Researching Cultures of Learning International Perspectives on Language Learning and Education

by Cortazzi, Martin; Jin, Lixian

• ISBN13: 9780230321328
• ISBN10: 0230321321
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2012-12-10
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

This edited book is the first collection of research-based papers on cultures of learning, a concept which has been developed by the editors over 20 years. It assembles research with a considerable international range with a team of experts (working in USA, UK, Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Finland, France, Iran, Lebanon, Kazakhstan, Malaysia and Thailand) with deep experience of the wide range of cultural contexts which are investigated, many related to 'home contexts' of the authors themselves. The book includes a diversity of case studies of particular situations of language learning and use; it offers explorations of trans cultural learning by students and teachers who cross languages and borders for study or work. All authors have long engagement with the cultural participants about whom they are writing. This book thus includes a range of orientations, viewpoints and critical stances on cultures of learning and prospective authors have been invited for their expertise, experience and insights in cultural contexts of learning in different countries.

Author Biography

LIXIAN JIN is Reader in Linguistics & Health Communication and the Director for the Centre of Intercultural Research in Communication and Learning (CIRCL) at De Montfort University, UK.

MARTIN CORTAZZI is a Visiting Professor in the Centre of Applied Linguistics at the University of Warwick, UK.

Table of Contents

List of Figures
List of Tables
Appendices
Acknowledgements
Notes on Contributors
Introduction: Researching Cultures of Learning; M.Cortazzi & L.Jin
PART I: SOME ISSUES OF RESEARCH AND ITS APPLICATION

Cultures of Learning: an Evolving Concept and an Expanding Field; Y.Yuan & Q.Xie
Comparing Learning Characteristics in Chinese and Anglophone Cultures: Pitfalls and Insights; J.Ryan
PART II: EXPLORING CHANGES IN CULTURAL HERITAGES AND LEARNING

Understanding the Chinese Learners: From a Perspective of Confucianism; W.Junju
Reforming Teacher Education in East Africa: the Importance of Socio-cultural Vontext; J.Abd-Kadir & F.Hardman
Changing Cultural Ways with Praise: a Distant Action Research Project in China; J.Wang & M.Cortazzi
Cultures of Learning in Academia: A Lebanese Case Study; N.Bacha & R.Bahous
Voices of the Reticent? Getting Inside Views of Vietnamese Secondary Students on Learning; D.Bao
Towards Transformative English Language Education: Evolving Glocalization in Textbooks used in Malaysia; H.Abdul Rahim & S.Abdul Manan
PART III: LEARNERS' PERCEPTIONS AND EXPECTATIONS OF TEACHERS

Kazakh Students' Perceptions of Good English Teachers: Multiple Heritages in a Culture of Learning; G.Makhanova & M.Cortazzi
'He or She?' Examining Cultural Influences on Iranian Language Learners' Perceptions of Teacher Efficacy; M.Nemati & S.Kaivanpanah
Poles Apart: Protocols of Expectations about Finnish and Thai Teachers; E.Berendt & M.Mattsson
Problematising the Culture of Learning English in Vietnam: Revisiting Teacher Identity; L.Thi Thu Huyen & P.Le Ha
PART IV: THE DYNAMICS OF SOCIALIZATION AND MOTIVATION IN CULTURES OF LEARNING

Cultural Models, Children's Beliefs, and Parental Socialization: European American and Chinese Learning; J.Li
Social Network Relations in Omani Students' Motivation to Learn English; S.Dadi & L.Jin
Demotivating Factors Affecting Iranian High School Students' English Learning; R.Sahragard & Z.Alimorad
Japanese EFL Learners' Remotivation Strategies; J.Falout, T.Murphey, T.Fukuda & M.Trovela