Mari Aro | University of Jyväskylä (original) (raw)
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Papers by Mari Aro
The Routledge Handbook of Language Awareness, 2017
Theorizing and Analyzing Agency in Second Language Learning, 2014
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to crimina... more Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Afinla E Soveltavan Kielitieteen Tutkimuksia, Jun 23, 2014
The present article discusses the concepts of language learning and language use. When are learne... more The present article discusses the concepts of language learning and language use. When are learners engaged in learning and what is it that they should learn? At what point do they become legitimate users of language and stop thinking of themselves as learners? In layman's terms learning usually precedes language use: one first learns a language and can then use it. In linguistic research, particularly within the sociocultural approaches, it has recently been questioned whether a distinction between learning and using should be made at all. In the article, the definitions and boundaries pertaining to language learning and use are reflected on both from the point of view of the public and from the point of view scholarly theories (sociocultural as well as dialogical).peerReviewe
This paper considers multilingualism from the point of view of language learning and teaching. We... more This paper considers multilingualism from the point of view of language learning and teaching. We discuss the 'monological' thinking in linguistics and in the research of language learning and teaching and argue that the monological stand, more often than not, also ...
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2012
This paper examines learner beliefs from a dialogical point of view. Drawing on the writings of t... more This paper examines learner beliefs from a dialogical point of view. Drawing on the writings of the Bakhtin circle, it sees beliefs as shared and recycled viewpoints that are multivoiced: they echo the voices of others as well as the voice of the speaker. A longitudinal interview study was conducted among a group of young Finnish learners of English. The analysis of the data focused on the voicework present in the learners' answers: how they, on the one hand, echoed or even repeated the voices of authority, and, on the other hand, brought forward their own insights. The results indicate that the authoritative voices strongly influence how the individual viewpoints are formed and presented and may consequently also influence learner actions.
Afinla E Soveltavan Kielitieteen Tutkimuksia, Oct 11, 2011
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
The study is a longitudinal case study that examines the nature and development of beliefs that F... more The study is a longitudinal case study that examines the nature and development of beliefs that Finnish L1 elementary school children hold about English and the learning of English. The data were produced using semistructured interviews. The participants (N= 15) were interviewed in Year 1 (aged 7), Year 3 (aged 10), and Year 5 (aged 12). The data were analysed from three perspectives: for the content of the participants' beliefs, using the Bakhtinian notion of voice, and the sociocultural notion of agency. Data triangulation was thus achieved through the use of multiple theoretical and analytical approaches. The findings showed that the learners' beliefs had both varying and repeated elements. The learners consistently said that, generally speaking, English must be learnt because it is needed abroad. However, their own motives for studying English varied considerably within the group and over time. While they said that the main use of English was speaking, they nevertheless considered reading books to be the most effective way to learn English. The influence of formal teaching practices in their beliefs was very clear. Some of the learners' beliefs were modified over time as a function of their own increasing experience with language learning, reflecting their own voice; some appeared to be conditioned by authoritative voices. Their beliefs were thus polyphonic. The authoritative views regarding English learning also seemed to modify the learners' own experience: as accepted, ventriloquated cultural truths, they acted as a filter through which the learners saw their experience. The learners' agency developed from cooperation with parents and teachers towards a more independent role in language studies. However, this process was not consistent for all learners: in Year 5 some learners began to portray themselves as passive recipients of teaching rather than as active students.
The Routledge Handbook of Language Awareness, 2017
Theorizing and Analyzing Agency in Second Language Learning, 2014
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to crimina... more Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Afinla E Soveltavan Kielitieteen Tutkimuksia, Jun 23, 2014
The present article discusses the concepts of language learning and language use. When are learne... more The present article discusses the concepts of language learning and language use. When are learners engaged in learning and what is it that they should learn? At what point do they become legitimate users of language and stop thinking of themselves as learners? In layman's terms learning usually precedes language use: one first learns a language and can then use it. In linguistic research, particularly within the sociocultural approaches, it has recently been questioned whether a distinction between learning and using should be made at all. In the article, the definitions and boundaries pertaining to language learning and use are reflected on both from the point of view of the public and from the point of view scholarly theories (sociocultural as well as dialogical).peerReviewe
This paper considers multilingualism from the point of view of language learning and teaching. We... more This paper considers multilingualism from the point of view of language learning and teaching. We discuss the 'monological' thinking in linguistics and in the research of language learning and teaching and argue that the monological stand, more often than not, also ...
International Journal of Applied Linguistics, 2012
This paper examines learner beliefs from a dialogical point of view. Drawing on the writings of t... more This paper examines learner beliefs from a dialogical point of view. Drawing on the writings of the Bakhtin circle, it sees beliefs as shared and recycled viewpoints that are multivoiced: they echo the voices of others as well as the voice of the speaker. A longitudinal interview study was conducted among a group of young Finnish learners of English. The analysis of the data focused on the voicework present in the learners' answers: how they, on the one hand, echoed or even repeated the voices of authority, and, on the other hand, brought forward their own insights. The results indicate that the authoritative voices strongly influence how the individual viewpoints are formed and presented and may consequently also influence learner actions.
Afinla E Soveltavan Kielitieteen Tutkimuksia, Oct 11, 2011
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching, 2015
The study is a longitudinal case study that examines the nature and development of beliefs that F... more The study is a longitudinal case study that examines the nature and development of beliefs that Finnish L1 elementary school children hold about English and the learning of English. The data were produced using semistructured interviews. The participants (N= 15) were interviewed in Year 1 (aged 7), Year 3 (aged 10), and Year 5 (aged 12). The data were analysed from three perspectives: for the content of the participants' beliefs, using the Bakhtinian notion of voice, and the sociocultural notion of agency. Data triangulation was thus achieved through the use of multiple theoretical and analytical approaches. The findings showed that the learners' beliefs had both varying and repeated elements. The learners consistently said that, generally speaking, English must be learnt because it is needed abroad. However, their own motives for studying English varied considerably within the group and over time. While they said that the main use of English was speaking, they nevertheless considered reading books to be the most effective way to learn English. The influence of formal teaching practices in their beliefs was very clear. Some of the learners' beliefs were modified over time as a function of their own increasing experience with language learning, reflecting their own voice; some appeared to be conditioned by authoritative voices. Their beliefs were thus polyphonic. The authoritative views regarding English learning also seemed to modify the learners' own experience: as accepted, ventriloquated cultural truths, they acted as a filter through which the learners saw their experience. The learners' agency developed from cooperation with parents and teachers towards a more independent role in language studies. However, this process was not consistent for all learners: in Year 5 some learners began to portray themselves as passive recipients of teaching rather than as active students.
Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching explores the phenomena of ... more Beliefs, Agency and Identity in Foreign Language Learning and Teaching explores the phenomena of believing (or assigning personal meanings), acting, and identifying (or identity construction), and their interconnectedness/ dynamics in the learning and teaching of English and other foreign languages.
The authors report recent studies that are truly longitudinal in their research design, carried out from novel theoretical starting points and innovative in data collection and analysis. The book contributes to a greater understanding of how learners go about learning and teachers about teaching foreign languages.