What does language awareness look like? Visual methodologies in language learning and teaching research (2000–2018)

Abstract

The acquisition of a language is a complex process. Applied Linguistics research tends to view this process as classroom-based. It is only more recently that learners, in particular young learners, are being placed in the centre of investigation in research exploring language learning from their subjective perspectives.

To understand these learner-centred perspectives, there is a growing body of work using visual methodologies, despite the fact that such methodologies have yet to be clearly defined in Applied Linguistics. The contribution in the present article aims at providing some clarity on how visual methods are being used in this specific research field by reporting on a meta-analysis of 44 papers using relevant methodologies published in English between 2000 and 2018. Our analysis indicates that, in addition to methodological eclecticism, there is an imbalance in participant numbers (although data are usually collected among small groups) and a preference for researching the English Foreign Language classroom and English learners. Furthermore, studies tend to focus on language teaching and learning and on the affective dimension of language awareness.

Keywords:

• Language awareness
• visual methods
• meta-analysis
• young learners

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Alice Chik

Alice Chik is Senior Lecturer in Educational Studies and co-ordinator of the Macquarie University Multilingualism Research Group (Sydney, Australia). Her research examines languages learning in digital environments. She is especially interested in exploring how language learners construct and direct their autonomous learning in informal contexts.

Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer

Sílvia Melo-Pfeifer is Associate Professor at the Department of Education of the University of Hamburg (Germany). She is also a member of CIDTFF (Research Centre “Didactics and Technology in Education of Trainers”) at the University of Aveiro (Portugal). Her research interests include: plurilingual and intercultural (on-line) interaction, images of languages, intercomprehension in Romance Languages and heritage language education.