Social Spaces for Language Learning: Stories from the L-café

Social spaces for language learning, places where learners can come together in order to learn with and from each other, have an important role to play in foreign language acquisition and L2 identity development. In this book, sixteen students, teachers and administrators tell how they experience the L-café, a social language learning space located on the campus of a Japanese university. As part of a narrative inquiry, their unabridged stories are framed by background information on the study and an in-depth analysis informed by theories of space and place, and complex dynamic systems. Addressing practical as well as theoretical concerns, this book provides advice for language professionals developing and managing social language learning spaces, pedagogical insights for teachers exploring their role in out-of-class learning, and direction for researchers examining the various facets of language learning beyond the classroom.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. Exploring a Social Space for Language Learning; Garold Murray and Naomi Fujishima PART I: ADMINISTRATORS' PERSPECTIVES 2. Creating the L-café: An Administrator's Standpoint; Makoto Tahara 3. Five Years at the L-café: The Secret of Its Success; Mariko Uzuka 4. Management of L-café; Masumi Fujimoto PART II: TEACHERS' PERSPECTIVES 5. What I Learned From Working at the L-Café; Bob Lamitie 6. Writing Tutorials at the L-café; Masumi Igarashi 7. Providing Study Abroad Advice as a Viable Use of Social Learning Spaces; Thomas Fast 8. Optimizing Affordances: Developing a 'Digital Habitat' for the L-café; Claire Uchida PART III: STUDENTS' PERSPECTIVES 9. The Door to the L-café, the Door to the World; Naoko Nakamoto 10. My Life in the L-café from Different Angles; Kanako Miyake 11. L-café: The International Home; Kelly Ho 12. Defining Experience through the L-café; Daniel Tangonan 13. The Dark Side of L-café; Yosuke Hino 14. MyCritical Thoughts on English-Café and the L-Café; Saburo Fukuba 15. How I Got Involved with the L-café; Yu Miura 16. Fulfilling Time at the L-café; Yuya Tanimoto 17. L-café: The Source of My Motivation to Study English; Kazunori Kuwada 18. Understanding Social Spaces for Language Learning; Garold Murray and Naomi Fujishima

About the Author :
Garold Murray is an associate professor in the Language Education Center at Okayama University, Japan. He has published widely on the subject of autonomy in language learning and is currently pursuing research interests in social learning spaces, the semiotics of place, and imagination in language learning. Naomi Fujishima is a professor in the Language Education Center at Okayama University, Japan. Her interest in learner autonomy and student motivation stems from her years of teaching in Japan and the US. She has been actively involved in the Japan Association for Language Teaching for the past 25 years.

Review :
“Social spaces for language learning: Stories from the L-café describes the background, evolution and impact of the L-café, a social language learning space (SLLS) at Okayama University, Japan. This book is a must-read for anyone considering creating a similar space. … The narrative style of the text lends to an enjoyable and highly comprehensible reading experience … will be of value to researchers and practitioners alike.” (Anthony DiGiulio, Independence, Issue 71, October–November, 2017)