Authenticity across Languages and Cultures

Themes of Identity in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Edited by Leo Will, Wolfgang Stadler, Irma Eloff

Publication date:

10 November 2022

Publisher

Multilingual Matters

Dimensions:

234x156mm
6x9"

ISBN-13: 9781800411043

This volume centres around concepts of personal and cultural authenticity as they play out in various contexts of foreign language teaching and learning worldwide. The chapters cover a wide range of contexts and disciplines, including both theoretical and empirical work; together they comprise both a rigorous analysis of authenticity in language teaching and a step away from notions of native-speakerism and cultural essentialism with which it is often associated. Written by a group of scholars working across several continents, the chapters offer diverse perspectives regarding the role language plays in processes of personal growth, learning, development, self-actualisation and power dynamics. The book addresses the theoretical and philosophical nature of authenticity while remaining grounded in the teaching and learning of languages, with authenticity viewed as a practical concern that guides our actions and beliefs. The book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of authenticity as well as foreign language teachers interested in the theoretical underpinnings of their practice.

Contributors

Claire Kramsch: Foreword: Authenticity in Our Times

Preface: Authenticity Revisited: It’s Getting Personal

Chapter 1. Leo Will and Richard S. Pinner: The Concept of Authenticity in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

Part 1: Authenticity and Language Teaching

Chapter 2. Wolfgang Stadler and Anna Dreher: «Что такое аутентичность»? The Concept(s) of Authenticity in Russian as a Foreign Language

Chapter 3. Matthew Dame and Natalia Dame: Multilingualism and Authenticity in Russian Heritage Language Teaching Practices

Chapter 4. Carol Spöttl, Eva Konrad, Veronika Schwarz, Elisa Guggenbichler and Benjamin Kremmel: Authenticity in Language Assessment: Revisiting the Implementation of a Key Principle

Chapter 5. Anna Shkireva: Authenticity Beyond Teaching Materials: Teachers’ Authentic Care on Students’ Persistence at the Beginner Level of Foreign Language Courses

Chapter 6. Wendy M. Whitehead Martelle: Designing for Authenticity: Making Sense of an English Pedagogical Grammar Course

Chapter 7. Maria Bondarenko: Rethinking Authenticity in SLA from the Perspective of L1 Use: A Concept of Cognitive Authenticity

Part 2: Authenticity and Identity

Chapter 8. Grit Alter: Authenticity, Curricula and Authentic Education

Chapter 9. Wietske Boon and Irma Eloff: Authenticity and the Psychology of Language and Learning During Early Childhood Education

Chapter 10. Elsabé Taljard: Authenticity in Language Teaching: An African Language Perspective

Chapter 11. Irene Heidt : When Moral Authority Speaks: Empirical Insights into Issues of Authenticity and Identity in Multilingual Educational Settings

Chapter 12. Veronika Makarova: Exploring Authenticity for an Endangered Heritage Language Context: Canadian Doukhobor Russian

Part 3: Authenticity and Aesthetics

Chapter 13. Candice Livingston and Hanlie Dippenaar: Autobiographical Fairy Tales for Authenticity in the English Classroom: A South African Higher Education Case Study

Chapter 14. Håvard Haugland Bamle: Indie-Folk Music and the Quest for First-Person Authenticity

Chapter 15. Annelise Brox Larsen: Authenticity and Literature(s) in Teacher Education: Bildung in Jigalong and Bárbmo

Chapter 16. Hanlie Dippenaar, Cheryl Logan and Candice Livingston: Authenticity and Authentic Voices in the Literature Curriculum of Pre-Service Teachers of English

Magdalena Kaltseis: Afterword: Taking Stock of the Authentic – Critical Synthesis and Timely Outlook

Index

Authenticity has been one of the core concepts of Communicative Language Teaching since the 1970s. This multifaceted, interdisciplinary volume engages with authenticity both in a most stimulating philosophical chapter and in diverse empirical studies, spanning different languages, contexts and approaches. A very welcome and necessary book for those who like to delve into the fundamental questions of language learning and teaching.