Talented for Languages? Describing the Mindsets of Advanced Language Learners. In E. Schwarz & S. Mercer (Eds.), Das Spiel der Sprachen: Impulse zu einer translationsbezogenen Sprachdidaktik. Working with Language: Insights into Language Teaching for Translators.

Global English (lingua franca) とその教育の研究

Research into the implications of globalization for the provision of foreign language education in Japan

This article explores the role of the psychological construct of 'implicit theories' or 'mindsets' in the context of foreign language learning. It considers psychology-based research of the construct in respect to the EFL context and reports on a small exploratory study using interviews carried out with tertiary-level learners in Austria and Japan. The authors wish to argue for the relevance and importance of the construct for ELT, explore some of the potential issues raised by the initial study, and consider some of the pedagogical implications arising from both the literature and the findings.

This article has emerged from a large-scale, nationwide attitudinal study (n = 2397) into the motivation of learners of English in Japan, which initially found that enjoyment of the learning experience seemed to be the major factor in the motivation of English learners. However, subsequent examination of the data revealed several incongruities in this initial analysis, which prompted further investigation of these issues using qualitative data. The qualitative investigation suggests that for many Japanese learners 'liking English' is essentially nothing more than an intentionally vague, socially conditioned response but in other cases it represents a genuine commitment to learning. The article concludes that this sense of commitment derives not so much from the values associated with English and an English-speaking community or a desire to interact with that community, but rather from factors in the learner's immediate social environment or personal experience that mediate these surface attractions of the language.

This is a small-scale exploratory research project designed in preparation for a much larger project commencing AY 2018. Due to limitations of time - the award was granted at the end of September, 2017, the majority of work conducted within the project is still at the preparatory stage. Therefore no specific outcomes open to the public can be reported at this stage.