Social Context and Fluency in L2 Learners The Case of Wales

Informationen zum Autor Dr Lynda Pritchard Newcombe is from South Wales and lives in Cardiff. She learned Welsh, her ancestral language as an adult and has extensive experience of teaching Welsh and German to adults. She has been involved in various research projects on L2 learning/use and bilingualism, most of which have been qualitative in nature; she has, however, collaborated in some quantitative studies with her husband, Professor Robert G. Newcombe. She also works as a freelance writer. Klappentext Social context, an often-neglected dimension in L2 learning/use, can play a vital role in sustaining learners' initial motivation. As researchers have begun to shift their focus from teaching to learners and learner variables, what happens to learners when they practise their new skills in the community, has become an important area of concern. Using data on Welsh learners' experiences outside the classroom, the author argues that, in order to learn a second or foreign language successfully, learners require regular interaction in the target language in a setting in which they feel comfortable. The impact on learners of native speakers' switch to a language of wider communication, their speed of speech, use of dialect and identity issues are explored as are the relevance of practical issues such as time and opportunity and affective factors such as anxiety. Zusammenfassung The focus in this book is on learners’ experiences using Welsh outside class but the issues discussed have implications for a wide range of other situations where the population is bilingual or multilingual and interaction takes place in a language of wider communication.

Product details

• Authors: Lynda Pritchard Newcombe, Lynda Pritchard Newcombe, Lynda Pritchard Newcombe
• Publisher: Multilingual Matters
• Content: Book
• Product form: Paperback / Softback
• Publication date: 07.08.2007
• Subject: Education and learning > Adult education/adult education classes > Adult education class / course materials (language; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > Other languages / Other literatures
• EAN: 9781853599941
• ISBN: 978-1-85359-994-1
• Pages: 152
• Series: New Perspectives on Language and Education; New Perspectives on Language a > 5; Multilingual Matters; New Perspectives on Language and Education > 5; New Perspectives on Language a > 5
• Subjects: Motivation; Wales; Welsh language