Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching

244 Pages·2015·2.02 MB·English

by  Paula Kalaja

Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language
Learning and Teaching
Also by Paula Kalaja and Ana Maria F. Barcelos (co-authored and co-edited)
BELIEFS ABOUT SLA
New Research Approaches
NARRATIVES OF LEARNING AND TEACHING EFL
Beliefs, Agency and
Identity in Foreign
Language Learning and
Teaching
Paula Kalaja
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Ana Maria F. Barcelos
Federal University of Viçosa, Brazil
Mari Aro
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Maria Ruohotie-Lyhty
University of Jyväskylä, Finland
© Paula Kalaja, Ana Maria F. Barcelos, Mari Aro and Maria Ruohotie-Lyhty 2015
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2015 978-1-137-42594-2
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First published 2015 by
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ISBN 978-1-349-55423-2 ISBN 978-1-137-42595-9 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9781137425959
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A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Beliefs, agency and identity in foreign language learning and teaching /
Paula Kalaja, University of Jyväskylä, Finland ; Ana Maria F. Barcelos,
Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Brazil ; Mari Aro, University of Jyväskylä, Finland
Maria Ruohotie-Lyhty University of Jyväskylä, Finland,
pages cm
1. Language and languages – Study and teaching – Foreign speakers.
2. Second language acquisition. I. Kalaja, Paula, editor. II. Ferreira, Ana Maria
(Ana Maria Barcelos) editor. III. Aro, Mari, editor. IV. Ruohotie-Lyhty, Maria,
editor.
P53.B425 2015
418.0071—dc23 2015026464
Contents
List of Figures v ii
List of Tables v iii
Acknowledgements x
Introduction 1
1 The Book in a Nutshell 3
2 Key Issues Relevant to the Studies to Be Reported: Beliefs,
Agency and Identity 8
Part I Learning English as a Foreign Language:
From School Children to Young Adults 2 5
3 Authority Versus Experience: Dialogues on Learner Beliefs 27
Mari Aro
4 In Action and Inaction: English Learners Authoring
Their Agency 48
Mari Aro
Part II Studying Foreign Languages: From First-Year
University Students to Graduates 6 7
5 Student Teachers’ Beliefs and Motivation, and the
Shaping of Their Professional Identities 71
Ana Maria F. Barcelos
6 Student Teachers’ Beliefs about L1 and L2 Discursively
Constructed: A Longitudinal Study of Interpretative
Repertoires 97
Paula Kalaja
7 ‘Dreaming Is Believing’: The Teaching of Foreign
Languages as Envisioned by Student Teachers 124
Paula Kalaja
v
vi Contents
Part III Teaching Foreign Languages: From Novice
Teachers to Experienced Professionals 1 47
8 D ependent or Independent: The Construction of the
Beliefs of Newly Qualified Foreign Language Teachers 149
Maria Ruohotie-Lyhty
9 S tories of Change and Continuity: Understanding the
Development of the Identities of Foreign Language Teachers 172
Maria Ruohotie-Lyhty
Conclusion 2 03
10 C omparing and Contrasting the Studies Reported:
Lessons Learnt 2 05
Notes 2 19
References 2 21
Index 2 35
List of Figures
II.1 M etaphor (originally in bright colours): giving a foreign
language class in the future (SK) 6 8
7.1 S elf-portrait of an EFL learner (originally in bright
colours): with books, without others and other
media (LYO) 126
7.2 C lassroom (originally in black-and-white): with desks in
traditional rows and a board and books (NN) 1 32
7.3 C lassroom (originally in blue-and-white): with desks in a
semicircle and two boards, without books (TL) 132
7.4 C lassroom (originally in black-and-white): with oval
tables, without a board or books (AMS) 1 33
7.5 C lassroom (originally in colours): without desks,
a board or books (AJ) 1 33
7.6 N o classroom (school kitchen; originally in
black-and-white) (NK) 1 34
7.7 C lassroom (originally in black-and-white): with a board,
without desks or books (JS) 1 41
10.1 I nterrelatedness of beliefs, agency, identity, and emotions 212
vii
List of Tables
2.1 Carrying out research on learner beliefs (revised from Kalaja,
1995, 2003): two approaches 11
2.2 Summary of the longitudinal studies reported in this volume 24
3.1 Summary of the study 47
4.1 Summary of the study 65
5.1 Participants 76
5.2 Data collection over the three-year period 7 7
5.3 Steps towards professional competence taken by the student
teachers while studying for their BA 9 5
5.4 Summary of the study 85
6.1 Research project From Novice to Expert : stages, data and focus 100
6.2 The Affection repertoire illustrated with translated
excerpts 104
6.3 The Aesthetics repertoire illustrated with translated
excerpts 106
6.4 The Vitality repertoire illustrated with translated excerpts 108
6.5 The Challenge repertoire illustrated with translated
excerpts 110
6.6 T he Interpretative repertoires identified (FL stands for
foreign language) 112
6.7 Summary of the study 119
7.1 Studies carried out at the University of Jyväskylä since
the pioneering study by Kalaja et al. (2008), using
visual narratives as data 128
7.2 Artefacts to be found in a classroom as envisioned by future
foreign language teachers (N = 58, metaphors excluded) 135
7.3 Interaction in the classroom as envisioned by future
foreign language teachers (N = 56, two drawings
without any human figures) 137
7.4 Two competing discourses of or ways of believing about
foreign language teaching (and learning) 1 42
7.5 Summary of the study 146
8.1 Data collection in the project 154
8.2 Participants: workplaces and qualifications 1 56
8.3 Use of the repertoires by each teacher 1 66
viii
List of Tables ix
8.4 Summary of the study 171
9.1 Summary of the participants’ work experience and
qualifications, and times when they were interviewed 176
9.2 Themes in the interviews with the teachers – over the years 179
9.3 Summary of the study 201