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.

How do we intentionally design physical environments for language learning and teaching? How can we build spaces that are inclusive, accessible, safe and equitable? While the Covid-19 pandemic has advanced notions of online education, it has also revealed the benefits and affordances of human-to-human interaction in physical learning spaces. This book explores the design of physical spaces intended for language learning specifically. From residential learning spaces to active classrooms, from social and experiential spaces to zoom rooms and language centers, from mobile community-based learning to hybrid makerspaces, language learners and educators have more choices than ever regarding their possible learning environments. Changing pedagogies and new technologies provide ever more alternatives to the normalized technology of the classroom. With a focus on creating new awareness of the affordances and benefits of physical spaces as active agents in the language learning and teaching processes, this book takes a practical approach to introduce readers without any prior knowledge of design or architecture to the topic. As language learning spaces need to consider stakeholders from diverse cultures, Felix Kronenberg provides examples from language centers around the world, including Asia, Europe and the United States. Readers will learn how to conceptualize and create supportive, resilient, flexible, inclusive, accessible, affordable, sustainable, and safe physical learning spaces. The book is an interdisciplinary introduction to this emerging field, drawing from research in disciplines such as architecture, learning spaces design, second language acquisition, pedagogy, history, and sociology.

This book explores theories of space and place in relation to autonomy in language learning. Encompassing a wide range of linguistically and culturally diverse learning contexts, this edited collection brings together research papers from academics working in fourteen countries. In their studies, these researchers examine physical, virtual and metaphorical learning spaces from a wide range of theoretical and interdisciplinary perspectives (semiotic, ecological, complexity, human geography, linguistic landscapes, mediated discourse analysis, sociocultural, constructivist and social constructivist) and methodological approaches. The book traces its origins to the first-ever symposium on space, place and autonomy, which was held at the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) 2014 World Congress in Brisbane. The final chapter, which presents a thematic analysis of the papers in this volume, discusses the implications for theory development, further enquiry, and pedagogical practice.

This book provides a guide for autonomy-supportive leadership training, which is not limited to language learning but can be applied to any field where learners become empowered leaders. The principles and activities featured in this book aim to foster and sustain student-led learning communities that prioritize learners’ well-being, ensure everyone's voice is heard, and build a positive emotional climate conducive to learning. The authors believe that autonomy-supportive leadership training sets a positive cycle in motion, empowering student leaders in the present and continuing to inspire future generations of learners. Who is this book for? The book aims at anyone striving to facilitate students’ leadership development in an autonomy-supportive manner, as well as possibly the students themselves. Being a student facilitator is not based on where you work, whom you work with, or what learning students are engaged in. Instead, a student facilitator (who can be an educator or a student) empowers learners to be leaders by promoting autonomy-supportive principles and practices. A student facilitator might be a teacher, advisor, administrator, or student hoping to cultivate student leadership. This might be in the context of interest-based learning communities, circles, sports teams or volunteer groups. Or you might be supporting student workers and event organizers. Whichever kinds of student groups you work with, the concepts in this book, such as communities of practice, basic psychological needs, and leadership styles, have been widely applied in many fields and are just as applicable to student groups. Why should you read this book? As the authors write in the introduction, “autonomy-supportive leadership support does not simply build successful language learners, but rather future leaders who can positively contribute to any field they enter.” We invite you to set a chain reaction in motion to create a positive learning climate that prioritizes individuals' well-being and cultivates their potential for making positive contributions to the world.

No one is born fully-formed: it is through self-experience in the world that we become what we are. – Paulo Freire Diversity in Japanese Education explores ‘self-experience’ of individual learners and educators in Japan. The word ‘diversity’ is not limited to one’s ethnic background. Here, diversity refers to one’s pedagogical experiences and life experiences; to the norms, beliefs and values that impact such relations. These experiences and relations are fluid as they are shaped and reshaped in global and glocal settings. They are also reflected in praxis of English language learning and teaching in Japan. The authors’ educational backgrounds vary but they all share the common ground of being educators in Japan. Through being involved in learning and/or teaching English language in Japan, they have witnessed and experienced ‘diversity’ in their own pedagogical context. The book focuses on shifting critical and reflexive eyes on qualitative studies of pedagogical experiences rather than presenting one ‘fixed’ view of Japanese education.

This book examines how autonomy in language learning is fostered and constrained in social settings through interaction with others and various contextual features. With theoretical grounding, the authors discuss the implications for practice in classrooms, distance education, self-access centres, as well as virtual and social learning spaces.

This book presents three case studies that examine how English language students construct affinity spaces to secure target language-mediated socializing opportunities with local people in both academic and non-academic contexts. The studies were conducted in Hawaii, the U.S and Tokyo, Japan and focus on the Japanese author of this book, an English as second language (ESL) speaker and learner, during his sabbatical in Hawaii; on a Japanese international student who studied in Hawaii; and on a Chinese international student studying in Japan. The studies hold a variety of implications for classroom practice, including helping students recognize the value of cultural and social capital in relation to their linguistic skills.

This book critically refines and adds depth to current understandings and practices in EAP (English for Academic Purposes) and EMI (English-Medium Instruction), using empirical research examining the experiences of English language learning and use of undergraduate and postgraduate international students in the UK. The author illuminates the language learning that takes place in and around English-medium higher education settings, both formally and informally, with a specific focus on courses with a creative or professional practice orientation. Drawing on theoretical insights from socio-cultural Second Language Acquisition, this volume capitalises on the synergies between applied linguistics and higher education research to paint a richer picture of the interactions facilitating student growth as confident and competent communicators in globalised academic and professional settings. Considering the broader implications of language development initiatives, this volume will be of interest to students and scholars of applied linguistics, English as a Second Language and second language acquisition.

Provides a comprehensive and unique examination of global language learning outside of the formal school setting Authored by a prominent team of international experts in their respective fields, The Handbook of Informal Language Learning is a one-of-a-kind reference work and it is a timely and valuable resource for anyone looking to explore informal language learning outside of a formal education environment. It features a comprehensive collection of cutting edge research areas exploring the cultural and historical cases of informal language learning, along with the growing area of digital language learning, and the future of this relevant field in national development and language education. The Handbook of Informal Language Learning examines informal language learning from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Structured across six sections, chapters cover areas of motivation, linguistics, cognition, and multimodality; digital learning, including virtual contexts, gaming, fanfiction, vlogging, mobile devices, and nonformal programs; and media and live contact, including learning through environmental print, tourism/study abroad. The book also provides studies of informal learning in four national contexts, examines the integration of informal and formal classroom learning, and discusses the future of language learning from different perspectives. Edited by respected researchers of computer-mediated communication and second language learning and teacher education Features contributions by leading international scholars reaching out to a global audience Presents an exciting and progressive selection of chapters in a rapidly expanding field of research and teaching Provides a state-of-the-art collection of the theories, as well as the historical, cultural and international cases relating to informal language learning and its future in a digital age Covers 30 key topics that represent pioneering findings and new research The Handbook of Informal Language Learning is an essential resource for researchers, students, and professionals in the fields of language acquisition, English as a second language, and foreign language education.