Published: "Autonomy in Language Learning: Stories of Practices"

[Jo Mynard]

Dear colleagues,

Apologies for multiple posts, but I wanted to share some good news about a new book on learner autonomy. 

Best wishes,

Jo Mynard

(IATEFL Learner Autonomy SIG Publications Officer / Series Co-Editor)

--

Announcement

The IATEFL Learner Autonomy SIG is proud to announce that our third e-book in the Autonomy in Language Learning series “Autonomy in Language Learning: Stories of Practices” has now been published. Congratulations to Andy Barfield and Nataneal Delgado Alvarado (the editors) and all of the contributors! Please read on for details about the contents of the book and ordering information (also see details on our website http://lasig.iatefl.org/stories-of-practices.html).

 

About the e-book

“Stories of Practices” brings together many different teachers' stories about their engagement with learner (and teacher) autonomy in many different places over many years. It stands out from other books on learner autonomy in the narrative, dialogic way that the story chapters are structured. Each story chapter includes a story in two parts with two reader responses for each part. The 14 story chapters are divided into four sections. The first four chapters are devoted to primary/secondary/high school education. The second section focuses on tertiary education and has three chapters, as does the next section dealing with self-access. The final section, made up of four chapters, is devoted to teacher education. The book closes with a ‘trialogic’ conclusion chapter by Felicity Kjisik, Mike Nix and Stephan Breidbach who take extended turns to explore the different connections and contradictions that they see in the grounded exploration and theorization of learner (and teacher) autonomy that “Stories of Practices” embodies.

 

Introduction by Andy Barfield & Natanael Delgado Alvarado 

Part 1 Primary/secondary/high school contexts

·      Chapter 1 Co-constructing learner autonomy for young learners: Learner efforts, teacher reflections, policy development Story writer: Shu Hua Vivien Kao (Taiwan) Reader responders: Antoinette Camilleri Grima (Malta) and Kuchah Kuchah (United Kingdom)

·      Chapter 2 Weaving threads of autonomy: The challenge for personal pedagogic change Story writer: Irina Minakova (Czech Republic) Reader responders: Chika Hayashi (Japan) and Martin Lamb (England) 

·      Chapter 3 Towards pedagogy for autonomy in adverse settings: Navigating the space of possibility Story writer: Mehmet Boyno  (Turkey) Reader responders: Manuel Jiménez Raya (Spain) and María del Carmen Reyes Fierro (Mexico)

·      Chapter 4 Teaching for autonomy—challenges and possibilities Story writer: Isabel Barbosa (Portugal) Reader responders: Shu Hua Vivien Kao (Taiwan) and Frank Lacey (Denmark)

Part 2 Tertiary education contexts

·      Chapter 5 From there to autonomy—some long and winding roads Story writer: Leena Karlsson (Finland) Reader responders: Christine Nicolaides (Brazil) and Peter Voller (Hong Kong)

·      Chapter 6 Second opinions: Managing learner autonomy in an Arab medical school Story writer: Diane Malcolm (Bahrain) Reader responders: Sarah Mercer (Austria) and Peter Jing Huang (Hong Kong)

·      Chapter 7 Becoming autonomous individuals in communities: Triumphs and struggles Story writer: Steve Brown (Japan) Reader responders: Alice Hsia Hui Chik  (Hong Kong) and Christine O’Leary (England)

Part 3 Self-access contexts

·      Chapter 8 The story of a self-access centre: Reflections on challenges and success Story writer: Pornapit Darasawang(Thailand) Reader responders: Anna Uhl Chamot (USA) and Lucy Cooker (England)

·      Chapter 9 Unfolding a personal story of SACs: Implication for future research and training Story writer: Desirée Castillo Zaragoza (Mexico) Reader responders: Moira Hobbs (New Zealand) and Androulla Athanasiou (Cyprus)

·      Chapter 10 Reflections on experience: The role of advisors, teachers and self-access facilities in higher education contexts Story writer: Katherine Thornton (Japan) Reader responders: Umida Nurjanova (Uzbekistan) and Maria Giovanna Tassinari (Germany) 

Part 4 Teacher education contexts

·      Chapter 11 Teaching to teach for autonomy: Rapport, resistance and reflection Story writer: María Sara Rodríguez (Uruguay) Reader responders: David Palfreyman (United Arab Emirates) and Jodie Sakaguchi (Australia)

·      Chapter 12 On the road: Searching, struggling, and sharing narratives in autonomy Story writer: Christian Ludwig (Germany) Reader responders: Leena Karlsson (Finland) and Hugh Nicoll (Japan)

·      Chapter 13 Action research: Promoting teacher/learner autonomy and improving praxis Story writer: Simla Course(Turkey) Reader responders: Terry Lamb (England) and Naoko Aoki (Japan)

·      Chapter 14 Teacher education and autonomy: Where’s the real story? Story writer: Richard Smith (England) Reader responders: Gary Barkhuizen (New Zealand) and Flávia Vieira (Portugal) 

Conclusion

·      Chapter 15 Out of the midst of stories: Narrative representations and reconstructions of meanings for autonomyStephan Breidbach (Germany), Felicity Kjisik (Finland) and Mike Nix (Japan)

 

Ordering information

The e-book is available for purchase on Amazon.co.uk (and other worldwide Amazon sites in Kindle format) and on Smashwords (in Epub format for other e-reading apps and devices such as iBooks). It will soon be available directly through other retailers such as Kobo, Apple and Barnes & Noble too. If you don’t have a tablet device, you can download free apps in order to read the e-book on your computer. Details here: http://lasig.iatefl.org/how-to-access-e-books.html

 

Links

Amazon.co.uk (for Kindle)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Autonomy-Language-Learning-Practices-ebook/dp/B00CVUTVT8/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

Smashwords (Epub and other formats)
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/311760