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Instead of viewing different perspectives on the self as competing with each other and considering one perspective on the self as being inherently ‘better’ than another, this book takes the view that a fuller, more comprehensive picture of the self in SLA can be gained by examining and combining insights from different perspectives. This original collection of papers thus attempts to provide a thorough overview of the ways in which the self can be conceptualised in SLA contexts. The editors have brought together a diverse range of theoretical perspectives on the self to allow the reader to appreciate the insights that each approach contributes to overall understandings of the self in the domain of second language acquisition and foreign language learning.
The work collected and edited by Mercer and Williams fills important gaps and
discrepancies between major theories and brings a fresh and different perspective to the field of SLA with the crucial ideas, future directions, and debates it poses. The work brings the theories together to build toward a comprehensive perspective. The book is a very valuable one, especially for graduate students who are looking for conceptual clarity in constructs of the self.
Sarah Mercer is Lecturer at the University of Graz, Austria. She has been working in ELT in Europe for over 15 years and currently researches in the area of language learning psychology, with particular interest in aspects of the self. Her recent publications include Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept (2011, Springer).
Marion Williams was previously Reader at the University of Exeter and is currently Chair of the Academic Board for INSTILL Education. She has 40 years' experience of working at all levels of ELT internationally, is a long-standing member of the ELT Journal editorial board and is a former president of IATEFL.
1. Sarah Mercer and Marion Williams: Introduction to Multiple Perspectives on the Self
2. Nicole Mills: Self-efficacy in SLA
3. Sinthujaa Sampasivam and Richard Clément: The Dynamics of Second Language Confidence: Contact and Interaction
4. Fernando Rubio: Self-Esteem and Self-Concept in Foreign Language Learning
5. Bonny Norton: Identity and Poststructuralist Theory in SLA
6. Chantal Hemmi: Dual Identities Perceived by Bilinguals
7. Florentina Taylor: Relational Views of the Self in SLA
8. Stephen Ryan and Kay Irie: Imagined and Possible Selves: Stories We Tell Ourselves About Ourselves
9. Ema Ushioda: Motivational Perspectives on the Self in SLA: A Developmental View
10. Georg Northoff: Brain and Self: A Neurophilosophical Account
11. Sarah Mercer: The Self from a Complexity Perspective
12. Sarah Mercer and Marion Williams: Concluding Reflections