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This book uses a complex systems perspective to describe how a language school in Greece evolved, and at times resisted change. Starting with an accessible introduction to complex systems theory (CST), it uses a complexity perspective to interpret data generated during a year of fieldwork. The author outlines the linguistic, pedagogical and political influences that shape teaching and learning at the school. He shows how teaching and learning emerged from the interaction of top-down constraints, available resources, and purposes of instruction. This produces a nuanced understanding English Language Teaching against the backdrop of globalisation. Additionally, the author exemplifies how CST can provide a theoretically powerful frame for researching English Language Teaching.
The volume is a practical introduction to the ways in which the teachers deal with classroom events in the context of change for researchers, teachers, administrators who wish to implement curriculum reform to EFL in schools. The author provides insights into the beliefs of Chinese teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), and their pedagogical choices in the context of the National English Curriculum Reform. The complex nature of EFL teachers’ beliefs about EFL teaching and learning are exposed, how their beliefs interact with mental and actionable processes triggered by classroom practice, and how their beliefs co-adapt with contexts to maintain the stability of the teachers’ belief systems. This is the first study to present complexity theory in a narrative context of education, exploring the non-linear and unpredictable features of the relationship between the teachers’ beliefs and practices. Integrating complexity theory with interpretivist, ecological and sociocultural perspectives, this book contributes to the research agenda by providing a systematic framework for examining teacher beliefs as a whole, and examining the extent to which western theory may be applied to Chinese educational contexts.
This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to methodological analyses, pedagogical proposals, and conceptual frameworks for future research. In a balanced and in-depth manner, the authors provide a comprehensive and interdisciplinary understanding of second language development, with a wealth of insights that promise to break the status-quo of current research and take it to exciting new territory. The book will appeal to both seasoned and novice researchers in applied linguistics, second language acquisition, bilingualism, cognitive psychology, and education, as well as to practitioners in second or foreign language teaching of any language.
This textbook takes a Complex Systems Theory approach to examine individual differences between learners and the potential impact of these variables on the process of acquiring a second language. The authors argue that individual variables cannot provide the complete picture, and that they must instead be understood as part of an interconnected and dynamic system of different factors in order to be useful in a language learning context. Written in an accessible style and suitable for final-year undergraduate and Masters-level students, the book includes clear definitions of key terms, discussion questions for classroom use, practical exercises and activities, and examples of real empirical studies that students and teachers can replicate in their own contexts. This textbook will be of interest to students taking TESOL and SLA courses and modules, as well as those on broader Applied Linguistics programmes.
What do a short car trip, a pandemic, the wood-wide fungal web, a challenging learning experience, a storm, transport logistics, and the language(s) we speak have in common? All of them are systems, or multiple sets of systems within systems. What happens in any set of circumstances will depend on a mix of initial conditions, complexity dynamics, and the odd wild card (e.g., a chance event). While it is possible to model and predict what might or perhaps should happen, it is impossible to be certain. "It depends" thinking needs to be applied. Future-focused literature identifies complex systems thinking as an essential capability for citizenship, and this book sets out to show teachers how they might foster it-for themselves as well as for their students. There are implications for pedagogy, curriculum, and assessment. Multiple examples show what changes might look like, for students of different ages, and in different subject contexts. This is a book of several layers: It is both practical and philosophical. There is explicit discussion of parallels between complexity science and indigenous knowledge systems (specifically mātauranga Māori in the New Zealand context). The many examples are designed to appeal to general readers with an interest in the complex challenges facing contemporary societies, as well as to teachers at all levels of the education system.
Accessible introduction to rapidly growing field of interest across disciplines. Explains key constructs: chaos; complexity; dynamic systems; emergence etc. Demonstrates applications to areas of applied linguistics. Illustrates how complex systems thinking can challenge established ideas. Discusses implications for theory, research, and practice.
Exposing the deeply harmful impact of street-style policing on urban high school students
This edited collection challenges the perceptions of disciplinary, linguistic, geographical and ideological borders that run across language education. By highlighting commonalities and tracing connections between diverse sub-fields that have traditionally been studied separately, the book shows how the perspectives of practitioners and researchers working in diverse areas of language education can mutually inform each other. It consists of three thematic parts: Part I outlines the field of language education and challenges its definition by highlighting additional theoretical constructs that have tended to be viewed as separate from language education. Part II investigates curricular boundaries, showing how the language-learning curriculum can be enriched by connections with other curricular areas. Lastly, Part III looks into the challenges and opportunities associated with language education against the backdrop of globalisation.
"This book captures the multi-faceted nature of new technologies and their potential for language use and language learning and the transformative changes they have introduced within language classrooms. With theoretically-grounded rigour, Regine Hampel provides a comprehensive, readable and thought-provoking account of disruptive technologies, shedding light on the theoretical and practical implications that come with new tools and new practices for language learning."--Cynthia J. Massey, Professor of Applied Linguistics, Massey University, New Zealand. "Digital technologies are changing our lives, and in this exciting book we see how they are shifting our language learning and teaching practices. By combining a complex systems theory perspective with sociocultural understandings, Regine Hampel offers rich ways to understand what is happening and opens up important questions for pedagogy, theory, and research." -- Lynne Cameron, Professor Emerita, Open University, UK. Although new technologies are embedded in students' lives today, there is often an assumption that their use is transparent, inconsequential, or a distraction. This book combines complex systems theory with sociocultural theory and the multimodal theory of communication, providing an innovative theoretical framework to examine how communication and meaning-making in the language classroom have developed over time, how technology impacts on meaning-making, and what the implications are for learners, teachers, institutions and policy makers. Recent studies provide evidence for the disruptive effect of technology which has resulted in a phase shift that is reshaping language education by creating new interaction patterns, allowing for multimodal communication, and introducing real-world communication into the classroom. The book proposes ways of responding to this shift before concluding that the new technologies are radically transforming the way we learn. It is likely to appeal to a range of readers, including students, academics, teachers and policy-makers. Regine Hampel is Professor of Open and Distance Language Learning at the Open University, UK.
This volume encompasses the range of research questions on language-related problems that arise in language teaching, learning and assessment. The [150] chapters are written by experts in the field who each offer their insights into current and future directions of research, and who suggest several highly relevant research questions. Topics include, but are not limited to: language skills teaching, language skills assessment and testing, measurement, feedback, discourse analysis, pragmatics, semantics, language learning through technology, CALL, MALL, ESP, EAP, ERPP, TBLT, materials development, genre analysis, needs analysis, corpus, content-based language teaching, language teaching and learning strategies, individual differences, research methods, classroom research, form-focused instruction, age effects, literacy, proficiency, and teacher education and teacher development. The book serves as a reference and offers inspiration to researchers and students in language education. An important skill in reviewing the research literature is following a study’s “plan of attack.” Broadly, this means that before accepting and acting upon the findings, one considers a) the research question (Is it clear and focused? Measurable?), b) the subjects examined, the methods deployed, and the measures chosen (Do they fit the study’s goal and have the potential to yield useful results?), and c) the analysis of the data (Do the data lead to the discussion presented? Has the author reasonably interpreted results to reach the conclusion?). Mohebbi and Coombe’s book, Research Questions in Language Education and Applied Linguistics: A Reference Guide, helps budding researchers take the first step and develop a solid research question. As the field of language education evolves, we need continual research to improve our instructional and assessment practices and our understanding of the learners’ language learning processes. This book with its remarkable 150 topics and 10 times the number of potential research questions provides a wealth of ideas that will help early career researchers conduct studies that move our field forward and grow our knowledge base. Deborah J. Short, Ph.D., Director, Academic Language Research & Training, Past President, TESOL International Association (2021-22) As a teacher in graduate programs in TESOL I frequently come across the frustration of students at centering their research interests on a particular topic and developing research questions which are worth pursuing so as to make a contribution to the field. This frustration stems from the fact that our field is so vast and interrelated, that it is often impossible to properly address all that interests them. Hence, I wholeheartedly welcome this most relevant and innovative addition to the research literature in the field of TESOL and Applied Linguistics. Coombe and Mohebbi have created a real tour de force that stands to inform budding researchers in the field for many years to come. Additionally, the cutting-edge depiction of the field and all it has to offer will no doubt update the research agendas of many seasoned researchers around the world. The 150 chapters are organized in a most powerful, yet, deceptively simple way offering a positioning within the topic, suggesting questions that might direct inquiry and offering a basic set of bibliographic tools to start the reader in the path towards research. What is more, the nine sections in which the chapters are organized leave no area of the field unexplored. Dr. Gabriel Díaz Maggioli, Academic Advisor, Institute of Education, Universidad ORT del Uruguay, President, IATEFL