Influences of Contextual Factors on the Construction of Learner Beliefs about Language learning and teaching

1. 12/05/2004 1 Influences of Contextual Factors on the Construction of Learner Beliefs about Language learning and teaching By Rina Fukami <MPhil in Applied Linguistics>

2. 12/05/2004 2 �Language learners�- what are the assumptions towards them? Edge (1993) claims: All learners are different. No two individuals have the same knowledge, or skills, or expectations� Learners are also influenced by their age and by their educational, social and cultural backgrounds. (p.9) Edge also argues that some learners are more successful than others due to characteristics typical to �good� language learners, such as: Positive attitude about learning Strong motivation toward learning Confidence in self Well-constructed strategies to manage learning independently.

3. 12/05/2004 3 Assumptions towards �language learners� (contd.) As well as Edge, Richards & Lockhart (1996) also make a similar assumption: �While learning is the goal of teaching, it is not necessarily the mirror image of teaching. Learners, too, bring to learning their own beliefs, goals, attitudes, and decisions, which in turn influence how they approach their learning� (p.52). The emphasis on learners� point of view leads to �examine some of the contributions learners bring to learning by exploring learners� beliefs about teaching and learning, the influence of cognitive styles, and the role of learner strategies� (p.52).

4. 12/05/2004 4 Background contexts:Sociocultural contextual factors &Individual contextual factors Sociocultural factors: The pragmatic and symbolic status of the target language in a society influences perceptions of the target language in different countries. The language can represent: a sense of elitism. Individual factors (i.e. �learner factors�): �Students come to a language program with particular profiles of talents, interests, learning habits, and purposes that may crucially affect � success in language learning (Richards, 1985: 13). 1. Intelligence 2. Aptitude 3. Personality 4. Motivation & attitudes 5. Learner 6. Age of preferences acquisition (Lightbown&Spada, 1999)