The developing language learner

de Dick Allwright, Judith Hanks

If we want to treat learners as practitioners of learning, alongside teachers as practitioners of teaching, and therefore capable of reaping the developmental benefits of practitioner research, how can we best proceed? For Allwright and Hanks the answer lies in Exploratory Practice - an inclusive form of practitioner research developed largely in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and in Lancaster, England, that enables both learners and teachers to develop their own understandings of their learning and teaching lives. After arguing that developments in the field of applied linguistics have fallen short of establishing such a perspective on learners, and reviewing current research models, the authors propose seven principles for a truly inclusive extension of practitioner research - Exploratory Practice. Five full chapters document, through learner and teacher narratives from around the world, how Exploratory Practice can engage learners as developing practitioners of learning, and enhance the learning process by enriching human relationships in the classroom.