Chapter 10 describes how differences between a learner’s first language(s) and the target language(s) may influence their learning experience. Concepts like crosslinguistic transfer, grapheme-phoneme correspondence, and typography are presented through a variety of exemplars. Research-based strategies on how to teach a new writing system, introduce text-based resources featuring unfamiliar scripts, and differentiate instruction based on learners’ linguistic backgrounds are provided.

Chapter 19 explores how different technological resources may help or hinder language learning efforts. Technology is discussed in its capacity to support learners, to create new real-life communicative tasks, and to assist teachers as an additional resource. The chapter includes several ways in which technology can be used to maximize learner motivation and engagement in classes of varying ages and proficiency levels.

Chapter 17 focuses on Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT), a teaching approach that has strong alignment with empirical findings in second language acquisition research. Bryfonski and Mackey describe TBLT and outline the various phases of implementation needed to adopt it in a new teaching context. The defining characteristics of tasks as well as a practical example of a task that fulfills all four criterion are included so that readers can develop their own tasks.

What does it mean to be an artist? An art researcher? Or a researcher who uses art? Is the definition of an artist someone who ‘makes art’, or is artistic expression an integral aspect of human identity open to everyone? If artists draw from their experiences to facilitate their own and others’ creative processes, how and where is this process different from or the same as the ideas of reflection, awareness, and relationship I have discussed? How is it different from using creative research methods with participants? Just as using research methods that can have unintended therapeutic effect does not make a researcher a therapist working with therapeutic intent, using arts-based methods does not automatically make a researcher an artist.

Being an artist

There was a time, before I re-entered academia, that I described myself as an artist. In addition to the textile art I described in the introduction, my movement practice included creative work that served no extrinsic purpose other than to facilitate my clients to explore their body, the way it moved, and how it interacted with the environment around it. I acted as a consultant for bodies including Local Health Authorities, Primary Care Trusts, SureStart Centres, and Birmingham Royal Ballet, using my intuition and expertise to provide workshops and trainings (McMillan 2015). I used movement in many different ways to allow people to find out more about themselves and the ways in which they engaged with the world around them. My work spanned that of an educator, therapist, and participatory artist; using movement as the medium by which I engaged my audiences with the creative process and exploration of self and others rather than creating art for exhibition or performance. I was not a researcher.

When I began my doctoral studies and started my journey into research, my creative and artistic practice suffered. Coupled as it was with a turbulent and demanding time in my private and home life, I found that I did not have the capacity or space to feed an artistic practice beyond that funnelled into my creative research methods and writing. I was not completing a Practiceas-Research PhD, this was not an accepted form of doctorate in education.

Chapter 9 offers insight into how second language acquisition researchers have understood the concept of language aptitude and its impact on language development. Bryfonski and Mackey describe several of the most commonly used sub-components of language aptitude including phonetic, reasoning, and memory abilities. By drawing connections between these sub-components and instructional practices, this chapter offers ways in which teachers can understand how learners may experience language learning.

Chapter 12 discusses if, how, and why to address pronunciation challenges that arise in a language classroom. To answer these questions, Bryfonski and Mackey make connections between first language acquisition and second language acquisition research, providing an accessible overview of what linguists have found to be true about our ability to percieve and produce new sounds throughout our lifetimes.

The first part of this book touched on ways in which qualitative research borders onto psychotherapy, education, and embodiment. In Part II, I will explore the lessons that can be learned from art, the challenging terrain that represents the no- man's land between science and qualitative research, and the practical and ethical implications of creative and embodied research.

Chapter 3 presents a variety of feedback methods that practitioners and researchers alike use to support learners’ linguistic development. Building on the belief that errors are a normal and even beneficial part of language learning, this chapter shares how and why feedback is a critical component of language teaching. Examples of oral corrective feedback are provided, along with a description of when teachers may choose to use what type of feedback over another.

Chapter 6 addresses how learners’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds may impact their language learning experiences. The authors discuss research that has explored the areas of overlap between race, culture, and identity on second language acquisition. Central to this chapter is the importance of recognizing learners’ multifaceted identities and reflecting them in course materials.

Chapter 13 addresses the sub-skills needed for successful second language literacy development. The relationship between literacy development and other second language skills, like vocabulary acquisition, are also presented. Learners’ prior experience with first language literacy skills is another factor for teachers to consider as they structure literacy-oriented goals and activities for their courses.