Linguistic Risk-Taking: A New Pedagogical Approach and a Research Program
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2023.33038Keywords:
Linguistic Risk-Taking Initiative and Passport, language teaching and learning, innovationAbstract
Linguistic risks are situations in which learners are pushed out of their comfort zone to use the target language in meaningful and authentic settings. This article outlines a novel pedagogical and research approach to language learning through linguistic risk-taking. I review the construct of linguistic risk from interdisciplinary perspectives and describe the context, rationale, and development of an innovative initiative for supporting French and English language learning at the University of Ottawa, the largest bilingual (English-French) university in the world. Data from 554 participants collected through a Linguistic Risk-Taking Passport, a tool allowing learners to self-report risk-taking patterns, propose additional risks, and add qualitative comments are analyzed to validate the approach. Avenues for transformation of the tool into a digital app and its relevance to other contexts and other languages are also discussed.
References
Albero, B., & Poteaux, N. (2014). Enjeux et dilemmes de l’autonomie : une expérience d’autoformation à l’université : étude de cas (T. 3). Éditions de la Maison des sciences de l’homme.
Atkinson, J. W. (1957). Motivational determinants of risk-taking behavior. Psychological Review, 64(6p1), 359–372. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0043445
Auerbach, C. F., & Silverstein, L. B. (2003). Qualitative data: An introduction to coding and analysis. New York University Press.
Beebe, L. M. (1983). Risk-taking and the language learner. In H. W. Seliger & M. H. Long (Eds.), Classroom oriented research in Second Language Acquisition (pp. 39–66). Newbury House.
Benson, P. (2007). Autonomy in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 40(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0261444806003958
Benson, P. (2011). What’s new in autonomy? The Language Teacher, 35(4), 15–18. https://doi.org/10.37546/JALTTLT35.4-4
Boyatzis, R. E. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code development. SAGE Publications.
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77-101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2012). Thematic analysis. In H. Cooper, P. M. Camic, D. L. Long, A. T. Panter, D. Rindskopf, & K. J. Sher (Eds.), APA handbook of research methods in psychology, Vol. 2: Research designs: Quantitative, qualitative, neuropsychological, and biological (pp. 57–71). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/13620-000
Cajka, S, Griffiths, E., Slavkov, N. & Vetter, E. (2023). Linguistic risk-taking and informal language learning: From Canada to Austria. In D. Toffoli, G. Sockett & M. Kusyk (Eds.), Language learning and leisure: Informal second language learning in the 21st century. De Gruyter Mouton.
Cervantes, I. M. (2014). The role of risk-taking behavior in the development of speaking skills in ESL classrooms. Revista de Lenguas Modernas, 19, 421–435. Retrieved [September 15, 2019] from https://revistas.ucr.ac.cr/index.php/rlm/article/view/13952
Collentine, J., & Freed, B.F. (2004). Learning context and its effects on second language acquisition: Introduction. Studies in Second Language Acquisition, 26(2), 153–171. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0272263104262015
Cook, V. J. (1991). The poverty-of-the-stimulus argument and multicompetence. Second Language Research, 7(2), 103-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/026765839100700203
Cook, V. J. (1999). Going beyond the native speaker in language teaching. TESOL Quarterly, 33(2), 185-209. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587717
Cook, V. J. (2013). Multi-competence. In C. A. Chapelle (Ed.), The encyclopedia of applied linguistics (pp. 3768–3774). Wiley-Blackwell.
Council of Europe. (2001). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Cambridge University Press. https://rm.coe.int/16802fc1bf
Council of Europe. (2018, February). Common European Framework of Reference for Languages: Learning, teaching, assessment. Companion volume with new descriptors. Council of Europe. https://rm.coe.int/cefr-companion-volume-with-new-descriptors-2018/1680787989
Cummins, J. (2008). Teaching for transfer: Challenging the two solitudes assumption in bilingual education. In: N.H. Hornberger (Ed.), Encyclopedia of language and education. Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-30424-3_116
Dehbozorgi, E. (2012). Effects of attitude towards language learning and risk-taking on EFL student’s proficiency. International Journal of English Linguistics, 2(2), 41–48. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijel.v2n2p41
Dewaele, J.-M. (2012). Risk-taking and foreign language learning. In M. Byram & A. Hu (Eds.), Routledge Encyclopedia of Language Teaching and Learning (2nd ed., pp. 598–600). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203101513
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2014). The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 4(2), 237–274. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.5
Dewaele, J.-M., & MacIntyre, P. D. (2016). Foreign language enjoyment and foreign language classroom anxiety. The right and left feet of FL learning. In P. D. MacIntyre, T. Gregersen and S. Mercer (Eds.), Positive psychology in SLA. (pp. 215-236). Multilingual Matters. https://doi.org/10.21832/9781783095360-010
Dewaele, J.-M., Witney, J., Saito, K., & Dewaele, L. (2018). Foreign language enjoyment and anxiety: The effect of teacher and learner variables. Language Teaching Research, 22(6), 676–697. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362168817692161
Ellis, R. (2009). Task‐based language teaching: Sorting out the misunderstandings. International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(3), 221-246. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2009.00231.x
Ellis, R., Skehan, P., Li, S., Shintani, N., & Lambert, C. (2019). Task-based language teaching: Theory and practice. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108643689
Gass, S., & Selinker, L. (2008). Second Language Acquisition: An introductory course. (3rd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203932841
Germain-Rutherford, A. (2021). Action-oriented approaches: Being at the heart of the action. In T. Beaven & F. Rosell-Aguilar (Eds.), Innovative language pedagogy report (pp. 91-96). https://doi.org/10.14705/rpnet.2021.50.1241
Gilbert, L. S., Jackson, K., & di Gregorio, S. (2014). Tools for analyzing qualitative data: The history and relevance of qualitative data analysis software. In J. M. Spector, M.D. Merrill, J. Elen, & M. J. Bishop (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (4th ed., pp. 221–236). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-3185-5_18
Gremmo, M.-J., & Riley, P. (1995). Autonomy, self-direction and self-access in language teaching and learning: The history of an idea. System, 23(2), 151–164. https://doi.org/10.1016/0346-251X(95)00002-2
Griffiths, E. & Slavkov, N. (2021) Linguistic risk-taking: A bridge between classroom and outside world. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 24, 2, 127-158. https://doi.org/10.37213/cjal.2021.31308
Griffiths, E. (2019). L’autonomie ne se fait pas toute seule : linguistic risk-taking as a vehicle for communication strategy instruction. (Unpublished major research paper). University of Ottawa, Ottawa.
Grosjean, F. (1989). Neurolinguists, beware! The bilingual is not two monolinguals in one person. Brain and language, 36(1), 3-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/0093-934X(89)90048-5
Holden, C.L., & Sykes, J.M. (2011). Leveraging mobile games for place-based language learning. International Journal of Game-Based Learning, 1(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.4018/ijgbl.2011040101
Kapp, K. (2012). The gamification of learning and instruction: Game-based methods and strategies for training and education. Pfeiffer
Karimi, M., & Biria, R. (2017). Impact of risk-taking strategies on male and female EFL learners’ test performance: The case of multiple-choice questions. Theory and Practice in Language Studies, 7(10), 892–899. https://doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0710.10
Lantolf, J.P. (2000). Sociocultural theory and second language learning. Oxford University Press.
Lazaraton, A. (2014). Second language speaking. In M. Celce-Murcia, D.M. Brinton, & M.A. Snow (Eds.), Teaching English as a second or foreign language (4th ed., pp. 106–120). National Geographic Learning.
Little, D. (1991). Learner autonomy 1: Definitions, issues and problems. Authentik.
Little, D. (1999). Strategies, counselling and cultural difference: Why we need an anthropological understanding of learner autonomy. Bells: Barcelona English literature and language studies, 10, 17–33. https://raco.cat/index.php/Bells/article/view/102823.
Long, M. H. (1985). A role for instruction in second language acquisition: Task-based language teaching. In K. Hyltenstam & M. Pienemann (Eds.), Modelling and assessing Second Language Acquisition (Vol. 18, pp. 77–99). Multilingual Matters.
Macintyre, P.D., & Mercer, S. (2015). Introducing positive psychology to SLA. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching 4(2), 153-172. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2014.4.2.2
Macintyre, P. D., & Gregersen, T. (2012a). Affect: The role of language anxiety and other emotions in language learning. In S. Mercer, S. Ryan, & M. Williams (Eds.), Language learning psychology (pp. 103-118). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137032829_8
Macintyre, P. D. (2007). Willingness to communicate in the second language: Understanding the decision to speak as a volitional process. Modern Language Journal, 91(4), 564–576. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.2007.00623.x
Macintyre, P. D. (2021). Exploring applications of positive psychology in SLA. In K. Budzińska & O. Majchrzak (Eds.), Positive psychology in second and foreign language education (pp. 3–17). Springer Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64444-4_1
Macintyre, P. D., & Legatto, J. J. (2011). A dynamic system approach to willingness to communicate: Developing an idiodynamic method to capture rapidly changing affect. Applied Linguistics, 32(2), 149–171. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amq037
Macintyre, P. D., Clément, R., Dörnyei, Z., & Noels, K. A. (1998). Conceptualizing willingness to communicate in an L2: A situational model of L2 confidence and affiliation. The Modern Language Journal, 82(4), 545–562. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-4781.1998.tb05543.x
Macintyre, P.D., & Gregersen, T. (2012b). Emotions that facilitate language learning: The positive broadening power of the imagination. Studies in Second Language Learning and Teaching, 2(2), 193-213. https://doi.org/10.14746/ssllt.2012.2.2.4
MacLennan, H. (2018). Two solitudes. M. Gnarowski. (Ed.). Macmillan of Canada.(Original work published 1945). https://doi.org/10.1515/9780773553897
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is broken: Why games make us better and how they can change the world. Penguin Press.
Nunan, D. (2004). Task-based language teaching. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511667336
Prensky M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants part 2: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424843
Rhéaume, M., Slavkov, N. & Séror, J. (2021) Linguistic risk-taking in second language learning: The case of French at a Canadian Bilingual Institution. Foreign Language Annals, 54(4), 1214-1237. https://doi.org/10.1111/flan.12561
Roberts, C., & Cooke, M. (2009). Authenticity in the adult ESOL classroom and beyond. TESOL Quarterly, 43(4), 620–642. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1545-7249.2009.tb00189.x
Roodi, F. & Slavkov, N. (2022). Gamification in L2 teaching and learning: Linguistic risk-taking at play. OLBI Journal, 12(1), 185-205. https://doi.org/10.18192/olbij.v12i1.6000
Saldaña, J. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.). Sage Publications.
Samuda, V., & Bygate, M. (2007). Tasks in Second Language Learning. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230596429
Séror, J., & Slavkov, N. (2019) Soutenir la prise de risques linguistiques chez l’apprenant langagier. Soutenir la prise de risques linguistiques chez l’apprenant langagier. Journal de l’immersion, 41(1), 9-13.
Slavkov, N. & Griffiths, E. (in preparation). The development of a mobile application to promote linguistic risk-taking. The development of the linguistic risk-taking initiative at the University of Ottawa. Canadian Modern Language Review, 75(3), 254–272. https://doi.org/10.3138/cmlr.2018-0202
Slavkov, N. (2016). In search of the right questions: Language background profiling at Ontario public schools. Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics, 19(1), 22–45. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/CJAL/article/view/22320
Slavkov, N. (2018) What is your ‘first’ language in bilingual Canada? A study of language background profiling at publicly-funded elementary schools across three provinces, International Journal of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education, 21(1), 20-37. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2015.1126217
Slavkov, N. (2020) Where the magic happens: Fostering language learning, bilingualism and multilingualism through linguistic risk-taking. In T. Tinnefeld (Ed.), The magic of language: Productivity in linguistics and language teaching (pp. 47-69). Saarland University of Applied Sciences Press.
Slavkov, N., Melo-Pfeifer, S., & Kerschhofer-Puhalo, N. (2022). The changing face of the “native speaker”: Perspectives from multilingualism and globalization. De Gruyter Mouton. https://doi.org/10.1515/9781501512353
Willis, D., & Willis, J. (2007). Doing Task-Based Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2023 Nikolay Slavkov
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with The Canadian Journal of Applied Linguistics (CJAL) agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the CJAL right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/> that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in the CJAL.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the CJAL's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in the CJAL.
- Authors will not simultaneously submit the same piece of work for possible publication to more than one academic journal at a time.