Description:
Compared with STEM fields, foreign language (FL) education and second language acquisition have only slowly embraced open education and the new knowledge ecologies it produces. FL educators may have been hesitant to participate in the open education movement due to a lack of research which investigates the benefits and challenges of FL learning and teaching in open environments. This book contextualizes open education in FL learning and teaching via an historical overview of the movement, along with an in-depth exploration of how the open movement affects FL education beyond the classroom context; fills the research void by exploring aspects of open second language learning and teaching across a range of educational contexts; and illustrates new ways of creating, adapting and curating FL materials that are freely shared among FL educators and students. This book is open access under a CC BY ND licence.
Brief description: Carl S. Blyth is Associate Professor of French Linguistics, and Director of the Center for Open Educational Resources and Language Learning at the University of Texas at Austin, USA. His research interests include discourse analysis, intercultural pragmatics and language learning technology.
Review Quotes: This agenda-setting book challenges narrow conceptualizations of second language education by introducing a transdisciplinary approach inspired by an ecological perspective. The contributions illustrate the impact of the open education movement, which is disrupting L2 education and creating new knowledge ecosystems. With many teachers moving to online instruction today, such work is becoming ever more important, with the pedagogy of openness also promoting social justice imperatives in education.