Language acquisition and identity-making: Applied theatre as a mediating practice with Syrian refugees in Europe

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 25-37
Author(s):  
Fadi Skeiker ◽  
Myla Morris-Skeiker
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Host Community ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Syrian Refugees ◽  
Applied Theatre ◽  
Participant Reactions ◽  
Potential Use

This article addresses the potential use of applied theatre in facilitating new language acquisition among refugees who are resettled in European countries such as Germany. The article charts the applied theatre work carried out by one of the authors with Syrian refugees in Europe, with a special focus on participant reactions to the host country’s expectations surrounding language acquisition and identity-making. The authors challenge current ‘integration’ practices that prioritize focused language learning as a major indicator for the refugees’ re-nationing process, arguing for higher consideration of the trauma surrounding displacement, especially when refugees have first arrived in their host community.

Language Ideology and Second Language Learning

2008 ◽  
Vol 155 ◽  
pp. 95-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa McGarry
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Language Ideology ◽  
Second Language Learning ◽  
Classroom Practices ◽  
Explanatory Power

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.

A multilingual refugee, a personal experience

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 173-178
Author(s):  
Ghaith Alhallak
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
Racial Discrimination ◽  
Host Country ◽  
Personal Experience ◽  
Host Community ◽  
Foreign Languages ◽  
Educational Institutions ◽  
Traditional Teaching ◽  
Educational Methods ◽  
Cultural Organizations

Abstract The refugee is the person who has fled his or her country for reasons of war, racial discrimination, vengeance, sectarian massacres or other reasons. Many refugees have left everything behind them to reach a society that is completely different from their own, creating many challenges. Perhaps the most important of these challenges is to learn the language of the host country, which is the key that opens the door to integration in all its forms. Overcoming the challenges in language learning occurs not only through teaching institutions, but society also plays a major role. Thus, we can say that the process of teaching the language to newcomers is a combination of the efforts of the relevant educational institutions as well as those of social and cultural organizations and individuals. In this report, I review the process of teaching foreign languages to refugees and migrants, based on my personal experience as a refugee student and as a language teacher for foreigners, which I have been at the same time for more than three years. The article does not address educational methods as much as the steps that I believe should be taken into consideration in the process of trying to integrate refugees in their host community culturally and linguistically. These steps, which may often have more of an impact than the traditional teaching process, are not confined to the field of educational institutions, but go beyond them to reach social and cultural organizations.

Which came first: Infants learning language or motherese?

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-506 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather Bortfeld
Keyword(s):  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Word Recognition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Learning Process ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Speech Segmentation ◽  
Learning Language

Although motherese may facilitate language acquisition, recent findings indicate that not all aspects of motherese are necessary for word recognition and speech segmentation, the building blocks of language learning. Rather, exposure to input that has prosodic, phonological, and statistical consistencies is sufficient to jump-start the learning process. In light of this, the infant-directedness of the input might be considered superfluous, at least insofar as language acquisition is concerned.

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
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Applied Linguistics ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Learner Engagement ◽  
Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽  
Active Learner

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.

scholarly journals Studying individual differences in the social environment to better understand language learning and processing

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (s1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shiri Lev-Ari
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Native Speakers ◽  
Linguistic Performance ◽  
The Social

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.

APTITUDE AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

2005 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 46-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Robinson
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Cognitive Abilities ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Aptitude Tests ◽  
Advanced Level ◽  
Learning Success ◽  
And Performance

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.

scholarly journals Understanding High Performance in Late Second Language (L2) Acquisition—What Is the Secret? A Contrasting Case Study in L2 French

Languages ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Fanny Forsberg Lundell ◽  
Klara Arvidsson
Keyword(s):  
Language Learning ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Native Speaker ◽  
Age Of Onset ◽  
Learning Experience ◽  
Host Community ◽  
L2 Acquisition ◽  
Attribute Importance ◽  
High Performing ◽  
High Performers

Adult L2 acquisition has often been framed within research on the Critical Period Hypothesis, and the age factor is one of the most researched topics of SLA. However, several researchers suggest that while age is the most important factor for differences between child and adult SLA, variation in adult SLA is more dependent on social and psychological factors than on age of onset. The present qualitative study investigates the role of migratory experience, language use/social networks, language learning experience, identity and attitudes for high performance among Swedish L1 French L2 users in France. The study constitutes an in-depth thematic analysis of interviews with six high-performing individuals and four low-performing individuals. The main results show that the high performers differ from the low performers on all dimensions, except for attitudes towards the host community. High performers are above all characterized by self-reported language aptitude and an early interest in languages, which appears to have led to rich exposure to French. Also, they exhibit self-regulatory behaviors and attribute importance to being perceived as a native speaker of French—both for instrumental and existential reasons.

(In)Commensurable Discourse: Researchers and Practitioners Bring Pragmatics to Language Learning

2010 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie M. Sykes
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Second Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Acquisition ◽  
Language Learning ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Primary Component ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Language Classroom ◽  
Growing Body ◽  
Valuable Role

AbstractThe recent surge in a growing body of empirical research is evidence of a strong theoretical push towards L2 pragmatic acquisition in the field of second language acquisition; yet, the reality is that we see very little evidence of pragmatics instruction in L2 contexts, suggesting a notable disconnect between theory and practice. This viewpoints article explores the valuable role both researchers and practitioners play in bridging the gap between theory and practice with the intention of bringing pragmatics to the forefront of the language classroom. It briefly discusses the importance of including pragmatics as a primary component of second language (L2) learning and then explores various obstacles to pragmatics instruction, paying special attention to the role both researchers and practitioners can play in overcoming them. Examples from current projects related to L2 Spanish pragmatics are presented where relevant.

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