29.580, Review: Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Lai (2017)

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LINGUIST List: Vol-29-580. Fri Feb 02 2018. ISSN: 1069 - 4875.

Subject: 29.580, Review: Applied Linguistics; Language Acquisition: Lai (2017)

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Date: Fri, 02 Feb 2018 16:12:03
From: Ali Dincer [dincer at ualberta.ca]
Subject: Autonomous Language Learning with Technology

 
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Book announced at http://linguistlist.org/issues/28/28-2864.html

AUTHOR: Chun  Lai
TITLE: Autonomous Language Learning with Technology
SUBTITLE: Beyond the Classroom
SERIES TITLE: Bloomsbury Advances in Digital Language Learning and Teaching
PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury Publishing (formerly The Continuum International Publishing Group)
YEAR: 2017

REVIEWER: Ali Dincer, Erzincan University, Turkey

REVIEWS EDITOR: Helen Aristar-Dry

SUMMARY

In one of his recent books, which provided a snapshot of the growth of the
topic of autonomy in the field of foreign/second language (L2), Benson (2013)
reported that an increasing number of articles and special issues have been
published in the language learning and teaching journals, that several leading
international conferences have taken place, that a number of collaborative
works have been conducted and that over 30 book-length publications have been
produced within the last decade. Despite the sheer quantity of the literature
on autonomy, most studies are concerned with in-class or institutional
language learning (Benson & Reinders, 2011; Reinders & Benson, 2017). What
happens outside of the classroom in regard to successful language learning is
little known and, therefore, more research is needed to gain an in-depth
understanding (Lai, Zhu, & Gong, 2015). Hence, autonomous language learning
beyond the classroom, with its various names (e.g., out-of-class learning,
non-instructional learning, after-class, extracurricular or out-of-school),
still lingers as a relatively unexplored terrain (Lai et al., 2015; Reinders &
Benson, 2017). Given this, autonomy beyond the classroom is a promising topic
of interest for educators and will have its heyday in the years to come with
the proliferation of information and communication technologies in the era of
digital language learning and teaching. Chun Lai, with her timely book,
Autonomous Language Learning with Technology: Beyond the Classroom, makes a
clear contribution to this less-charted terrain with reference to K-12 schools
and universities. She provides readers with an overview of the phenomenon in a
book with three sections and a total of nine chapters.

The first section, Understanding Out-of-Class Autonomous Language Learning
with Technology, has four chapters. This section presents background knowledge
of the importance of autonomous language learning beyond the classroom. It
comprises topics on the key terminologies, theoretical backgrounds, nature and
decisive factors of learners’ out-of-class autonomous language learning with
technology.

The first chapter, Introducing Key Concepts, discusses the concepts pertinent
to autonomy and technology. After a short description of the autonomy and
goals of autonomous language learning, the author draws a yin-yang shape by
centring autonomous language learning with technology beyond the classroom.
Later, she illustrates a framework of reference for the relationship between
autonomous language learning and three goals (i.e., autonomy as language
learner, autonomy as language user and autonomy as person). Finally, she
elaborates on autonomous learning with reference to the associated terms of
self-directed learning, agency, informal learning and so forth.

The second chapter, Theoretical Backgrounds and Frameworks, is a highly
comprehensive review of the reciprocal relationship between technology and
autonomous language learning. With reference to the literature (Benson, 2005;
Murray, 1999, as cited in this book) and emphasizing that the faith in learner
autonomy is largely dependent on technology, Lai summarizes various models
from the theoretical perspectives of autonomy beyond the classroom and
stresses that the models presented in the book depict different lenses of the
phenomena rather than a comprehensive list. After proposing a more detailed
version of the framework, which had already been presented in the first
chapter, she discusses the phenomenon in light of the three goals of
autonomous learning in the model.

The third chapter, The Nature of Out-of-Class Autonomous Language Learning
with Technology, encompasses the different facets of the concept and provides
the reader with research-based findings regarding the concept in question. By
drawing the reader’s attention to the fact that work on autonomous language
learning is in its infancy, Lai deals with the nature of autonomous learning
beyond the classroom in terms of learners’ use of technology, interaction with
various technological resources and the construction of language-learning
ecology through in-class and out-of-class learning. After describing
out-of-class practices, she questions the quality of learning ecology and
focuses a lens on the positive associations between out-of-class learning
experience and outcomes. To assess learners’ learning experience outside the
classroom, she then conceptualizes a balance-oriented framework for the
quality of out-of-class language learning. 

The fourth chapter, Factors that Affect Out-of-Class Autonomous Language
Learning with Technology, examines a subset of factors that affect learners’
selection of technological tools for their self-directed learning and
discusses these factors under two headings: learner internal and learner
external factors. Based on a range of research from across the world, Lai
first provides readers with some oft-cited internal factors of autonomous
language learning beyond technology, such as gender, language proficiency
level, language learning beliefs/values and language learning preferences.
Later, she lists some research-based external factors. These include social
context, comprising language teachers, peers and parents of learners,
expectation and instruction type of educational institutions and
characteristics of technological resources. In addition to these two
stand-alone factors (i.e., internal and external factors), Lai emphasizes the
joint facilitative role of these factors in determining language learners’
selection of technological tools in their learning. She ends the chapter with
a call for more research to address the factors that affect out-of-class
autonomous learning.

The second section of the book, entitled Promoting Out-of-Class Autonomous
Language Learning with Technology, consists of three chapters that discuss how
to promote and support language learners’ autonomous learning with technology
beyond the classroom. More specifically, Lai examines language learners’ needs
and the roles of teachers for the development of learner autonomy. She
outlines the major design principles for educators wishing to create
technology-enhanced language learning resources.

The fifth chapter, Learner Training, begins with a summary of language
learners’ perceptions regarding autonomous language learning with technology
beyond the classroom. Lai then unfolds the divergence in learners’ and
teachers’ expectations of technology support beyond the classroom. She agrees
with the idea that learners need explicit training activities to use
technology and tools for acquiring self-directed study skills in language
learning. Finally, she presents research-based evidence in response to the
questions of what to support and how to support learners’ autonomous language
learning with technology.

The sixth chapter, Teachers' Role, emphasizes how important teacher autonomy
is for learners’ academic life and achievements and then provides research
evidence regarding the role of teacher autonomy in shaping learners’ use of
technology beyond the classroom. By tying together two viewpoints, the
component and process-oriented framework, Lai describes how teacher autonomy
is a prerequisite for learner autonomy, why language teachers are reluctant to
hand control to students and why they cannot create autonomy-supportive
conditions. Referring to other studies (e.g., Hafner & Young, 2007; Little,
1995, as cited in this book), she concludes that to help teachers fulfil their
responsibilities in promoting students’ learning beyond the classroom, they
should be informed about self-regulated learning through in-service training
and should go through the same autonomous experiences as their learners.

The seventh chapter, The Resource and Environment Design, is the last chapter
in this section and here Lai explores the factors that affect the design of
out-of-class technology for language learning. She adds further details of
language learners’ engagement and active involvement in language learning with
the design of technology-enhanced resources. She lists three major design
principles for out-of-class learning. These are: (a) language educators should
maximize the language-learning potential of the learners, (b) they should
achieve an optimal balance between in-class and out-of-class learning
activities and (c) they should prepare learner-centric designs.

The third, and also the final section of the book, is entitled, Researching
Out-of-Class Autonomous Language Learning with Technology. With the aim of
reaching conclusions and identifying faith in autonomous language learning
beyond the classroom, this section includes two chapters that present the
current and future research perspectives of out-of-class language learning.

The eighth chapter, Towards a Research Agenda of Out-of-Class Autonomous
Language Learning with Technology, proposes a research agenda under the two
key headings of research areas and research methods. Lai first summarizes the
current literature under three main themes: (a) research profiling, (b)
evaluating the effects and (c) promoting out-of-class autonomous language
learning with technology. She discusses these areas in detail by providing
samples of showcase research that she considers to be “… somewhat biased
towards certain regions and the learning English” (p.162). She then links
current and future research foci in a tabular format. Later, she discusses the
methodological considerations in research with regard to the challenges faced
in capturing language learning processes and in evaluating the learner
outcomes of out-of-class learning. 

The closing chapter of the book is entitled Conclusion and The Way Forward.
This chapter first provides quotations from different fields, highlighting the
combination of in-class and out-of-class learning for advancing learning.
Later in the chapter, she calls for research on the systematic investigation
of autonomous language learning beyond the classroom, reflecting the insights
present throughout the book. Lai presents broad suggestions concerning
language learners, teachers and resources that await empirical research. She
also lists some direct ideas/recommendations and poses a few questions for
educators and developers of learner-training programmes to ponder when
designing programmes and environments to support learning beyond the
classroom. She ends the chapter with various questions awaiting responses from
researchers who wish to examine and extend understanding of this unexplored
area of the L2 field.

EVALUATION

>From the praise of Prof. Dr. Hayo Reinder (someone who has published several
papers on learner autonomy beyond the classroom), which is cited on the back
cover of the book , I am assured that Chun Lai has prepared a reference
guidebook of autonomous out-of-class language learning with technology.
Rivalling her counterpart, Miranda Hamilton’s prelude work (2013), in the same
Bloomsbury series, Lai achieves novelty here and adds much to the expanding
literature on autonomous language learning with technology. The book has some
strength in terms of the organization of the chapters, the adoption of a
visual approach and a comprehensive list of references. In terms of the design
of the chapters, Lai shows the gaps in the literature by establishing a place
for theoretical frameworks in earlier chapters and, in the later chapters,
provides the readers with many ideas for future research. With her visual
approach, she covers the issue in detail and presents the main ideas in
summary charts and process diagrams near the end of each chapter. She has
consulted numerous resources from the literature and refers will to a wide
range of recently published studies. In spite of these strong points, the book
fails in some aspects that lower its ease of reading and understandability.
For instance, even though the introductory pages in the first chapter set out
the content and intention of the book, a separate preface or reflective
introduction with regard to the aims and organization of the book is missing.
Furthermore, it sometimes becomes a little exhausting for readers to come
across the same authors’ names and read repetitively used references in each
part, with much detail about each one—although the author does this
deliberately in order to explain the topics. Finally, in contrast to the
assertion on the back cover that “this book is suitable for all those involved
in language learning and teaching”, I can say that teachers and novices in the
field who would like to gain detailed practical information on how to design
and apply recipes for autonomous language learning activities with technology
might be disillusioned as the suggestions in the book might be too theoretical
to apply and sound not concrete enough for them. Then, this book might be more
suitable for both novice and expert researchers in the field in terms of its
thought-provoking, explorative nature and it can serve as a valuable handy
resource to those who would like to delve further.

Overall, fleshing out the phenomenon with a wide range of research-based
findings, this book is an important resource for the promising, uncharted
terrain of L2 research and is worth reading if you are interested in
researching new vistas of autonomous language learning with technology beyond
the classroom. 

REFERENCES

Benson, P. (2013). Teaching and researching: Autonomy in language learning.
New York, NY: Routledge.

Benson, P., & H. Reinders (2011). Beyond the language classroom: The theory
and practice of informal language learning and teaching. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.

Hamilton, M. (2013). Autonomy and foreign language learning in a virtual
learning environment. New York, NY: Bloomsbury.

Lai, C., Zhu, W., & Gong, G. (2015). Understanding the quality of out‐of‐class
English learning. TESOL Quarterly, 49(2), 278-308. doi: 10.1002/tesq.171 

Reinders, H., & Benson, P. (2017). Research agenda: Language learning beyond
the classroom. Language Teaching, 50(4), 561-578. doi:
10.1017/S0261444817000192


ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Ali Dincer (PhD) is a faculty member of English Language Education and Head of
Department of Foreign Languages at Erzincan University in Turkey. His research
interests include language learner autonomy, L2 motivation and psychological
factors in learning English as a Foreign Language.<br />E-mail:
adincer at erzincan.edu.tr





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