The Dynamic Interplay between Context and the Language Learner

This edited volume offers a series of state-of-the-art conceptual papers and empirical research studies which consider how contextual factors at multiple levels dynamically interact with individuals to influence how they go about the complex business of learning and using a second language.

Table of Contents:
Foreword; Diane Larsen-Freeman 1. Introduction to the Dynamic Interplay between Context and the Language Learner; Jim King 2. The Contexts Within Me: L2 Self as a Complex Dynamic System; Sarah Mercer 3. The Dynamic Interplay of the Ideal Self, Mental Imagery and Context: A Language Learner's Journey of Success; Letty Chan 4. Past Selves: Emerging Motivational Guides across Temporal Contexts; Joseph Falout 5. When the Learner becomes the Context: Strategic Identity Display in Learning English as a Foreign Language in Europe; Florentina Taylor and Vera Busse 6. The Context-sensitivity of Self-concept and Willingness to Communicate in the Chinese EFL Classroom: A Case Study; Jian-E Peng 7. Talk and Silence in an EFL Classroom: Interplay of Learners and Context; Tomoko Yashima, Maiko Ikeda and Satomi Nakahira 8. Classroom Silence and the Dynamic Interplay between Context and the Language Learner: A Stimulated Recall Study; Jim King 9. The Dynamic Interplay between Language and Social Context in the Language Classroom: Interpersonal Turn Taking for ELF Learners; Michael Handford 10. A Dynamic Perspective on Student Language Teachers' Different Learning Pathways in a Collaborative Context; Agneta Svalberg and Jim Askham 11. Language Learning in Context: Complex Dynamic Systems and the Role of Mixed Methods Research; Alex Gilmore 12. Context and Inference in Language Testing; Glenn Fulcher

About the Author :
Jim Askham, University of Leicester, UK Vera Busse, Carl von Ossietzky University, Germany Letty Chan, Hong Kong Shue Yan University Joseph Falout, Nihon University, Japan Glenn Fulcher, University of Leicester, UK Alex Gilmore, University of Tokyo, Japan Michael Handford, University of Tokyo, Japan Maiko Ikeda, Kansai University, Japan Jim King, University of Leicester, UK Diane Larsen-Freeman, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA Sarah Mercer, University of Graz, Austria Satomi Nakahira, Kansai University, Japan Jian-E Peng, Shantou University, China Agneta Svalberg, University of Leicester, UK Florentina Taylor, University of Greenwich, London Tomoko Yashima, Kansai University, Japan

Review :
'This pioneering collection of papers develops a range of descriptive and analytical approaches for understanding how language education is generated by the ecological interplay of contexts and language learners. The use of Complexity Theory as a frame makes this an inspiring and forward-looking contribution. The volume also connects to more established theoretical frames, thereby illustrating how the new science of complexity may expand the possibilities for research into the relationship between contexts and language learners. This makes the volume essential reading for students, professionals and researchers needing access to the 'cutting-edge' of scholarship in this area.' ? Dr Juup Stelma, Programme Director MA TESOL, University of Manchester, UK