Observing, noticing, and understanding: two case studies in language awareness in the development of academic literacy

Abstract

This paper explores the role of language awareness (LA) in the learning experience of students on a one-year full-time master's programme in TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) in Britain. It shows how LA drives their general English language knowledge and academic literacy skills, and supports an appropriate learner identity for this learning experience. The discussion is based on data and findings from a longitudinal research study into the learning experience of a group of Chinese teachers of English on the TESOL programme. The aim of the study is to understand language and other learning processes from socialisation, identity, and communities of practice perspectives. The data include student ejournals, narrative workshops, individual interviews, and documentation from the assessment processes. The focus of this paper is the students' engagement with language. This engagement is explored through the development of the academic literacy skills of two students whose different experiences are analysed using socialisation, identity, and community of practice theoretical frameworks.

Keywords:

• language awareness
• sociocultural theory
• EAP
• identity
• language development
• discourse community

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Jim Askham and two anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments on an earlier draft of this paper. This study is supported by a grant from the pedagogical research fund of the Language Linguistics and Area Studies (LLAS) Learning and Teaching Support Network (LTSN) (HEFCE).