Revisiting Research on L2 Learner Beliefs

Kalaja, Paula; Barcelos, Ana Maria Ferreira; Aro, Mari

doi:10.4324/9781315676494-14

Cited by 20 publications

(22 citation statements)

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“…The ways in which different languages were discussed reflect well on the general mindsets, the Finnish school system and the linguistic landscape of the participants (see also Busse 2017). Learner beliefs have long been characterised as complex, dynamic and even contradictory (Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018;Mercer 2011b) and when taking a multilingual perspective, the picture is if anything more complex. Further studies on the matter could explore whether beliefs are more tied to individual languages or whether some are more general.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Barcelos and Kalaja 2011;Kalaja and Barcelos forthcoming;Kalaja et al 2016;Yang and Kim 2011). They are complex, situated and dynamic, and they are shared in a specific context (Aragão 2011;Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018;Mercer 2011b). Previous studies also suggest that university students' beliefs are already rather stable yet malleable (Aragão 2011;Ohata and Fukao 2014;Yang and Kim 2011).…”

Section: Beliefs About Language Learning and Agency As Discursively Constructedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drawing from contextual approaches to L2 learner beliefs (De Costa 2011;Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018), this article defines beliefs as 'conceptions, ideas, and opinions' about language learning that are socially and discursively constructed by the learners (Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018). As opposed to traditional etic approaches, this understanding of beliefs has moved from cognition to observing beliefs in students' discourses arguing that beliefs are not stable entities in a person's mind but rather constructed in discourse (Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018). Beliefs have been shown to significantly influence language learning (e.g.…”

Section: Beliefs About Language Learning and Agency As Discursively Constructedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drawing from positioning theory and the discursive turn in learner beliefs research, this article understands learner beliefs and agency as discursively constructed (Davies and Harré 1990;De Costa 2011;Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018). It examines them with tools originating in discursive psychology (DP) (Edwards and Potter 2005;Potter 1996;Potter and Wetherell 1987;Wetherell and Potter 1992) which have been utilised in some SLA studies (Barkhuizen 2010;De Costa 2011;Kalaja et al 2016).…”

Section: Analysing Beliefs and Agency Discursivelymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Learner beliefs and agency have been widely documented to have a significant role in SLA (Barcelos and Kalaja 2011;Kalaja et al 2016;Yang and Kim 2011), which is why they should be considered when developing meaningful multilingual pedagogies in HE. As previous research shows the complex nature of beliefs (Kalaja, Barcelos, and Aro 2018;Mercer 2011b; see also Busse 2017), it is also not enough to study beliefs about one additional language 1 but in addition the intricate relationship between learners' beliefs about all of the languages in their lives. Hence, this article will explore first year university students' discourses to examine how the students make sense of their own relationship with language learning.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Towards multilingual competence: examining beliefs and agency in first year university students’ language learner biographies

Pirhonen

2021

The Language Learning Journal

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As working life across the world is increasingly multilingual, multicultural and multidisciplinary, higher education language teaching is faced with a challenge of how to prepare students for it. Many universities have recently developed multilingual pedagogies but central to their success is learners' perceptions of these practices. To fill this gap, this article explores first year university students' language learner biographies to gain insight into how learners construct their linguistic realities. The biographies were studied with discourse analytical methods to examine the participants' beliefs about language learning and their sense of agency in it. The results reveal that participants tend not to portray themselves as agentive learners but rather position agency as an outside factor affecting their language learning. In addition, the participants' discourses differed in terms of languages, which adds to previous studies noting the complexity of learner beliefs. Understanding these dynamics can help teachers address students' beliefs in the classroom and accordingly support learners to create meaning in their language learning. The findings further suggest that beliefs should be studied from multilingual perspectives also in the future.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%