Processes and Process-Orientation in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

There can be no products without processes. Though a generalization, this statement encapsulates the importance of process-oriented approaches in language teaching and learning. In recent decades, researchers and practitioners alike are increasingly focusing their attention on: 1) the learner as the active subject and the internal processes that constitute his/her learning leading to communicative competence; 2) teaching approaches that reflect this view of language learning; and 3) factors such as the sociocultural context, social interactions and discourse, and individual learner characteristics and differences. This book examines and reflects these recent paradigm shifts.