Introduction: Individual and Contextual Factors in the English Language Classroom: Theoretical, Pedagogical, and Empirical Approaches

For teachers of English as a second or foreign language (ESL/EFL), the effective recognition and integration of a wide range of individual and contextual factors, including those concerned with cognition, metacognition, emotion, identity, and socio-cultural background, into the classroom may represent a significant challenge. This is often the case in those settings where native English-speaking teachers work in foreign language contexts where they may have limited understanding of local cultures and languages, or where language instructors have class groups that are culturally and linguistically diverse. In these, and similar, contexts, the types and extent of individual and contextual factors impacting on language learning may challenge learner and instructor expectations of what an effective and supportive classroom is. While such a situation offers numerous opportunities for learners and teachers to expand knowledge of themselves, each other, and the world around them, it also presents the possibility for ineffective teaching and learning to occur. Within this framework, contributors to this volume examine a number of topics related to individual and contextual factors in ESL/EFL settings, with a particular focus on issues of cognition, metacognition, emotion, and identity. Chapters are presented across the three sections of theoretical and pedagogical approaches, teacher and learner research, and research into the roles of technology. They include explorations of the roles of cognition, metacognition, emotion, and identity in ESL/EFL, the ways student/teacher identities and socio-cultural factors manifest in the classroom, the impact of metacognition on student engagement, and how technology can support the identification and integration of individual and contextual factors in the learning process. By presenting the latest theoretical, pedagogical, and research perspectives from around the world, the book provides a resource for all stakeholders with an interest in the roles individual and contextual factors play in the English learning process.