{"title":"Circular applied linguistics: A model for impactful, inclusive, and sustainable research","authors":"Christopher J. Jenks","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12628","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12628","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Applied linguists are committed to the investigation of language and real-world problems. While this commitment leads to greater awareness of societal issues within the discipline, there are increasing pressures from societies and academic institutions to ensure that scholarship is available to, or has direct value for, the individuals and communities that are the target of our investigations. It is indeed difficult to enact social change through research when scholarship is not tailored to, and carried out with, the very individuals and communities that are being investigated. This paper attends to this opportunity by asking the following question. How do we engage in more impactful, inclusive, and sustainable research that explicitly involves the individuals and communities that we investigate? I introduce <i>circular applied linguistics</i> to consider the ways in which the discipline can be more impactful, inclusive, and sustainable in its research. I show how circular applied linguistics is based on the mutual benefit and shared knowledge of the researcher and the researched, creating a culture of ethical, open science, and leading to reflexive scholarship, that has greater relevance to societies.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"420-435"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijal.12628","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389126","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Variation in phrase frame structure and function in argumentative writing by EFL learners across different L1 backgrounds","authors":"Yingming Song, Jiajin Xu","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12625","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12625","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Within the context of multilingualism, there has been burgeoning research interest in interlanguage varieties. This corpus-based study investigated structural and functional variations in phrase frames (p-frames) in argumentative writing by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners from Arabic, German, Hindi, and Chinese language backgrounds. P-frames, recurrent non-contiguous co-selection units within texts, were automatically extracted, manually filtered, and analyzed for variability, predictability, and discourse function. The results revealed learners’ shared reliance on prompt-related p-frames as well as potential L1 influence on specific p-frames. German learners displayed the lowest degree of flexibility and creativity, while Hindi learners exhibited the highest. Chinese and Arabic learners demonstrated moderate levels, falling between the two extremes. Statistically significant differences in p-frame tokens across functional categories were observed in all groups. This study contributes to a nuanced understanding of phraseological competence in EFL learners from different L1 backgrounds and holds pedagogical implications for the globalized educational landscape.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"380-399"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389455","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The big global issues: Applied linguists and transdisciplinarity beyond SLA","authors":"Jonathon Ryan","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12623","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijal.12623","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In an age of persistent existential crises, governments and wider society are demanding from academia tangible contributions toward tackling the “big” contemporary issues, including climate change, demographic collapse, social instability, and the risks of escalating global conflict. Since all such problems involve a linguistic dimension, applied linguists are increasingly repurposing their research skills to achieve impact in such domains, far beyond the traditional scope of their core discipline. This paper discusses doing so within the distinctive framework of the Zurich approach to transdisciplinarity. Core features of the Zurich approach are sketched, and a case is made for applied linguists working alongside scientists, engineers, lawyers, and others in transdisciplinary teams focused on wicked problems.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 2","pages":"529-542"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142265908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Understanding EFL teacher identity and identity tensions in a Chinese university context","authors":"Beibei Ren, Xiaodi Pan","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12622","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12622","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the past few decades, teacher identity has been a popular topic in the field of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teaching. As a construct that is socially constructed, teacher identity is influenced by situational contexts and is not fixed but multifaceted. While many studies have examined pre-service and novice teachers’ identities, relatively fewer paid attention to experienced language teachers’ identities and the conflicts they may encounter. This study investigates one seasoned EFL teacher's multiple identities and the tensions that existed in her identity in a Chinese university setting. Data included a semi-structured interview, class recordings, a stimulated recall, and artifacts such as the teacher's materials for classroom teaching. Findings demonstrated that the teacher practiced three sub-identities in her teaching, namely, an English language teacher, a guide, and an academic advisor. Additionally, tensions within her identity as an English educator were identified, consisting of the popularity of technology-driven tools in students’ English learning activities and the need to conduct research while not possessing sufficient research skills. The pedagogical insights generated underscored the importance of teachers’ agency and institutional support in resolving the tensions to facilitate experienced language teachers’ ongoing professional development and identity construction.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"363-379"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jian Xu, Sihan Zhou, Chen Chen, Stuart Perrin, Haiyun Gan
{"title":"Exploring the interplay between enjoyment, anxiety, ideal self, and willingness to communicate in EMI higher education","authors":"Jian Xu, Sihan Zhou, Chen Chen, Stuart Perrin, Haiyun Gan","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12620","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12620","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Learning academic disciplinary knowledge through English as a medium of instruction (EMI) in higher education can be emotionally taxing. However, compared to the bulk of studies investigating the role of emotions in language learning, research that explores students’ emotional experiences in EMI contexts remains scarce. Drawing on a sample of 746 undergraduate students at an EMI university in China, the present study disentangles how two heavily researched emotions (i.e., enjoyment and anxiety) affect students’ learning motivation and willingness to communicate (WTC) inside and outside of EMI classrooms. Students’ motivation is conceptualized through the notion of <i>ideal self</i> to represent their aspired future self-image as competent language users (<i>ideal L2 self</i>) and subject experts in the field (<i>ideal disciplinary self</i>). Results from structural equation modeling analyses highlighted enjoyment as a strong positive predictor for both ideal selves and WTC. In contrast, anxiety failed to predict neither ideal L2 self nor ideal disciplinary self but had a negative effect on WTC. The two types of ideal selves were found to differ in their respective impact on students’ WTC inside of EMI classrooms yet neither predicted WTC outside of classrooms. Pedagogical implications for EMI teaching and learning are provided.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"325-343"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijal.12620","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389111","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Investigating EFL teacher agency in instructional practice of blended learning in Chinese higher education: An activity theory perspective","authors":"Mi Rong, Yuan Yao","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12621","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12621","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Teacher agency is considered a key driver of teacher professional growth, student improvement, and educational change. This study contributes to the sparse research on language teacher agency in blended learning (BL). Using activity theory to conceptualize teacher agency, this study explores how two English as a foreign language (EFL) teachers exerted agency while implementing BL at a Chinese university. This study also examines the factors that mediate the exercise of agency. Data were collected through classroom observations, interviews with both teachers and their students, and course documents to provide a thorough understanding of teachers’ experiences with blended teaching. The data analysis revealed that successful agentic actions to address contradictions included selecting the appropriate delivery to match learning goals, making good use of online tools for interaction, assigning students active roles, flexibly enacting rules, and building a supportive climate. However, some contradictions within the instructional activity system remain unresolved. Mediating factors such as tools (teachers’ expertise and beliefs), community (students and other professors), and rules (curriculum assessment) were found to shape teacher agency in the BL context. This study contributes to the literature on teacher agency in BL, and provides practical recommendations for teacher professional development and curriculum reform.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"344-362"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Influential sociocultural factors on teacher agency in times of educational change: Reflection from a Southeast Asian context","authors":"Hao Tran, Minglin Li","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12619","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijal.12619","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In the wake of globalisation and the widespread dominance of English, Southeast Asian countries have experienced significant shifts in their foreign language policies, prioritising English instruction over other languages. While numerous studies have explored teacher agency in response to educational change, understanding the motivations behind their actions warrants further attention. Amidst this evolving educational landscape in culturally nuanced contexts like Southeast Asia, unpacking the influence of Asian sociocultural values on how teachers exert agency during this transition could provide in-depth insights into teacher agency and their decision making. Employing a sociocultural approach and drawing on Bourdieu's theory of practice, this paper examines the sociocultural factors shaping the agency of 20 teachers in a Vietnamese university as they respond to a profound educational change—the transition from teaching modern foreign languages (e.g., French, Chinese, and Russian) to teaching English. Through teacher interviews with 20 transitioned teachers, supplemented by insights from interviews with two faculty and university leaders, the findings reveal the embodiment of Bourdieu's concepts of Habitus and Capital in Vietnamese adaptability, flexibility, family roles, responsibilities, and teachers’ sense of collectivity as influential factors on teacher agency. Additionally, the hierarchical nature of change implementation, as reflected in leaders’ orientations, organisational constraints, and administrative styles, viewed through the lens of Field and social networks, contributes to the intricate dynamics of the transition process. Understanding these findings is crucial for comprehending the factors that constrain and facilitate teachers’ responses to change within the complex interplay of individual dispositions, societal structures, and power distribution within the educational sphere.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"308-324"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijal.12619","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142221834","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Revisiting and measuring foreign language confidence from a World Englishes perspective: Scale development and validation","authors":"Guangxiang Leon Liu","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12618","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12618","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Building on a World Englishes perspective, this article revisits foreign language confidence (FLC) and elaborates on the development and validation of a three-factor Foreign Language Confidence Scale (FLCS) including <i>Foreign Language Competence, Sense of Linguistic Security</i>, and <i>Sense of Linguistic Ownership</i>. It first critically examines the existing understanding and measurement of FLC. Then it offers a theoretical and empirical justification for the three-factor proposition in the FLCS. To examine the psychometric quality of the FLCS, two datasets (Sample 1: <i>N</i> = 673, Sample 2: <i>N</i> = 380) were collected from 1053 undergraduate English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners at a top-tier university in China. Results of exploratory factor analysis using Sample 1 demonstrated a stable three-factor structure in the FLCS with sufficient factorial eigenvalues and strong item loadings. The confirmatory factor analysis based on Sample 2 cross-validated the FLCS's underlying factor structure and substantiated the reliability and validity (e.g., convergent and discriminant validity) of the three-factor 16-item FLCS. This article also discusses the psychometric properties of the FLCS and points out its potential use for future teaching and research purposes against the backdrop of decolonizing English language education.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"291-307"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijal.12618","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389256","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social presence and other individual differences in asynchronous English communication","authors":"Fumiya Shinozaki","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12614","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ijal.12614","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study discusses the relationship among various factors in English communication, including social presence, international posture (IP), willingness to communicate (WTC), second language learning motivation, and English proficiency. The hypothesis was that IP (having things to communicate to the world) would affect social presence, but WTC would augment its effect on social presence. To confirm this as well as the positioning of social presence in English learning, structural equation modeling was performed on the survey responses of 325 undergraduate students in Japan. The first model revealed that the path from IP to social presence was not significant but the indirect effect of WTC on social presence was. Since the model did not show a good fit, it was improved by eliminating the insignificant path and assuming covariance among the error variables. As a result, the final model showed a good fit. Within the same model, the path from IP to English proficiency via WTC and motivation and the path from IP to social presence via WTC were found to be moderately influential. In other words, the model explains that as IP increases, social presence via WTC and English proficiency via WTC and motivation also increase.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"257-273"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-09-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142221835","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A cross-linguistic approach to investigating metacognitive regulation in writing among Chinese EFL learners: Insights for its trait/state distinction","authors":"Wandong Xu, Xinhua Zhu","doi":"10.1111/ijal.12615","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/ijal.12615","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Metacognitive regulation refers to learners’ ability to use a repertoire of metacognitive strategies to guide, observe, and manage thoughts, actions, and emotions in learning activities. It has been widely acknowledged as a significant predictor of language learning success, including writing. However, this line of research has been conducted in a single language context, and the interactions across L1 and L2 contexts have received insufficient scholarly attention. Situated in mainland China, we raise an innovative attempt to investigate metacognitive strategies in writing with a cross-linguistic approach, thus illuminating the conceptualization of metacognitive regulation by testing its trait/state distinction. A group of 502 university students from different disciplinary majors were recruited to report their metacognitive strategy use in L1 and L2 task-situated writing by filling in the assigned post-task questionnaires. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA) on the two questionnaire datasets provided empirical evidence for the cross-language generalizability of metacognitive regulation in writing with the identified measurement invariance of the factor structure between L1 and L2 contexts, indicating its trait facet. However, the latent mean comparison results revealed that the actual usage frequency of metacognitive strategies scored significantly higher in L1 writing than in L2 writing, suggesting the state facet. These results are discussed extensively in this study to inform relevant theories and pedagogical activities.</p>","PeriodicalId":46851,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Applied Linguistics","volume":"35 1","pages":"274-290"},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2024-08-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ijal.12615","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143389442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"文学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}