Michał Daszkiewicz
University of Gdańsk, Poland; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2463-393X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.36534/erlj.2024.01.00
Bibliographic citation: (ISSN 2657-9774) Educational Role of Language Journal. Volume 2024-1(11). LINKS BETWEEN BELIEFS AND LANGUAGE, pp. 4–5.
The key assumption which led to the construction of this volume is twofold: its first thread is that there is a strong link between beliefs and language, and its second facet is that this link and our linguistic beliefs need to be constantly challenged. Fundamental though it may sound, the relationship between language and beliefs is hardly ever discussed, with various communities and circles rather sharing approach to the issue in question (without ever verbalizing it) and viewing language, its presence and applications, from a similar perspective. This form of tacit agreement with regard to what we think of language is undoubtedly detrimental to the linguistic development of teachers and students who unconsciously become fixed in their linguistic outlook. And yet, when we think of it, the link in question opens up numerous questions worth examining, which can be classified as pertaining to connections (e.g. What is first – language or beliefs?), systems (e.g. To what extent is the axiological side of language taken into account by different educational systems around the globe?), domains (e.g. How do our linguistic beliefs relate to our language skills and to our overall linguistic success?), and disciplines (e.g. Which theories address the axiological dimension of language learning and use? or – very importantly from the perspective of empirical studies aimed at with the volume – Which methodologies to apply for studies of the language-and-beliefs link?).
From the wider perspective and the trajectory of the volume as a whole, in the currently undertaken Cycle 2 the focus on beliefs follows that on affect, which we devoted two last year’s volumes to. There are numerous benefits to be observed thought such continuance, including that we can better understand the way affect and beliefs co-exist and co-determine each other, but also the major difference between the two on the level of methodological availability: whist affect required us to employ methods and terminology which is not within an easy reach of, say, language teachers, beliefs appear to be far more readily verifiable and subject to observable changes. Beliefs can indeed be formulated rather directly, as opposed to affect, which remains well hidden, so to speak, and calls for the use of advanced technology to be properly examined. And yet, many language specialists and teachers might be inclined to say that it is beliefs that determine it all: whether and how you study and apply languages rests strongly on what you think of its importance, what you specifically find of interest in it, what your view of grammatical constructions is, what range of vocabulary you see as vital etc. In school settings all these issues have a bilateral character and it is far from being obvious (or perhaps even advisable) that students hold the same linguistic beliefs as their teachers.
There are two crucial aspects of this year’s focus being laid on the dimension of beliefs: the first is that by addressing them, we reach to the genesis of the entire ERL framework, which initially started off with prioritising the thread named ‘the potential of language for general education’, resting heavily on such conceptual axiological categories as views, importance, priority, opinions, significance etc. related to language. In other words, it is the fundamental belief that language underlies our entire education that gave rise to the set of developments headed as the ‘educational role of language’ (being so fundamental and primary that even some professors are known to have disregarded the issue as too obvious to be bothered by!). And the second facet which the 2024 focus most significantly brings to light is that of language positioning as a notion which captures well the fact that each student as well as each teacher locates language(s) within their personal realm of values, which determines what and how they teach and learn practically any subject matter. The notion of language positioning is yet to be extensively developed within the current ERL cycle as it pertains not only to beliefs, but also affect, actions, and thinking, although on the axiological level it appears to be more straightforward than in the other three domains.
For the sake of consistence and easy presentation this volume’s structure is partially analogous to that of Volume 9, which was the first 2023 volume pertaining to affect. Accordingly, it comprises two parts – Part 1. Focusing on beliefs, where we have included papers aimed predominantly at the recognition and empirical verification of attitudes, beliefs, and convictions, and Part 2. Capitalising on beliefs, which is more active or practice-oriented, with papers outlining various applications of beliefs-oriented theories and studies. As usual, the volume is complemented with short texts that are not strict empirical or theoretical papers – this time we include two reports: one on our last ERL Conference, held at the International University of Sarajevo on the very same theme as this volume’s title, and the second one on a workshop carried out during that conference and pertaining to the zones of interculturality. Apart from their subject matter itself, these two reports point out to this year’s two conference additions – joint interdisciplinary projects initiated at the ERL conference and practical workshops conducted during the event on an issue closely linked to the conference theme, too. As many of the texts published in this very volume stem from the last ERL conference, our readers will be able to become familiar with the way our framework proceeds and with the highly engrossing set of issues discussed at the event and constituting substance of great ERL projects.
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