Although smartphones have become normalised in people's everyday behaviours, they remain under-exploited from a language learning perspective. This paper describes a study in an Irish university which explored the nature and extent of language learners' existing use of smartphones for informal learning purposes through a survey, a case study, and…

This study report is part of a larger research programme, the Global Research Translation Award: Meeting the SDGs: creating innovative infrastructures and policy solutions to support sustainable development in Global South communities. The University of East Anglia's (UEA) Global Research Translation Award (GRTA) sets out to help tackle health,…

The current study investigated the correlation between English collocation test scores and three independent variables including vocabulary level, informal language exposure, and motivation. The study also examined which independent variable was the most influential in predicting the collocation tests scores. Data was collected using, Gyllstad's…

Informed by ecological approaches to second language development (SLD), the current study looked into three adult English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners' quests of engaging in lifelong, informal language learning in the digital age. Data from in-depth interviews revealed that popular culture presented in different media forms offered…

Children with neurodevelopmental disabilities are among the most vulnerable to experiencing exclusion from community settings. Informal education settings (IES), such as camps, museums, and zoos, provide rich learning opportunities beyond the classroom, yet inclusion efforts have primarily focused on physical accessibility. A review of research is…

Conversations and networks are essential for transforming academics' teaching practices as learning experiences (Palmer 1993). Yet, there has been little research reporting academics' informal conversations about teaching (Thomson and Trigwell 2018). Teachers will generally access small significant networks (Becher and Trowler 2001) for nuanced…

Most students in higher education at present are 'digital natives.' They use technology in every facet of their life, including their education. They learn from formally organised courses as well as from informal learning. Hence, informal learning has been identified as crucial for the sustainability of higher education in the current global…

Focusing on how a world of possibilities is opened up by language learners themselves, imagination has been regarded as an elusive but indispensable element in second language (L2) education. Drawing on notions of international posture (Yashima 2002), Ideal L2 Self (Dörnyei 2009), and imagined communities (Norton 2001), we theorised imagination…

This Practice to Policy brief, based on insights from UnidosUS's Affiliate Network of community-based organizations and public charter schools in Illinois, Florida, Texas, Arizona, and California, highlights the critical role of Out-of-School Time (OST) programs in supporting the Latino community, particularly in the aftermath of the COVID-19…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine uncertain situations with potential for learning in care work. While the dominant learning strategy in elderly care is lecture-based education, learning from and during daily care work routines is crucial and suitable. However, little is known about the potential for learning in daily work in elderly care.…

Out-of-class learning is an additional vital component in successful English language acquisition among proficient ESL users. Thus, this study employed a quantitative research approach to investigate out-of-class English language practice by Malaysian ESL post-secondary students. 106 first-semester Diploma in Tourism Management students at a…

As a source of social capital, teachers' professional networks have been linked in the research literature with professional learning. Social media platforms have increased teachers' professional networking opportunities, suggesting more space for informal learning. Capturing the experiences of 41 school teachers in Kazakhstan using thematic…

This longitudinal mixed-methods study tracked the informal language contact and phrasal verb knowledge of 21 Chinese foundation program students in the United Kingdom (UK) during the 2019-2020 academic year through three rounds of data collection. Because of the disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the study was able to capture the impact of a…

There is an abundance of scholarship documenting educators' uses of for-profit social media platforms for professional learning, but little is known about how inauthentic accounts affect those experiences. We studied 83 state-sponsored accounts' interactions with the teacher-focused #Edchat hashtag by analyzing their profiles, profiles of accounts…

Our multiple case study addresses the lack of opportunities many people have developing positive identification with STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) fields by investigating STEM identity authoring in three intergenerational collaborative partnerships. Adult and teen partners participated in two-day workshops learning conservation…