A3 Book section, Chapters in research books
The Personal Repertoire and Its Materiality : Resources, Means and Modalities of Languaging (2023)

Dufva, H. (2023). The Personal Repertoire and Its Materiality : Resources, Means and Modalities of Languaging. In J. Ennser-Kananen, & T. Saarinen (Eds.), New Materialist Explorations into Language Education (pp. 75-91). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13847-8_5

JYU authors or editors

Publication details

All authors or editors: Dufva, Hannele

Parent publication: New Materialist Explorations into Language Education

Parent publication editors: Ennser-Kananen, Johanna; Saarinen, Taina

ISBN: 978-3-031-13846-1

eISBN: 978-3-031-13847-8

Publication year: 2023

Publication date: 11/10/2022

Pages range: 75-91

Number of pages in the book: 190

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

Place of Publication: Cham

Publication country: Switzerland

Publication language: English

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-13847-8_5

Publication open access: Openly available

Publication channel open access: Open Access channel

Publication is parallel published (JYX): https://jyx.jyu.fi/handle/123456789/83551

Abstract

The chapter is a theoretical discussion of the concept of personal repertoire and its application in the context of applied linguistics, particularly in the study of language learning and development. It questions conceptualisations that understand language learning as acquisition of abstract, decontextual and disembodied language knowledge and argues that learners’ know-how is not based on any kind of ‘mental grammar’, but on a personal repertoire of different multimodal semiotic resources. Bringing together ‘old’ and ‘new’ arguments for materialism, personal repertoires are examined focussing on how embodied agentive activity is intertwined with the socially structured environments and their specific material features, tools and artefacts. The repertoire, or the know-how that emerges, is not, strictly speaking, ‘language’, but rather, a meshwork of ‘skilled linguistic action’ in the analysis of which embodiment and materiality are highly significant considerations. The viewpoint transcends the alleged gap between social and cognitive orientations of language learning research and discusses learning and use of language from an ecological point of view as ‘languaging’.

Keywords: languages; language learning; know-how; language skills; individualisation (education); multimodality; materiality; linguistics

Free keywords: cognition; distributed language; language know-how; repertoires; socio-cognitive approach

Contributing organizations

Ministry reporting: Yes

VIRTA submission year: 2023

JUFO rating: 2