Contents

Bethany of Language Makerspace describes how to make authentic videos comprehensible to students, even Novice Low learners, through good curriculum planning and the use of Google Slides. 

Read the blog post at http://www.languagemakerspace.com/2017/08/31/17-seconds/

In today's Topic of the Week article, James P. Lantolf summarizes the most important principles and procedures in Concept-Based Language Instruction (CBLI). In addtion to reading the book, Sociocultural theory and the pedagogical imperative, which includes overviews of classroom studies, teachers can learn more on the Center for Advanced Language Proficiency Education and Research (CALPER) website dedicated to CBLI. Of special note is a series of slides, Integrating Explicit Knowledge into the Second Language Classroom through Concept-based Language Instruction, that introduces interested teachers to some background on CBLI. The slides present background on the foundations of CBLI and then give overviews of several language-specific studies. The first deals with temporal aspect in Spanish, which includes the selection of preterite or imperfect verb forms. The second deals with phrasal verbs in English, and the third deals with English collocations with make, do, take, give, and have. The fourth deals with sarcasm in English, the fifth deals with topicalization in Chinese, the sixth deals with pragmatics in French such as the tu / vous distinction, and the seventh deals with the concept of boundedness and the usage of ser and estar in Spanish. You can access the slides here. 

Be sure to explore all of CALPER's resources relating to CBLI at http://calper.la.psu.edu/content/concept-based-language-instruction-cbli.

Please join us in welcoming 14 Japanese exchange students from Tamagawa university who are majoring in English teaching. These students will be in Eugene from the end of August, 2017 to the beginning of June, 2018. During these 10 months, students will first do a 4-week Oregon Experience Program to begin their study abroad experience, which is a customized place-based experience by CASLS. After the initial four weeks, students will start their English learning at the American English Institute AEI at the UO for two terms. Immediately after AEI, students will begin an educational internship in local K-12 schools.

Li-Hsien Yang, East Asia Programs Director says of the program: “I am very thrilled to meet and work with this group. It is truly amazing to see students transform and learn from different experiences that we can provide for them."

For more information on the Oregon Experience Program, visit oep.uoregon.edu.

Andrew D. Cohen is a Professor Emeritus in the Second Language Studies Program at the University of Minnesota. He served as the Director of the Language Resource Center at the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) from 1993–2004. His most recent project with CARLA centered on the development of the Spanish Grammar Strategies Website for learners, which is intended to serve as a model for how to support the learning of problematic grammar forms in any language. His latest book, forthcoming with Multilingual Matters, is entitled Learning Pragmatics from Native and Nonnative Language Teachers.

Defining what constitutes a strategy has been a major undertaking of language learner strategy (LLS) theorists. According to Oxford (2017), there exist at least 33 different definitions of LLS, albeit some similar to others. This plethora of definitions is an indication of just how reluctant experts have been to agree on one common definition for this construct. Oxford (2017: 48) offers a comprehensive definition of 116 words, intended to provide closure at the definitional level. Among other things, she includes in her definition that strategies are contextually-specific thoughts and actions that can be both mental and physical; that they can be combined in clusters or chains; that they can have cognitive, emotional, and social roles to play as determined by the individual; and that their use in self-regulation is complex in nature. So what characterizes this definition is an effort to include various approaches to LLS definition. It would appear that this new definition of LLS invites us to deal with strategies in a more rigorous way than in the past, where a one-size-fits-all approach often was used when describing strategies.

Regardless of our definition of LLS, we need to remember that the principal goal of the LLS effort from its earliest years has always been to improve language learning and use for the average learner (Macaro, 2010). One curious phenomenon that I have seen over the years is that irrespective of how rigorous the definition is, the actual processes referred to as “strategies” frequently take on vague labels such as “use a dictionary,” “find a mnemonic device,” or “look for clues in the context.” Presumably, these labels will trigger in the mind of the learner a specific strategy to deploy in the given case for the given task. But there appears to be limited research as to just what the labels represent for learners in terms of intake, and in addition, there is generally not much attention paid to what happens with that strategy on a moment-by-moment basis.

A recent article providing guidelines for conducting a 2-hour Strategy Instruction (SI) workshop for secondary school teachers in Greece, for example, relies primarily on strategies as they appear in the traditional LLS literature (see Kantaridou & Papadopoulou, 2017). What are termed affective strategies, for example, include “encouraging yourself – taking risks wisely, making positive statements, and rewarding yourself.” What do these strategies actually entail at the functional level? What does “taking risks wisely” actually entail and when does it function as an affective strategy? In reality, taking risks wisely involves not just the affective function, but cognitive and metacognitive ones as well. Taking a risk presumably entails moments of planning and then also entails grappling with problematic cognitive material as well. And usually when learners are frustrated at not being able to, say, figure out what a word means in context, they may make a negative rather than a positive comment. It may be this “oh, darn!” moment that can trigger the metacognitive function of planning some other approach to determining what the word means.

The usual vagueness around what actually constitutes the strategic behavior in a given instance would explain why some decades ago there was such an effort to distinguish between something called a “strategy” and something called a “technique” (Stern, 1983) or a “tactic” (Seliger, 1984). This effort was based on a realization that in order for learners to accomplish any given target language (TL) task, they needed to go beyond these general labels to more specific selected processes. Then there was somewhat of a backlash against such a terminological split because at times it was difficult to determine just where the cutoff was between a more general strategy and the more specific techniques or tactics (Cohen, 2007). The resolution was to refer to all consciously selected TL processes as strategies, which is all the more reason for a definitional fine-tuning.

A close-order analysis of strategies also helps to reveal the existence of a continuum from more skill-like to more strategy-like behavior. For example, micro-level inspection of the cognitive functions of a given strategy can help identify possible avenues for SI in order to remediate the specific situation. Up until now, SI interventions have tended not to be fine-tuned in this way. There is evidence from the CARLA Spanish Grammar Strategies website that the use of empirically-validated, rigorously-detailed LLS may have a dramatic impact on language task performance, which is not necessarily the case when strategies are referred to more vaguely (see Cohen, Pinilla-Herrera, Thompson, & Witzig, 2011).

Once we are dealing with strategies that are specific to a given skill area and situated within a given task, what is wanted and needed is more work at the micro-level to determine the moment-to-moment functions that these strategies play in the learning and use of a TL. A close-up analysis of the functions of strategies found that metacognitive, cognitive, affective, and social functions fluctuated not only during the use of a single strategy, but also when learners moved from one strategy to another in sequences, pairs, and clusters (Cohen & Wang, 2017). Such close-order research can help language educators pinpoint instances of success and failure, which can then lead to selective intervention. It seems logical that if learners know just what functions (i.e., metacognitive, cognitive, social, or affective) are being engaged at each moment that a given strategy is being deployed, they may do better at managing their own learning. Analysis of these strategy functions should, for example, help learners and teachers alike to better understand the elusive but often crucial affective function of strategies (e.g., satisfaction or frustration) and the subsequent choice of functions that they trigger.

References

Cohen, A. D. (2007). Coming to terms with language learner strategies: Surveying the experts. In A. D. Cohen & E. Macaro (Eds.), Language learner strategies: 30 years of research and practice (pp. 29-45). Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Cohen, A. D., Pinilla-Herrera, A., Thompson, J. R., & Witzig, L. E. (2011). Communicating grammatically: Evaluating a learner strategies website for Spanish grammar. CALICO Journal, 29(1), 145-172.

Cohen, A. D., & Wang, K. H. (2017). Fluctuations in language strategy functions. Paper currently under review for publication in a journal.

Kantaridou, Z., & Papadopoulou, I. (2017). Encouraging language learning strategies – Empowering the learner. In: Z. Gavriilidou, K. Petrogenic M. Plastid & A. Psaltou-Joycey (eds), Language learning strategies: Theoretical issues and applied perspectives (pp. 160-191). Kavala, Greece: Saita Publications.

Macaro, E. (2010). The relationship between strategic behaviour and language learning success. In E. Macaro (ed.), Continuum companion to second language acquisition (pp. 268-299).  London: Continuum.

Oxford, R. L. (2017) Teaching and researching language learning strategies: Self-regulation in context. (2^nd ed). New York: Routledge.

Seliger, H. (1984). Processing universals in second language acquisition. In F. Eckman, L. Bell, & D. Nelson (eds), Universals of second language acquisition (pp. 36-47). Rowley, MA: Newbury House.

Stern, H. (1983). Fundamental concepts of language teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

From https://www.ewjus.com/index.php/ewjus

East/West: Journal of Ukrainian Studies is an open access, scholarly, peer-reviewed, online journal, based at the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies, University of Alberta, under the editorship of Professor Svitlana (Lana) Krys, Kule Chair in Ukrainian Studies (MacEwan University).

Volume 4, Number 2 is now available at https://www.ewjus.com/index.php/ewjus/issue/view/12

From https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/language-learner-strategies-9781474264143/

Language Learner Strategies: Contexts, Issues and Applications in Second Language Learning and Teaching
By Michael James Grenfell and Vee Harris
Published by Bloomsbury Publishing

Language Learner Strategies combines principles with research and classroom practice, providing a new view of language learning to inform policy and teaching methodology. Divided into three parts, the book draws links between language learning theory in the established research literature, the authors' own empirical studies and the implications for curriculum policy and teacher education.

The book addresses issues that to date have not been fully explored including the strategies of the 12-15 year old age range learning Modern Languages such as French, German, Spanish and Mandarin Chinese. A special focus is given to the sociocultural aspects of learner strategies and their link with psychological contexts in which they are used. The authors explore the cognitive turn in language learner strategy research and the practical teaching approaches it helps to develop. It sets a future agenda for learner strategy research and classroom practice.

Visit the publisher’s website at https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/language-learner-strategies-9781474264143/

From http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118914031.html

The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning
Edited by Carol A. Chapelle and Shannon Sauro
Published by Wiley

The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning presents a comprehensive exploration of the impact of technology on the field of second language learning.

The rapidly evolving language-technology interface has propelled dramatic changes in, and increased opportunities for, second language teaching and learning. Its influence has been felt no less keenly in the approaches and methods of assessing learners' language and researching language teaching and learning.

Contributions from a team of international scholars make up the Handbook consisting of four parts: language teaching and learning through technology; the technology-pedagogy interface; technology for L2 assessment; and research and development of technology for language learning. It considers how technology assists in all areas of language development, the emergence of pedagogy at the intersection of language and technology, technology in language assessment, and major research issues in research and development of technologies for language learning. It covers all aspects of language including grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, listening, speaking, pragmatics, and intercultural learning, as well as new pedagogical and assessment approaches, and new ways of conceiving and conducting research and development. 

The Handbook of Technology and Second Language Teaching and Learning demonstrates the extensive, multifaceted implications of technology for language teachers, learners, materials-developers, and researchers.

Visit the publisher’s website at http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1118914031.html

From https://www.routledge.com/A-Guide-to-Supervising-Non-native-English-Writers-of-Theses-and-Dissertations/Bitchener/p/book/9780415631815

A Guide to Supervising Non-native English Writers of Theses and Dissertations: Focusing on the Writing Process
By John Bitchener
Published by Routledge Taylor & Francis Group

Focused on the writing process, A Guide to Supervising Non-native English Writers of Theses and Dissertations presents approaches that can be employed by supervisors to help address the writing issues or difficulties that may emerge during the provisional and confirmation phases of the thesis/dissertation journey. Pre-writing advice and post-writing feedback that can be given to students are explained and illustrated.

A growing number of students who are non-native speakers of English are enrolled in Masters and PhD programs at universities across the world where English is the language of communication. These students often encounter difficulties when writing a thesis or dissertation in English – primarily, understanding the requirements and expectations of the new academic context and the conventions of academic writing.

Designed for easy use by supervisors, this concise guide focuses specifically on the relationship between reading for and preparing to write the various part-genres or chapters; the creation of argument; making and evaluating claims, judgements and conclusions; writing coherent and cohesive text; meeting the generic and discipline-specific writing conventions; designing conference abstracts and PowerPoint presentations; and writing journal articles.

Visit the publisher’s website at https://www.routledge.com/A-Guide-to-Supervising-Non-native-English-Writers-of-Theses-and-Dissertations/Bitchener/p/book/9780415631815

From http://www.slpconference.ca/call-for-proposals/

7th International Conference on Second Language Pedagogies
Language Learning and Teaching in an (Inter) Connected Society
June 25 & 26, 2018
University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Official Conference Languages: English and French

Hosted by the University of Victoria’s Department of French in beautiful Victoria, British Columbia, the 7th International Conference on Second Language Pedagogies (SLPC7) will explore pedagogical approaches, research-informed practices and scholarly research focused on second/foreign language and learning as they relate to current post-secondary education contexts. SLPC7 will provide an opportunity to discuss successes, challenges and emerging models related to the teaching and learning of second and foreign languages, as well as offer a rich environment for further collaboration among participants. Proposals are invited for academic papers (20 minutes), interactive workshops on innovative practices (60 minutes) and panels (60 minutes, 3-4 presenters) on the following topics or others related to the general theme of the conference.

●   curriculum (re) design for an interconnected society
●   language, multiliteracies and technology
●   innovative instructional methods
●   language studies for civic engagement and social justice
●   digital scholarship within language learning contexts

Abstracts (maximum 300 words) should be submitted by October 31st, 2017

View the full call for papers at http://www.slpconference.ca/call-for-proposals/