Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2013, vol. 3, no. 3
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Browsing Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2013, vol. 3, no. 3 by Subject "imagination"
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Item Editorial(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2013-10) Mercer, Sarah; Ryan, StephenItem Pedagogy of the possible: Imagination, autonomy, and space(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2013-10) Murray, GaroldThis paper explores pedagogical practices which can support the role of imag- ination in foreign language learning. Over the past decade, work on self and identity in motivation research—most notably Norton’s (2001) imagined communities and Dörnyei’s (2009) L2 motivational self system—has suggested that teachers might foster students’ motivation by helping them imagine themselves as L2 speakers and envisage contexts or communities in which they might use the target language. If teachers are to help students create and sustain visions of L2 identities, they need to employ a pedagogy which incor- porates and facilitates the work of the imagination. In order to provide guide- lines for pedagogical practice, this paper examines the experiences of Japa- nese university students studying English as a foreign language in a self- directed learning course. Prior analysis of the data revealed several affordanc- es which supported the participants’ metacognitive development and the role of imagination in their learning. Using these affordances as a conceptual framework, this paper builds on previous work by identifying elements in the learning environment which appear to support the role of imagination in the students’ language learning. The paper concludes by suggesting guidelines for pedagogical practice and considering the implications for further inquiry.Item The role of teacher imagination in conceptualising the child as a second language learner(Zakład Filologii Angielskiej Wydział Pedagogiczno-Artystyczny Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Kaliszu, 2013-10) Guz, Ewa; Tetiurka, MałgorzataIn order to initiate and maintain meaningful interaction in a young learner L2 class- room, an adult teacher needs to approach children in ways consistent with their developmental profile and adjust teaching methodology so as to accommodate young learners’ current skills. This requires the ability to predict the child’s possible responses to classroom events by imagining what s/he might think and how s/he might behave when presented with specific instructions. Bearing in mind that the teacher’s perception of the world is purely and completely adult in nature, in order to be effective, educators need to create a mental image or a concept of a young learner by gathering knowledge about his or her developmental characteristics and fully grasping the pedagogical implications of this knowledge. In this paper, we aim to explore the role of imagination in the conceptualisation of a child as a se- cond language learner amongst university level pre-service teachers involved in an early primary EFL education programme. We report on qualitative research based on data obtained in the course of a two semester teacher training course of 35 BA and 30 MA students majoring in English. In the study, we focused on the working image of the child’s developmental characteristics created by the participants and their ability to employ this in their teaching. Our data show a substantial discrep- ancy between the participants’ theoretical conceptions concerning the business of teaching and the actual actions undertaken during lessons with young learners. Although participants were able to successfully identify the most distinctive developmental characteristics of primary-level learners, they experienced difficulty with integrating them into actual classroom practice. Keywords: young learners, cognitive development, teacher beliefs, teacher cognition, imagination