Authenticity across Languages and Cultures: Themes of Identity in Foreign Language Teaching and Learning

This volume centres around concepts of personal and cultural authenticity as they play out in various contexts of foreign language teaching and learning worldwide. The chapters cover a wide range of contexts and disciplines, including both theoretical and empirical work; together they comprise both a rigorous analysis of authenticity in language teaching and a step away from notions of native-speakerism and cultural essentialism with which it is often associated. Written by a group of scholars working across several continents, the chapters offer diverse perspectives regarding the role language plays in processes of personal growth, learning, development, self-actualisation and power dynamics. The book addresses the theoretical and philosophical nature of authenticity while remaining grounded in the teaching and learning of languages, with authenticity viewed as a practical concern that guides our actions and beliefs. The book will be of interest to scholars, researchers and students of authenticity as well as foreign language teachers interested in the theoretical underpinnings of their practice. 

Leo Will is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Giessen, Germany and an Adjunct Professor at Saint Mary’s University Halifax, Canada. He is the author of Authenticity in English Language Teaching: An Analysis of Academic Discourse (2018, Waxmann Verlag). He is conducting phenomenological research in the realm of language teacher education and takes an interest in vocabulary learning.

Wolfgang Stadler is Professor Emeritus of Russian (applied) linguistics and subject-specific language education and a former Dean of the Faculty of Education at Innsbruck University, Austria.

Irma Eloff is a Professor of Educational Psychology at the University of Pretoria, South Africa and Adjunct Professor at the University of Innsbruck, Austria. She is the author and editor of six books and more than 90 scientific articles and book chapters. She conducts research in sustainability sciences with particular interest in quality education and good health and wellbeing.