Mapping spaces of language learning beyond the classroom

Drawing on environmental approaches to language learning, this presentation will make a case for space as a crucial dimension of informal language learning. The context of the research is informal learning of English by international students preparing for university or vocational study in Sydney, Australia. International students are encouraged to study in Sydney in order to take advantage of the rich opportunities for informal English language learning and use that the city offers. Yet while some are successful in exploiting these opportunities, others seem to have great difficulty even in locating them. Teachers also are often mystified by their students’ apparent failure to do more to improve their English beyond the classroom. Individual differences in engagement in language learning beyond the classroom are, no doubt, influenced by a complex mix of psychological and social factors. The research that I will present points to students’ uses of the spaces of the city as a largely unexamined, but potentially key element in the mix. This research uses an innovative approach to mapping students’ learning beyond the classroom, using an online diary app, narrative interviews and online mapping tools. It shows that international students’ lives tend to be ‘mapped out’ by busy everyday routines that constrain their movements within the city. Their uses of the spaces of the city for language learning are framed by journeys between home, college and, typically, place of work. Their uses of leisure activities for language learning are also shaped by everyday routines, and are often incidental to everyday tasks at home, college and work. It is suggested that in this and other contexts, mapping spaces of informal learning can be a productive approach to exploring individual differences in language learning beyond the classroom.