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The Social Context for Language Learning—A Neglected Situation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2008

Michael P. Breen
Michael P. Breen
Affiliation:
University of Lancaster
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Abstract

This paper offers an examination of classroom language learning from the perspectives of research and teaching. It addresses two questions: (1) What are the specific contributions of the classroom to the process of language development?; and (2) In what ways might the teacher exploit the social reality of the classroom as a resource for the teaching of language? The paper explores the classroom as a special social situation and identifies certain aspects of classroom language learning that seem to be neglected by current research. It offers also new directions for research and proposals for language teaching deduced from particular social and psychological characteristics of classroom life.

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Type
Articles
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Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 7 , Issue 2 , June 1985 , pp. 135 - 158
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

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