Bøger af Miros¿aw Pawlak

The book explores the relationships between the personality traits of Polish university students learning English as a foreign language and their use of language learning strategies (LLS). It provides a solid theoretical background for the investigation of the interface between the two constructs, describes the applied analytical procedures in detail, and reports the results and implications of a large-scale study. Chapter 1 presents multiple perspectives on the investigation of human personality and presents insights from a selection of studies into the role of personality in foreign language learning. Chapter 2 addresses the construct of LLS, while Chapter 3 links strategy use to other individual learner characteristics, with a focus on personality. Chapter 4 sets the methodological framework for the empirical investigation, describes the rationale for conducting the study, and includes a thorough description of analytical procedures. Chapter 5 presents the results of the study and highlights their pedagogical implications. Finally, limitations of the study are presented and some directions for future research are suggested. The monograph will be of interest to scholars investigating the role of personality in SLA as well as graduate and postgraduate students in applied linguistics.

The last few decades have seen extensive research focusing of the relative effectiveness of different instructional options that can be employed in teaching grammar structures (e.g., deduction and induction, different types of corrective feedback, input-based vs. output-based practice). However, the contribution of such pedagogical intervention and the resulting knowledge of target language grammar are mediated by a number of factors related to a specific context, the properties of the features being taught and, most importantly, individual learner profiles. Nonetheless, research into the moderating role of individual difference variables has been scant, limited to only several factors, and seldom taking into account complex interactions between variables. The book seeks to fill this evident gap by investigating the mediating effect of selected cognitive and affective factors on explicit and implicit (or highly automatized) knowledge of the English passive voice. In doing so, the studysheds the so-much-needed light on the predictors of second language grammar knowledge but also, to some extent, on the usefulness of instructional techniques used to develop it.