Language Learner Autonomy: Policy, Curriculum, Classroom: A Festschrift in Honour of David Little(3 Contemporary Studies in Descriptive Linguistics)

This volume offers a collection of essays addressing contemporary issues in foreign and second language education. In particular, it addresses language learner autonomy, both as a theoretical construct and in relation to areas of application such as the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR), the European Language Portfolio (ELP), teacher training, Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), and minority language provision. The contributors – well-known researchers, policy makers, teachers and teacher trainers – provide a multi-faceted insight into an innovative and influential approach to language education. David Little, to whom the volume is dedicated, was Associate Professor of Applied Linguistics and Head of the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences at Trinity College Dublin. He is recognised worldwide as a leading proponent of the theory of language learner autonomy, and has been a driving force behind many influential language education initiatives internationally.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Leo van Lier: Foreword: Agency, Self and Identity in Language Learning – Lorna Carson/Breffni O’Rourke: Introduction: Language and Learners, Interdependence and Autonomy – Viljo Kohonen: Autonomy, Agency and Community in FL Education: Developing Site-based Understanding through a University and School Partnership – Lienhard Legenhausen: Group Work, Weak Learners and the Autonomous Classroom: Indirect Support for the Interaction Hypothesis? – Ema Ushioda: Researching Growth in Autonomy through I-Statement Analysis – Naoko Aoki/Osaka University Students: A Community of Practice as a Space for Collaborative Student Teacher Autonomy – Leni Dam: Developing Learner Autonomy with Adult Immigrants: A Case Study – Dieter Wolff: Developing Curricula for CLIL: Issues and Problems – Bernd Rüschoff: Authenticity in Language Learning Revisited: Materials, Processes, Aims – Bernd Voss: Language Teaching in Higher Education and the TCD Language Modules – Lorna Carson: Innovation and Autonomy in an Institution-Wide Language Programme – Ewelina Debaene/David Singleton: The Language Educational Experience of Polish Migrants in France and Ireland – Lorraine Leeson: Supporting Academic Success for the Irish Deaf Community – John Harris: Attitude Motivation in the Early Learning of Foreign Languages and Minority Second Languages – Muiris Ó Laoire: Change and Challenge in the Teaching of Irish – Pádraig Ó Riagáin: Implementing International Standards for Minority Language Policy: The Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities and Moldova between 2000 and 2005 – Waldemar Martyniuk: Assessing Competences at the End of Compulsory Schooling: The Polish Case – Androula Yiakoumetti/Edith Esch: Educational Complexities inherent in Bidialectal Communities and the Potential Contribution of the Common European Framework of Reference to Second-dialect Development – Joseph Sheils: Council of Europe Policy for Plurilingual Education – Rolf Schärer: The European Language Portfolio: Goals, Boundaries and Timelines – Hanne Thomsen: This is My Portfolio: Telling the Story of My Learning – Manolis Sisamakis: The Motivational Potential of the European Language Portfolio – Philip Riley: Reflections on Identity, Modernity and the European Language Portfolio.

About the Author :
The Editors: Breffni O’Rourke is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics in the School of Linguistic, Speech and Communication Sciences, Trinity College Dublin, where he is also Manager of Language Learning Technologies and Resources. His Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics (2003) was supervised by David Little; he also holds an M.Phil. in Linguistics (TCD) and an M.A. in German (National University of Ireland, Galway). His research interests include sociocultural and cognitive approaches to second language acquisition research; the nature of technology-mediated discourse; and the role of communication technologies in language pedagogy. Lorna Carson is Lecturer in Applied Linguistics at the Centre for Language and Communication Studies, Trinity College Dublin, where she also coordinates the CLCS Language Modules, the university’s institution-wide language programme. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Phil. in Applied Linguistics from Trinity College Dublin, and an M.A. in European Studies from the College of Europe, Belgium (Bruges). Her Ph.D., an investigation of the motivational role of goal-setting in adult refugees learning English, was supervised by David Little. Her current research interests and teaching responsibilities are in the areas of foreign and second language learning, language provision and policy, and L2 curriculum design.

Review :
"... the book provides a good opportunity for readers to appreciate the impact of [David Littles] scholarship, and to learn about the influence of autonomy research on the development of major language-education initiatives." (Xuesong (Andy) Gao, Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development)