Learner profiles and IDLE learning trajectories

Informal Digital Learning of English (IDLE), whatever name it goes by, has recently attracted substantial attention from researchers in Applied Linguistics worldwide (cf: Dressman and Sadler, 2020). While such research has covered many areas including the diversity of practices, the widespread nature of such learning and specific types of acquisitions that may be attributed to it, many questions remain concerning when, how and with what success individuals attempt to integrate IDLE into their personal language development process. Longitudinal (and even medium-term) studies attempting emic profiling of students' learning trajectories over a significant period of time are relatively few (for example Kusyk, 2017) and tend to present essentially individual case studies. Toffoli (2020) or Cole (2015) have argued that learner profiles, notably in terms of self-determination (autonomy, attachment, language level & digital literacy) would have a significant influence, not only on the types of IDLE learners are involved in, but on how intensive and efficient their IDLE practices are for language acquisition. This study analyses students' initial learner profiles, in terms of level in English, learner autonomy, attachment and self-determination. These metrics have been established using previously tested tools developed by Macaskill & Taylor (2010) for autonomy, Fraley et al (2011) for attachment and Noels et al (2000) for overall self-determination. The study then documents one of these student's IDLE contacts with English and her progress in the language over the 10 months of her first year in higher education, using logbook and classroom observation data. It attempts to examine possible correlations between initial profiles and subsequent learning trajectories over the course of the year.