Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

New Directions in Language Learning Psychology pp 55–70Cite as

Attachment Theory: Insights into Student Postures in Autonomous Language Learning

  • Chapter
  • First Online:

Part of the book series: Second Language Learning and Teaching ((SLLT))

Abstract

Attachment theory is recognized today as being a cornerstone of developmental psychology. The link between child attachments (in their relation to a primary caregiver) and various types of autonomous adult behaviours has been well established (Rholes & Simpson, 2006). More recently, attachment theory has been used to explain some aspects of both child and adult education (Fleming, 2008; Geddes, 2006) and to facilitate understanding of certain teacher behaviours and thereby promote behaviour modification in some educational contexts (Riley, 2011). However, in applied linguistics, even though autonomy is a widely-researched concept (Benson, 2006), considered by its advocates to produce the most effective learning (Little, 2013), little, if anything, has been published on the links between language learner autonomy and attachment theory. This paper explores autonomy in language learning from an attachment theory perspective. It seeks evidence of the existence of adult attachment phenomena in university student self-report data and aims to determine the pertinence of the theory for language learning, especially in the contexts of self-access and out-of-class learning.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

Chapter
USD   29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD   84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD   109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Learn about institutional subscriptions

References

  • Albero, B. (2000). L’autoformation en contexte institutionnel: Du paradigme de l’instruction au paradigme de l’autonomie. Paris, Montréal: Éditions L’Harmattan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, K., & Horowitz, L. M. (1991). Attachment styles among young adults: A test of a four-category model. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 61(2), 226–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P. (2006). Autonomy in language teaching and learning. Language Teaching, 40(1), 21–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P., & Reinders, H. (2011). Beyond the language classroom. Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Benson, P., & Voller, P. (1997). Autonomy and independence in language learning. London: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Candas, P. (2009). Analyse de pratiques d’étudiants dans un centre de ressources de langues: Indicateurs d’autonomie dans l’apprentissage. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Université de Strasbourg.

    Google Scholar 

  • Candas, P., & Poteaux, N. (2011). De la nécessaire distance dans l’apprentissage d’une langue étrangère. Distances et savoirs, 8(4), 521–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, A. D. (1998). Strategies in learning and using a second language. London: Longman.

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins, N. L., Guichard, A. C., Ford, M. B., & Feeney, B. C. (2006). Working models of attachment: New developments and emerging themes. In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical implications (pp. 196–239). London: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crittenden, P. M. (2011). Assessing adult attachment: A dynamic-maturational approach to discourse analysis. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dörnyei, Z., & Ushioda, E. (Eds.). (2009). Motivation, language identity and the L2 self. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, T. (2008). A secure base for adult learning: Attachment theory and adult education. Adult Learner: The Irish Journal of Adult and Community Education, 33–53.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fraley, R. C., & Brumbaugh, C. C. (2006). A dynamical systems approach to conceptualizing and studying stability and change in attachment security. In W. S. Rholes & J. A. Simpson (Eds.), Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical implications (pp. 86–132). London: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Geddes, D. H. (2006). Attachment in the classroom: The links between children’s early experience, emotional well-being and performance in school. Duffield, UK: Worth Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hilton, H. (2014). Mise au point terminologique: Pour en finir avec la dichotomie acquisition / apprentissage en didactique des langues. Recherche et Pratique Pédagogiques en Langues de Spécialité. Cahiers de l’Apliut, 33(2), 34–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holec, H. (1979). Autonomy and foreign language learning. Strasbourg: Council of Europe.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F. I., & Swanson, R. A. (1998). The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development (5th ed.). Houston, Texas: Gulf Professional Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, D. (1991). Learner autonomy: Definitions, issues and problems (1). Dublin: Authentik.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, D. (2000). Learner autonomy: Why foreign languages should occupy a central role in the curriculum. In S. Green (Ed.), New perspectives on teaching and learning modern languages (pp. 24–45). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Little, D. (2013). Learner autonomy as discourse: The role of the target language. In A. Burkert, L. Dam, & C. Ludwig (Eds.), The answer is autonomy: Issues in language teaching and learning (pp. 14–25). Canterbury: University of Kent/IATEFL.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mercer, S., & Williams, M. (Eds.). (2014). Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA. Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mezirow, J. (Ed.). (2000). Learning as transformation: Critical perspectives on a theory in progress. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nissen, E. (2012). Autonomie dans une formation hybride : Qu’en dit l’apprenant ? Les Langues Modernes, 2012(3), 18–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. (2000). Identity and language learning: Gender, ethnicity and educational change. Harlow, Essex: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norton, B. (2014). Identity and poststructuralist theory in SLA. In S. Mercer & M. Williams (Eds.), Multiple perspectives on the self in SLA (pp. 59–74). Bristol: Multilingual Matters.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rholes, W. S., & Simpson, J. A. (Eds.). (2006). Adult attachment: Theory, research, and clinical implications. London: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riley, P. J. (2011). Attachment theory and the teacher-student relationship: A practical guide for teachers, teacher educators and school leaders. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay, N. A. (2003). L’autoformation: Pour apprendre autrement. Montréal: Les Presses de l’Université de Montréal.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenden, A. (1991). Learner strategies for learner autonomy. New York: Prentice Hall College Division.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wenden, A. L. (2002). Learner development in language learning. Applied Linguistics, 23(1), 32–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France

    Denyze Toffoli

Authors
  1. Denyze Toffoli
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Denyze Toffoli .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Language and Linguistics, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom

    Christina Gkonou

  2. Luftfahrt / Aviation, FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences, Graz, Austria

    Dietmar Tatzl

  3. Institut für Anglistik, University of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Sarah Mercer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Toffoli, D. (2016). Attachment Theory: Insights into Student Postures in Autonomous Language Learning. In: Gkonou, C., Tatzl, D., Mercer, S. (eds) New Directions in Language Learning Psychology. Second Language Learning and Teaching. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23491-5_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23491-5_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23490-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23491-5

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation