, mechanisms, and outcomes resulting from engagement in language learning.

2010 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 374-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter MacIntyre

Held at the Association canadienne de linguistique appliquée/Canadian Association of Applied Linguistics Conference, Ottawa, Canada; 28 May 2009.With the 50th anniversary of Robert C. Gardner and Wallace Lambert's seminal paper ‘Motivational variables in second language acquisition’ (Gardner & Lambert 1959), we paused to reflect on the contributions the work has inspired and the state of the art in the study of motivation research.


Neofilolog ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 7-16
Author(s):  
Anna Niżegorodcew

The present paper presents two theoretical and research traditions concerning second language acquisition and use: psycholinguistic and sociocultural ones. It provides a historical overview of the field of psycholinguistics and second language acquisition studies since the 1950s with its more recent critiquefrom the representatives of the sociocultural developments in second language theory. The quantitative and qualitative research approaches in contemporary L2 applied linguistics studies are illustrated with a recent study of the acculturation process of Polish immigrants in the United Kingdom done by an MA student.


Neofilolog ◽  
1970 ◽  
pp. 195-204
Author(s):  
Elżbieta Danuta Lesiak-Bielawska

This article discusses the most popular diagnostic instruments employed when exploring the role of individual learner differences in foreign/second language acquisition. It thus focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of the quantitative research tradition, which relying on data recorded in numerical form, resorted to various inventories, but most importantly questionnaires designed for a specific research objective. In spite of their obvious drawbacks, highly structured questionnaires do not in any way seem to be devoid of certain research merits. However, since quantitative and qualitative research approaches represent different ways of thinking about and understanding the surrounding world, it is more advisable to adopt compromise in research, which will enable the researcher to place the phenomenon explored in a wider perspective.


2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-162
Author(s):  
Vera Lucia Menezes Oliveira e Paiva

The present article focuses on a series of metaphors found in texts on language and language learning, and discusses the criticisms of the acquisition metaphor and the addition of participation as a new concept to represent language learning. The main theoretical proposals for second language acquisition (SLA) have been selected in order to verify which theories use acquisition and which use participation. While scrutinizing those texts, I found that other metaphors have also been proposed; however, acquisition and participation are still the most prevalent. Participation has been used as a metaphor since Sfard (1998) and has been well accepted in Applied Linguistics. Therefore, I present the cognitive view of metaphor and metonymy and demonstrate that, according to the cognitive studies on metaphor, participation cannot be seen as a metaphor, but rather as a metonym. To prove this, I use the metonymic model proposed by Lakoff (1990) as support. I conclude, agreeing with Ortega (2009) that a metaphorical polyphony can help us understand the complex phenomenon of language and language learning. Nevertheless, metonyms must not be disregarded.


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 294 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed A. Al Khateeb

<p><em>This article is about one of the most influential hypothesis in the fields of applied linguistics and language learning. It is based on the work of a number of scholars who contributed to the understanding of this hypothesis such as Steve Krashen, Mike Long, Teresa Pica and Merrill Swain. It starts with a brief introduction about the significance of interaction hypothesis generally in language learning in general and its central role in second language acquisition (SLA). The next section reviews some of the fundamental works and studies that have investigated the theoretical and practical understanding of this phenomenon and its relationship to learners’ achievement. It also highlights the contribution of interaction hypothesis to learning in two basic areas: noticing and feedback. There are explanatory examples presented in the following section in order to show how interactional modification techniques are used by learners. The last section presents some concluding thoughts pertaining to this topic with a focus on how it can be employed in language learning classrooms.</em></p>


2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 111
Author(s):  
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali Rahimi

 From the Editor Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ali RahimiMessage from EditorDear Readers,It is a great honor for us to publish August 2016 - Vol 6, No 3 of Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching (GJFLT).Please follow the link below:http://www.gjflt.eu/Global Journal of Foreign Language Teaching welcomes original empirical investigations and comprehensive literature review articles focusing on foreign language teaching and topics related to linguistics. GJFLT is an international journal published quarterly and it is a platform for presenting and discussing the emerging developments in foreign language teaching in an international arena.The scope of the journal includes, but is not limited to the following major topics: Cultural studies, Curriculum Development and Syllabus Design, Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), General Linguistics, Globalization Studies and world English’s, Independent/Autonomous Learning, Information and Computer Technology in TEFL, Innovation in language, Teaching and learning, Intercultural Education, Language acquisition and learning, Language curriculum development, Language education, Language program evaluation, Language Testing and Assessment, Literacy and language learning, Literature, Mobile Language Learning, Pragmatics, Second Language, Second Language Acquisition, Second Language Acquisition Theory, Digital Literacy Skills, Second Language Learners, Second Language Learning, Second language Pedagogy, Second Language Proficiency, Second Language Speech, Second Language Teaching, Second Language Training, Second Language Tutor, Second language Vocabulary Learning, Teaching English as a Foreign/ Second Language, Teaching Language Skills, Translation Studies, Applied linguistics, Cognitive linguistics. Keyword and Full Video Captioning in Listening Comprehension, Infants’ Acquisition of Words Before Concepts, Pragmatics, Task Complexity , Language Use of Patients With Early-Onset Alzheimer’s Disease, Headings in Theses and Research Articles in Applied Linguistics, and Developing Intercultural Competence have been included in this issue. The topics of the next issue will be different. We are trying to serve you with our journal with a rich knowledge through which different kinds of topics will be discussed in 2017 issues.We present many thanks to all the contributors who helped us to publish this issue.Best regards,Associate Professor Dr. Ali Rahimi,Editor – in Chief, Bangkok University


2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 95-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa McGarry

AbstractThe increasing recognition of the concept language ideology and the corresponding increasing use of the term have not yet been matched by applications in the field of second language acquisition. However, applications of the concept in analysis of actual classroom practices have shown it to have considerable explanatory power. Greater consideration of language ideology in SLA is necessary not only to achieve greater understanding of the role of ideology in various areas but also to show connections between these areas that may yield important generalizations and to impel the application of the concept in areas where it has been neglected by highlighting its uneven treatment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari

AbstractPeople learn language from their social environment. Therefore, individual differences in the input that their social environment provides could influence their linguistic performance. Nevertheless, investigation of the role of individual differences in input on performance has been mostly restricted to first and second language acquisition. In this paper I argue that individual differences in input can influence linguistic performance even in adult native speakers. Specifically, differences in input can affect performance by influencing people’s knowledgebase, by modulating their processing manner, and by shaping expectations. Therefore, studying the role that individual differences in input play can improve our understanding of how language is learned, processed and represented.


2005 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 46-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Robinson

Recent second language acquisition (SLA) research into the cognitive abilities implicated in implicit, incidental, and explicit learning, and in learning and performance on tasks differing in their information processing demands has prompted new theoretical frameworks for conceptualizing L2 aptitude. This research is reviewed and related to measures of abilities operationalized in existing aptitude tests, as well as to measures of abilities that are the focus of more recent research in cognitive psychology. Finally, prospects for developing aptitude tests to serve the purposes of predicting both early and advanced level language learning success are discussed in the light of the SLA findings and aptitude frameworks reviewed.


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