Language learning ecology
A landmark study by Cole and Vanderplank (2016) documented an important shift in perspectives on language teaching. Cole and Vanderplank conducted research in Brazil to compare 34 autonomous English learners with 50 classroom-based English learners. Results showed that the autonomous learners made greater gains in proficiency across all measures, leading the authors to conclude that “the new affordances for naturalistic learning through the Internet have transformed informal language learning, enabling significant numbers of independent, informal learners in foreign language contexts to achieve very high levels of proficiency” (p. 31).
Although more studies are needed, this research points to four important implications for language teaching and learning, particularly for language teaching and learning during FSA.