This edited volume examines a number of topics related to the roles of individual and contextual factors in English as second or foreign language (ESL/EFL) settings by presenting chapters across the three sections of theoretical and pedagogical approaches, teacher and learner research, and research into the roles of technology. The book has a focus on practical actions and recommendations related to individual and contextual factors in ESL/EFL, with a specific concern with issues of cognition, metacognition, emotion, and identity, and offers perspectives from a diverse range of international education settings. For teachers of ESL/EFL, the effective recognition and integration of individual and contextual factors into the classroom may represent a significant challenge. This is often the case in those settings where native English speaking teachers work in foreign language contexts where they may have limited understanding of local cultures and languages, or where language instructors have class groups that are culturally and linguistically diverse. In these, and similar, contexts, the types and extent of individual and contextual factors impacting on language learning may challenge both learner and instructor expectations of what an effective and supportive classroom is. While such a situation offers numerous opportunities for learners and teachers to expand their knowledge of themselves and each other, it also presents the possibility for ineffective teaching and learning to occur. It is within this framework that the book presents the latest theoretical, pedagogical, and research perspectives from around the world, thereby providing a resource for all stakeholders with an interest in the roles individual and contextual factors play in the English learning process.
Introduction; R. Al-Mahrooqi, C. J. Denman.- Part I: Theoretical and
Pedagogical Approaches.- Cognition and Emotions in the Light of ELL/ELT
Competencies; G. R. Hovhannisyan.- Reducing Learners Cognitive Load and
Emotional Challenges Created by Lexis: The Andragogical Approach to Enhance
Adult Learners Mental Lexicon; T. Deveci, M. Saleem.- Language Test Feedback
and Learner Personality; K. Burnell.- The Architecture of Language
Personality; G. R. Hovhannisyan.- From Scribbles to Launch: Creative Writing
in an Omani Classroom; Y. Ladha.- An Evaluation of the Conceptual Validty of
Vowel Blindness as an Explanation for Differences in Arabic Readers L2
Word-recognition; A Allmark.- Part II: Research Perspectives: Teachers and
Learners.- Learners Willingness to Communicate, Motivation, and Classroom
Activity Preferences: Realities from the Iranian EFL Context; A. Ali Rezaee,
M. Ghanbarpoor.- Affecting Students` Motivation to Foster Foreign Language
Acquisition: Juggling Pedagogical Tools and Psychological Diagnostics in the
University Classroom; K. Chiknaverova, O. Obdalova.- Escaping the Confines of
Essentialism: Re-conceptualizing New Spaces of Identification among Native
and Nonnative ESL Teachers; F. B. Rashed.- The Effect of English Study at
School on Later Foreign Language Learning: How Chinese People Experience
Learning and Using Japanese While Living and Studying Overseas; L. Zhang, D.
Coulson.- Introducing Swalesian Genre-pedagogy to Arab EFL learners: A Case
Study; P. Mathew, G. R. Kiran, R. L. Sankara Narayanan.- Quantifying Quality:
Examining a Middle Eastern Tutorial Centre; R. McDonald, S. Finlay.-
Metacognition and Language Learning on an International Foundation Programme;
S. Herron.- Part III: Research Perspectives: The Role of Technology.-
Construction and Launch of a Virtual Reality Laboratory for EFL Learners: A
Crossroad between Cognitive and Emotional Learning; R. Hoffman, F. Ibrahim,
J. Shakeel-Ahmed.- Language Learner Identity and Gamesand Gamification in the
Language Learning Classroom: Observations from the Japanese Context; B.
Thanyawatpokin, C. Vollmer.- Grasping Omani Students Transitional
Challenges: Focus on Computer Self-Efficacy and English Proficiency; V.
Tuzlukova, H. Ginosyan.- Nonverbal Indicators of Comprehension among L2 Users
of English Interacting with Smart Verbal Software Agents; A. Y. Ofemile.
Rahma Al-Mahrooqi was appointed the Sultanate of Omans Minister of Higher Education, Research and Innovation in 2020, following her time as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research at Sultan Qaboos University from 2016-2020. Among her positions as a Minister, she is the Chair of Sultan Qaboos University Council, the Oman Authority for Academic Accreditation and Quality Assurance of Education (OAAAQA) Board of Directors, and Board of Trustees of the College Al-Sharia Sciences. In addition to her current position, she has coordinated tertiary-level English courses and programs, been the director of one of the largest English language centres in the region, and published widely on English language teaching and learning.
Christopher Denman is a researcher at the Office of the Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Postgraduate Studies and Research at Sultan Qaboos University, Oman. He was previously affiliated with the universitys Humanities Research Centre and was also an instructor at its Language Centre, following from English teaching experience at the secondary and tertiary levels in Australia, South Korea, and Japan. He has published and presented widely, in addition to being a co-editor of several volumes concerned with various aspects of English language instruction within the Arab world and internationally.
