“Theoretically wise and practically powerful, this book is about how to take full advantage of advances in technology and the learner autonomy they afford, rather than simply adapt to or deny them. It issues a clarion call to language educators and administrators interested in building on recent advances in language learning via the informal avenues of digital communications.” --Mark Dressman, Professor Emeritus, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US, Professor and Chair of English at Khalifa University, UAE “This important and original book challenges us to rethink the design and delivery of the language learning opportunities universities provide for their students. Drawing on Complex Dynamic Systems Theory, Self-Determination Theory and her own empirical explorations of informal online language learning, Denyze Toffoli paints a portrait of today’s university language learner that is novel, unexpected and urgent.” --David Little, Fellow and Associate Professor Emeritus at Trinity College, Ireland This book takes a fresh look at both context and the language learner in an attempt to shed light on the holistic and ever-changing system of the contemporary L2 speaker’s language development. Drawing on complex dynamic systems theory as a means to more fully understand the holistic nature of contemporary language learning, the author attempts to bridge the longstanding gap between formal language provision in Higher Education institutions, and more informal language acquisition achieved through activities such as listening to music, watching films and television, and playing games. Based on a theoretical understanding of the interplay between these contexts, contents and practices, the author offers suggestions concerning the shape of language centres in higher education and the role of teachers in readying the contemporary language learner for autonomous lifelong and lifewide language development. This book will be of particular interest to language teachers, teacher trainers, and higher education administrators.

The study of informal involvement with additional languages has recently emerged as a dynamic research field in SLA. With the rapid development and spread of internet-based technologies, contact with foreign languages outside the classroom has become commonplace. While this can take multiple forms, online contents are a major driving force because they present learners with unprecedented opportunities for exposure to and use of target languages regardless of their physical location. Research from diverse geographical, educational and socio-economic contexts bring a rich variety of perspectives to this book. It explores these phenomena via a range of theoretical frameworks and methodological approaches, focusing particularly on individual differences and language development. The volume proposes that teachers in formal learning settings should seek to support and facilitate the development of these identities and practices, and it indicates means they can adopt to best do so.

In today’s digital era, increasing numbers of youth around the world learn English outside classrooms, frequently with the use of technology. This timely book brings together research and theory on the increasingly common phenomenon of Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE) among students of all ages and across a wide range of contexts globally. By examining the positive impact of IDLE on students’ reading, writing, listening, and speaking abilities, as well as the unique challenges that result, Lee synthesizes research in one accessible and comprehensive volume in this rapidly developing domain. This book addresses key concepts, including Computer Assisted Language Learning, the impact on standardized assessment, and the role of classroom learning. Lee offers empirically tested activities, pedagogical recommendations, and lesson plans to engage ESL/EFL students. The research overview and practical offerings make this an ideal text for courses in TESOL on online education, language teaching online, digital learning, community and language, and applied linguistics.

This book is the first in-depth examination of the application of theories of space to issues of second language learning. The author introduces the work of key thinkers on the theory of space and place and the relevance of their ideas to second language acquisition (SLA). He also outlines a new conceptual framework and set of terms for researching SLA that centre on the idea of 'language learning environments'. The book considers the spatial contexts in which language learning takes place and investigates how these spatial contexts are transformed into individualised language learning environments, as learners engage with a range of human and nonhuman, and physical and nonphysical, resources in their daily lives. Revisiting linguistics and language learning theory from a spatial perspective, the book demonstrates that the question of where people learn languages is equally as important as that of how they do so. This work is essential reading for any researcher wishing to research the role of the environment as an active player in SLA.

The 2021 EUROCALL conference engaged just under 250 speakers from 40 different countries. Cnam Paris and Sorbonne Université joined forces to host and organise the event despite the challenging context due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Originally programmed to be held on site in the heart of Paris, France, the EUROCALL organising team and executive committee agreed to opt for a blended and then for a fully online conference. The theme of the 2021 EUROCALL conference was “CALL & Professionalisation”. This volume, a selection of 54 short papers by some of the EUROCALL 2021 presenters, offers a combination of research studies as well as practical examples fairly representative of the theme of the conference.

​This book presents a unique perspective from an underrepresented region in the Global South. The volume features four different countries in the region: Barbados, Guyana, St. Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Martinique, an island located just north of St. Lucia which is an overseas region of France. It documents innovations in learning and teaching Spanish, French, and Chinese in the case of the English-speaking countries, and English as a foreign language (EFL) in the case of Martinique. The chapters cover different aspects of language education in the Caribbean and will be of particular interest to those involved in managing change in language education that attempts to mediate between global trends and local needs.

In this volume, language learning and professionalization are explored by addressing the existing gap between pressing needs for enhanced soft skills in work environments wherein technology-mediated, multilingual communication is increasingly the norm, and current foreign language teaching and learning offerings in higher education. Considering theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical perspectives for preparing language learners and teachers in/for the 21st century, this volume’s eight chapters underscore that research findings should inform the design of learning experiences so that people’s communication needs in fast-changing work environments are met and the link between language education and professionalization, within a lifelong learning perspective, is sustained.