It is generally understood that most language learners beyond a certain age are unlikely to ever reach nativelike proficiency in their second language. However, there exists a unique population of gifted adult learners who do triumph against all odds and achieve nativelike proficiency, and their learning experiences have thus far remained a largely untapped gold mine. The companion to Lessons from Exceptional Language Learners Who Have Achieved Nativelike Proficiency, this volume presents the autobiographical learning stories of 30 such exceptional individuals, opening a narrative window into their learning experiences. This rich corpus of success stories reveals the many steps of these language learning journeys and the learners’ pathways to success. A fascinating and readable collection of personal stories, this volume will be of interest to non-specialist language learners as a motivational primer for their own studies as well as researchers working in language learning psychology, who will find the unique database of learner narratives a useful tool for future research.

How do some language learners triumph against all odds, despite not having obvious heritage links or spending extended periods of time in the L2 environment pre-adulthood? This book delves into the autobiographical stories of learners who achieve nativelike proficiency, opening a narrative window into their experiences and offering insights into their pathways to success. The in-depth analysis ties together a wide range of potentially relevant topics, from motivational vision and international posture to issues of identity, endurance and even musical ability, among other themes. The authors explore whether these successes can be repeated by others and the book will be of use to language teachers interested in learner motivation and the antecedents to high-level ultimate attainment. The book will also be of great interest to researchers working in the areas of language learner psychology, especially in topics concerning language learning motivation, identity and narrative inquiry.

Questioning the construction of the ‘native speaker’ as an authority and ideal in language education, this book offers a critical and accessible engagement with research problematising notions of ‘nativeness’ while emphasising the interactional and ongoing nature of identity construction. Crossing disciplinary and geographical boundaries, this book interweaves theoretical frameworks from diverse disciplines, examining and challenging language ideologies that underpin and perpetuate systemic inequalities. The author argues that this multidisciplinary approach can help disrupt the fixed identity categories on which the native speaker construct is based, prompting a reconception of how we think about ourselves in relation to others and in relation to our position in the world. Chapters present different teacher models as well as specific strategies and activities to stimulate debate and encourage approaches which prioritise pedagogical competence over the native speaker ideal. Providing an accessible overview of complex issues along with strategic action in teacher education, this book will be of interest to researchers, academics, and postgraduate students in the fields of language education, applied linguistics, Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL), and teacher education. Teacher educators and language teachers should also benefit from this volume.

The scope of individual learner differences is broad, yet there is no current, comprehensive, and unified volume that provides an overview of the considerable amount of research conducted on various language learner differences, until now.

A clear and practical introduction to second language acquisition, written for students encountering the topic for the first time.