Among the various conceptual lenses proposed to understand students’ complex language learning behaviour in a modern, globalized world, “interest” is a pedagogically important concept that is vital for learning and requires careful discussion and investigation.
Interest has been widely discussed in the field of education and in recent years it has been studied concerning a number of perspectives in relation to language teaching and learning.
This presentation examines what interest means, why it is essential, how it has been studied in diverse disciplines and its relevance for language teaching and learning.
The discussion investigates three components – topics, tasks, and talk – frequently mentioned in language teaching/learning and their role in enhancing students’ interest and language learning.
For example, teacher talk, which has often been downplayed in many task-centred discussions of language learning/teaching, is a powerful source of input for students in peripheral contexts with poor material resources and emerges as a powerful resource to stimulate student interest.
Expone:
Dra. Tan Bee Tin
University of Auckland
Tan Bee Tin is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics and Language Teaching at the School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics (the University of Auckland, New Zealand). She has published in the areas of materials development for language teaching, studies of academic discourse, language teacher education, language creativity and language learning, the role of interest in (language) learning, and teaching English in peripheral contexts. Her recent research on creativity and second language learning has been published in international journals such as Applied Linguistics, ELT, and Innovation in Language Learning and Teaching. She is the author of ‘Unpacking Creativity for Language Teaching’ (2022) (Routledge), and ‘Stimulating Student Interest in Language Learning: Theory, Research and Practice’ (2016) (Palgrave Macmillan).
