Language learning histories- students’ paths to language mastery
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Reflecting upon one’s journey to learn a particular language is a powerful tool helping learners realise what has worked for them ever since they started to learn the language. Looking back, they can also see the challenges and blind spots more clearly. Based on an analysis of 100 language learning histories written by advanced master’s students of humanities in the author’s presentation skills course, the paper describes the topics the students find essential and illustrates them on particular examples from the corpus. Students’ reflections of their past learning process are then analysed within the framework of Karlsson and Bradley’s (2018) narratives (transformation narrative, looking to the future, continuing to learn, and revisiting learning). Moreover, students’ accounts of their childhood and high school years also reveal quite a lot about the Czech education system over the past 20 years. Finally, students draw interesting comparisons between learning various languages, i.e. English, which is usually their first foreign language, and other, so-called second (third, fourth) foreign languages. Karlsson, Leena and Fergal Bradley (2018). Storytelling for Learning and Healing: Parallel Narrative Inquiries in Language Counselling. Learner Development Journal, Vol. 1, Issue 2. pp. 100-116. |