Karen Forbes
Biographic Data
| ID | 6154672 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Karen Forbes |
| GIVEN NAMES | Karen |
| FAMILY NAME | Forbes |
| SIGNATURE | FORBES K |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Cambridge |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-8981-8236 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 18 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 99 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 18 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2017 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Multilingual identity and English achievement
While research into multilingual identity and self-regulation among language learners has been flourishing in recent years and the relations between identity and identity-driven behaviors have been well-discussed, few studies have investigated the potential links between these two important self-constructs and their connection to language achievement. In order to address this gap, this study investigated the relationships between English as a for…
Research-informed principles for developing cohesive school language policies
Language and education are intrinsically connected, as it is through language that content knowledge is both accessed and assessed, and communication occurs. Yet, in England, research has shown that many secondary schools currently lack cohesive language policies (LPs) addressing language-related issues commonly arising inside and outside the classroom. As a result, decisions are often devolved to individual teachers which can require both teache…
Participative Multilingual Identity Construction in Higher Education
This theoretical paper builds on the authors’ existing scholarship exploring the value of incorporating multilingual identity-focused pedagogical practice into language learning at the secondary school level, by establishing the rationale for extending such practices to the tertiary level, both in language learning specifically and in tertiary education more generally. We previously reconceptualised multilingualism as an all-encompassing concept …
Towards a tempo‐spatial model of multilingual identity development
The dynamic property and developmental trajectory of language learners’ multilingual identity (MI), which concerns one's self‐perception as a multilingual learner and user, have attracted increasing attention in the field of applied linguistics. Though the dynamic conceptualisation foregrounds the role of the tempo‐spatial context in shaping MI development, the nature and function of time and space and their associated interactions with MI rarely…
I feel like I have a superpower’
an identity-based pedagogical intervention
Exploring medical students’ experiences with indigenous patient care
In their clinical experiences, students witness racism against Indigenous peoples yet are unprepared to stand up against it. Findings highlight the importance of enhancing undergraduate medical training to allow students to better understand the unique experiences and perspectives of Indigenous patients. The results support the need for ongoing Indigenous health education, to foster culturally sensitive experiences while learning about Indigenous…
Standards, Stigma, Surveillance
Mapping school‐level language policies across multilingual secondary schools in England
Language plays a crucial role in education; yet, while issues of language are undoubtedly relevant to all teachers, school‐level language policies, which aim to provide explicit guidance underpinned by a clear set of principles, are too often conspicuous by their absence. In a range of educational contexts around the world it has been found that where such policies do exist, they are frequently fragmented and underpinned by monolingual ideologies…
Contextualising the temporal dimension in multilingual identity construction
Multilingual identity construction is a diachronic, non-linear and constantly evolving process which is influenced by a complex range of contextual and temporal factors. Yet the temporal dimension seldom receives explicit empirical attention and remains under-theorised. Meanwhile, the dynamics of multilingual identity development are rarely explored at the cohort (i.e., whole-class) level. Underpinned by complex dynamic systems theory, this study…
Multilingual Identity in Schools
In language learner identity research, there is an underrepresentation of LOTE-as-L3 learners in instructed foreign language learning contexts. This study addresses this gap by exploring the multilingual identity profiles of Chinese high school LOTE-as-L3 learners in two school contexts and seeks to understand how the schools may influence students’ multilingual identity development. Q sorting activities were administered with 35 international sc…
Language experiences, evaluations and emotions (3Es)
Researchers have traditionally relied on institutionally-defined, native speaker conceptions of linguistic competence to define whether or not individual learners are multilingual. However, to better understand the relationship between language and identity in the context of additional language learning, there is a need to widen the definition of multilingualism by including a larger repertoire of semiotic competences and a wider range of levels …
Investigating EFL teachers’ gender-stereotypical beliefs about learners
Language education has long been considered a female domain across many countries, with girls outnumbering and outperforming boys. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the nature and structure of gender stereotypes favouring girls among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. In the quantitative strand, 60 teachers from six Chinese high schools rated typical boys’ and girls’ affect, achievement and aptitude regarding Engli…
Multilingualism, Multilingual Identity and Academic Attainment
Multilingualism is highly prevalent in schools around the world. Yet, the relationship between multilingualism and academic attainment is not well understood. Where research on this topic exists, it has predominantly focused on how home language background impacts on academic success, lacking in a broader view of multilingualism which extends beyond home languages and also considers the identity component of being multilingual. This paper explore…
Strategy development and cross-linguistic transfer in foreign and first language writing
In an increasingly multilingual world, empirical knowledge about the reciprocal influence between the mother tongue (L1) and a learner’s acquisition of foreign languages (FL) is crucial yet remains surprisingly scarce. This paper examines how an explicit focus on metacognitive strategy use within a FL (German) classroom impacts students’ development of writing strategies in the FL, and whether any such effects transfer to another FL (French) and/…
It’s a plus rather than a must’
The recent upsurge of supplementary education has brought something attention-grabbing to the mediascape in China – educational ethos, inclusive of pedagogies and teaching ideals, is being widely marketed and increasingly used as a benchmark of ‘quality’ in education. This study explores the ways in which educational ethos in China is advertised by companies providing supplementary English education for elementary school students (SEEE), and inve…
The role of individual differences in the development and transfer of writing strategies between foreign and first language classrooms
While the importance of considering the wide variation among language learners has been brought to the forefront in recent years, the impact of such individual differences on the process of second or foreign language writing has been largely neglected. This paper aims to explore the ways in which individual students develop and transfer strategies within and between foreign language (FL) and first language (L1) writing. A two-phase intervention o…
Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom
Multilingual identity is an area ripe for further exploration within the existing extensive body of identity research. In this paper we make a case for a conceptual framework that defines multilingual identity formation in terms of learners’ active involvement, and proposes the classroom as the hitherto underused site for participative identity (re)negotiation. After reviewing three key theoretical perspectives on identity (the psychosocial, soci…
The knowledge base of teaching in linguistically diverse contexts
This paper aims to define the knowledge base of teaching in linguistically diverse secondary schools in England. Based on extensive interviews with the teachers across two schools, the paper identifies a range of good practices centred on flexibility and differentiation. These include diversifying teaching resources by using bilingual materials and dialogic tasks, as well as making adjustments to teaching by simplifying input and including cultur…
Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom
Multilingual identity is an area ripe for further exploration within the existing extensive body of identity research. In this paper we make a case for a conceptual framework that defines multilingual identity formation in terms of learners’ active involvement, and proposes the classroom as the hitherto underused site for participative identity (re)negotiation. After reviewing three key theoretical perspectives on identity (the psychosocial, soci…
Language experiences, evaluations and emotions (3Es)
Researchers have traditionally relied on institutionally-defined, native speaker conceptions of linguistic competence to define whether or not individual learners are multilingual. However, to better understand the relationship between language and identity in the context of additional language learning, there is a need to widen the definition of multilingualism by including a larger repertoire of semiotic competences and a wider range of levels …
Multilingualism, Multilingual Identity and Academic Attainment
Multilingualism is highly prevalent in schools around the world. Yet, the relationship between multilingualism and academic attainment is not well understood. Where research on this topic exists, it has predominantly focused on how home language background impacts on academic success, lacking in a broader view of multilingualism which extends beyond home languages and also considers the identity component of being multilingual. This paper explore…
Contextualising the temporal dimension in multilingual identity construction
Multilingual identity construction is a diachronic, non-linear and constantly evolving process which is influenced by a complex range of contextual and temporal factors. Yet the temporal dimension seldom receives explicit empirical attention and remains under-theorised. Meanwhile, the dynamics of multilingual identity development are rarely explored at the cohort (i.e., whole-class) level. Underpinned by complex dynamic systems theory, this study…
I feel like I have a superpower’
an identity-based pedagogical intervention
Multilingual Identity in Schools
In language learner identity research, there is an underrepresentation of LOTE-as-L3 learners in instructed foreign language learning contexts. This study addresses this gap by exploring the multilingual identity profiles of Chinese high school LOTE-as-L3 learners in two school contexts and seeks to understand how the schools may influence students’ multilingual identity development. Q sorting activities were administered with 35 international sc…
Mapping school‐level language policies across multilingual secondary schools in England
Language plays a crucial role in education; yet, while issues of language are undoubtedly relevant to all teachers, school‐level language policies, which aim to provide explicit guidance underpinned by a clear set of principles, are too often conspicuous by their absence. In a range of educational contexts around the world it has been found that where such policies do exist, they are frequently fragmented and underpinned by monolingual ideologies…
It’s a plus rather than a must’
The recent upsurge of supplementary education has brought something attention-grabbing to the mediascape in China – educational ethos, inclusive of pedagogies and teaching ideals, is being widely marketed and increasingly used as a benchmark of ‘quality’ in education. This study explores the ways in which educational ethos in China is advertised by companies providing supplementary English education for elementary school students (SEEE), and inve…
The knowledge base of teaching in linguistically diverse contexts
This paper aims to define the knowledge base of teaching in linguistically diverse secondary schools in England. Based on extensive interviews with the teachers across two schools, the paper identifies a range of good practices centred on flexibility and differentiation. These include diversifying teaching resources by using bilingual materials and dialogic tasks, as well as making adjustments to teaching by simplifying input and including cultur…
The knowledge base of teaching in linguistically diverse contexts
This paper aims to define the knowledge base of teaching in linguistically diverse secondary schools in England. Based on extensive interviews with the teachers across two schools, the paper identifies a range of good practices centred on flexibility and differentiation. These include diversifying teaching resources by using bilingual materials and dialogic tasks, as well as making adjustments to teaching by simplifying input and including cultur…
Participative multilingual identity construction in the languages classroom
Multilingual identity is an area ripe for further exploration within the existing extensive body of identity research. In this paper we make a case for a conceptual framework that defines multilingual identity formation in terms of learners’ active involvement, and proposes the classroom as the hitherto underused site for participative identity (re)negotiation. After reviewing three key theoretical perspectives on identity (the psychosocial, soci…
It’s a plus rather than a must’
The recent upsurge of supplementary education has brought something attention-grabbing to the mediascape in China – educational ethos, inclusive of pedagogies and teaching ideals, is being widely marketed and increasingly used as a benchmark of ‘quality’ in education. This study explores the ways in which educational ethos in China is advertised by companies providing supplementary English education for elementary school students (SEEE), and inve…
The role of individual differences in the development and transfer of writing strategies between foreign and first language classrooms
While the importance of considering the wide variation among language learners has been brought to the forefront in recent years, the impact of such individual differences on the process of second or foreign language writing has been largely neglected. This paper aims to explore the ways in which individual students develop and transfer strategies within and between foreign language (FL) and first language (L1) writing. A two-phase intervention o…
Strategy development and cross-linguistic transfer in foreign and first language writing
In an increasingly multilingual world, empirical knowledge about the reciprocal influence between the mother tongue (L1) and a learner’s acquisition of foreign languages (FL) is crucial yet remains surprisingly scarce. This paper examines how an explicit focus on metacognitive strategy use within a FL (German) classroom impacts students’ development of writing strategies in the FL, and whether any such effects transfer to another FL (French) and/…
Investigating EFL teachers’ gender-stereotypical beliefs about learners
Language education has long been considered a female domain across many countries, with girls outnumbering and outperforming boys. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine the nature and structure of gender stereotypes favouring girls among EFL (English as a Foreign Language) teachers. In the quantitative strand, 60 teachers from six Chinese high schools rated typical boys’ and girls’ affect, achievement and aptitude regarding Engli…
Multilingualism, Multilingual Identity and Academic Attainment
Multilingualism is highly prevalent in schools around the world. Yet, the relationship between multilingualism and academic attainment is not well understood. Where research on this topic exists, it has predominantly focused on how home language background impacts on academic success, lacking in a broader view of multilingualism which extends beyond home languages and also considers the identity component of being multilingual. This paper explore…
Multilingual Identity in Schools
In language learner identity research, there is an underrepresentation of LOTE-as-L3 learners in instructed foreign language learning contexts. This study addresses this gap by exploring the multilingual identity profiles of Chinese high school LOTE-as-L3 learners in two school contexts and seeks to understand how the schools may influence students’ multilingual identity development. Q sorting activities were administered with 35 international sc…
Language experiences, evaluations and emotions (3Es)
Researchers have traditionally relied on institutionally-defined, native speaker conceptions of linguistic competence to define whether or not individual learners are multilingual. However, to better understand the relationship between language and identity in the context of additional language learning, there is a need to widen the definition of multilingualism by including a larger repertoire of semiotic competences and a wider range of levels …
Contextualising the temporal dimension in multilingual identity construction
Multilingual identity construction is a diachronic, non-linear and constantly evolving process which is influenced by a complex range of contextual and temporal factors. Yet the temporal dimension seldom receives explicit empirical attention and remains under-theorised. Meanwhile, the dynamics of multilingual identity development are rarely explored at the cohort (i.e., whole-class) level. Underpinned by complex dynamic systems theory, this study…
Exploring medical students’ experiences with indigenous patient care
In their clinical experiences, students witness racism against Indigenous peoples yet are unprepared to stand up against it. Findings highlight the importance of enhancing undergraduate medical training to allow students to better understand the unique experiences and perspectives of Indigenous patients. The results support the need for ongoing Indigenous health education, to foster culturally sensitive experiences while learning about Indigenous…
Standards, Stigma, Surveillance
Mapping school‐level language policies across multilingual secondary schools in England
Language plays a crucial role in education; yet, while issues of language are undoubtedly relevant to all teachers, school‐level language policies, which aim to provide explicit guidance underpinned by a clear set of principles, are too often conspicuous by their absence. In a range of educational contexts around the world it has been found that where such policies do exist, they are frequently fragmented and underpinned by monolingual ideologies…
Participative Multilingual Identity Construction in Higher Education
This theoretical paper builds on the authors’ existing scholarship exploring the value of incorporating multilingual identity-focused pedagogical practice into language learning at the secondary school level, by establishing the rationale for extending such practices to the tertiary level, both in language learning specifically and in tertiary education more generally. We previously reconceptualised multilingualism as an all-encompassing concept …
Towards a tempo‐spatial model of multilingual identity development
The dynamic property and developmental trajectory of language learners’ multilingual identity (MI), which concerns one's self‐perception as a multilingual learner and user, have attracted increasing attention in the field of applied linguistics. Though the dynamic conceptualisation foregrounds the role of the tempo‐spatial context in shaping MI development, the nature and function of time and space and their associated interactions with MI rarely…
I feel like I have a superpower’
an identity-based pedagogical intervention
Multilingual identity and English achievement
While research into multilingual identity and self-regulation among language learners has been flourishing in recent years and the relations between identity and identity-driven behaviors have been well-discussed, few studies have investigated the potential links between these two important self-constructs and their connection to language achievement. In order to address this gap, this study investigated the relationships between English as a for…
Research-informed principles for developing cohesive school language policies
Language and education are intrinsically connected, as it is through language that content knowledge is both accessed and assessed, and communication occurs. Yet, in England, research has shown that many secondary schools currently lack cohesive language policies (LPs) addressing language-related issues commonly arising inside and outside the classroom. As a result, decisions are often devolved to individual teachers which can require both teache…
Pedagogy (13 works) · Psychology (13 works) · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning (12 works) · Multilingual Education and Policy (12 works) · Sociology (11 works) · Linguistics (10 works) · Second Language Learning and Teaching (8 works) · Identity (music (6 works) · Mathematics education (6 works) · Political science (5 works)