Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings

Edited by Stella Hurd, Tim Lewis

Publication date:

03 October 2008

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781847690982

Language learning strategies have been a topic of research for roughly three decades. Broadly speaking, that research has focused on classroom tuition, predominantly at secondary level. Increasingly, however, language learning occurs in independent settings, whether at distance, on Institution-Wide Language Programmes (IWLPs), or in virtual environments. Success in independent language learning is achieved by autonomous individuals with a capacity for self-regulation. Yet we still know relatively little about the specific means they use to learn effectively, whether in terms of the affective strategies they employ to sustain motivation, the metacognitive strategies required for planning, monitoring and evaluating their learning, or the specific cognitive strategies applied to difficult learning tasks. These are all discussed and evaluated in Language Learning Strategies in Independent Settings.

Introduction

Notes on Contributors

Part A: Language Learning Strategies: Theory, Research and Practice

1. Language Learning Strategies in Independent Language Learning: An Overview - Cynthia White

2. Individual Variation and Language Learning Strategies - Phil Benson and Xuesong Gao

3. Hero with a Thousand Faces: Learner Autonomy, Learning Strategies, and Learning Tactics in Independent Language Learning - Rebecca L. Oxford

Part B: Strategies for Skills Development in Independent Language Learning

4. Independent Second Language Reading as an Interdependent Process - Carolyn Gascoigne

5. Learning Strategies for Listening Comprehension - Larry Vandergrift

6. Second Language Composition in Independent Settings: Supporting the Writing Process with Cognitive Strategies - Melanie Bloom

7. Speaking Strategies for Independent Learning: Speech Acts and Pragmatic Performance - Andrew D. Cohen

8. Bringing the Learner Back into the Process - Identifying Learner Strategies for Grammatical Development in Independent Language Learning - Elspeth Broady and Nick Dwyer

9. Deliberate and Incidental: Vocabulary Learning Strategies in Independent Second Language Learning - John Klapper

10. Strategies for Acquiring Intercultural Competence - Inma Álvarez, Tita Beaven and Cecilia Garrido

Part C: Strategies for Learner Self-management

11. Learning Logs and Strategy Development for Distance and Other Independent Language Learners - Linda Murphy

12. Affect and Strategy Use in Independent Language Learning - Stella Hurd

13. Collaborative Language Learning Strategies in an Email Tandem Exchange - Ursula Stickler and Tim Lewis

14. Self-correction Strategies in Distance Language Learning - Mike Truman

15. Strategies for Online Learning Environments - Mirjam Hauck and Regine Hampel

16. Integrating Strategy Instruction into Learning Materials - Linda Murphy

The book has a good balance between theory, research and reports on practice, with useful illustration of tools and resources, and variety in the language and cultural contexts discussed.