The Handbook of Informal Language Learning

Provides a comprehensive and unique examination of global language learning outside of the formal school setting

Authored by a prominent team of international experts in their respective fields, The Handbook of Informal Language Learning is a one-of-a-kind reference work and it is a timely and valuable resource for anyone looking to explore informal language learning outside of a formal education environment. It features a comprehensive collection of cutting edge research areas exploring the cultural and historical cases of informal language learning, along with the growing area of digital language learning, and the future of this relevant field in national development and language education.

The Handbook of Informal Language Learning examines informal language learning from both theoretical and practical perspectives. Structured across six sections, chapters cover areas of motivation, linguistics, cognition, and multimodality; digital learning, including virtual contexts, gaming, fanfiction, vlogging, mobile devices, and nonformal programs; and media and live contact, including learning through environmental print, tourism/study abroad. The book also provides studies of informal learning in four national contexts, examines the integration of informal and formal classroom learning, and discusses the future of language learning from different perspectives.

• Edited by respected researchers of computer-mediated communication and second language learning and teacher education
• Features contributions by leading international scholars reaching out to a global audience
• Presents an exciting and progressive selection of chapters in a rapidly expanding field of research and teaching
• Provides a state-of-the-art collection of the theories, as well as the historical, cultural and international cases relating to informal language learning and its future in a digital age
• Covers 30 key topics that represent pioneering findings and new research

The Handbook of Informal Language Learning is an essential resource for researchers, students, and professionals in the fields of language acquisition, English as a second language, and foreign language education. 

Mark Dressman is Professor and Chair of English at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. He has authored four books, including Using social theory in educational research: A practical guide (2008), and more than thirty journal articles on curriculum and the teaching of English as a first and other language. 

Randall Sadler is Associate Professor of Linguistics and Director of TESL and ESL at the University of Illinois, USA. He teaches courses on telecollaboration, virtual worlds, and teaching L2 reading and writing and focuses his research on technology in language learning. He is author of Virtual Worlds for Language Learning: From Theory to Practice (2012) and has published in many journals, including Journal of English for Academic Purposes, CALICO, ReCALL, Language Learning & Technology.

Notes on Contributors ix

Introduction 1
Mark Dressman

Part I Theorizing Informal Language Learning 13

1 Motivation and Informal Language Learning 15
Alice Chik

2 Learning Languages in Informal Environments: Some Cognitive Considerations 27
Kiel Christianson and Sarah‐Elizabeth Deshaies

3 Multimodality and Language Learning 39
Mark Dressman

4 How Learning Context Shapes Heritage and Second Language Acquisition 57
Silvina Montrul

5 Informal Writing and Language Learning 75
Paul Kei Matsuda and Melika Nouri

Part II Learning in Digital Contexts 85

6 Virtual Landscapes 87
Randall William Sadler

7 Gaming and Informal Language Learning 101
Stephanie W.P. Knight, Lindsay Marean, and Julie M. Sykes

8 Self‐Paced Language Learning Using Online Platforms 117
Panagiotis Arvanitis

9 Fan Fiction and Informal Language Learning 139
Shannon Sauro

10 Vlogs, Video Publishing, and Informal Language Learning 153
Tatiana Codreanu and Christelle Combe

11 Mobile Collaboration for Language Learning and Cultural Learning 169
Agnes Kukulska‐Hulme and Helen Lee

Part III Learning Through Media and Live Contact 181

12 Video and Informal Language Learning 183
Robert Vanderplank

13 Songs and Music 203
Karen M. Ludke

14 Mobility, Media, and Multiplicity: Immigrants’ Informal Language Learning via Media 215
Kristen H. Perry and Annie M. Moses

15 Service Sector Work and Informal Language Learning 229
Hania Janta and Stefan D. Keller

16 Linguistic Landscapes and Additional Language Development 243
Jana Roos and Howard Nicholas

17 Language Tourism and Second Language Acquisition in Informal Learning Contexts 257
Montserrat Iglesias

Part IV International Case Studies of Informal Language Learners 271

18 Hong Kong and Informal Language Learning 273
Chun Lai and Boning Lyu

19 An Emerging Path to English in Korea: Informal Digital Learning of English 289
Ju Seong Lee

20 Informal English Learning Among Moroccan Youth 303
Mark Dressman

21 Sweden and Informal Language Learning 319
Pia Sundqvist

22 Informal English Learning in France 333
Meryl Kusyk

Part V Informal Learning and Formal Contexts 349

23 Translanguaging Across Contexts 351
Sarah J. McCarthey, Idalia Nuñez, and Chaehyun Lee

24 A Critical Review of Social Networks for Language Learning Beyond the Classroom 369
Katerina Zourou

25 Digital Writing in Informal Settings Among Multilingual Language Learners 383
Binbin Zheng and Chin‐Hsi Lin

26 Extensive Reading for Statistical Learning 395
Doreen E. Ewert

27 Leveraging Technology to Integrate Informal Language Learning within Classroom Settings 405
Philip Hubbard

28 Connecting Informal and Formal Language Learning 421
Dennis Murphy Odo

Part VI The Present and Future of Informal Language Learning 439

29 Digital Translation: Its Potential and Limitations for Informal Language Learning 441
Helen Slatyer and Sarah Forget

30 Future Directions in Informal Language Learning 457
Robert Godwin‐Jones

31 Last Words: Naming, Framing, and Challenging the Field 471
Geoffrey Sockett and Denyze Toffoli

Index 489

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