Reconceptualizing language learner agency
A qualitative inquiry in interactive online classes
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21632247 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Qiuming Lin (0000-0002-5523-1178, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies), Jing Huang (0000-0002-6205-0025, Education University of Hong Kong, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 2380-2393 |
| Publication date | 2026-04-21 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Interactive Learning Environments (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1049-4820 • E-ISSN: 1744-5191 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/10494820.2025.2545951 |
| OpenAlex | W4413377228 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 24 |
This qualitative inquiry delves into the reconceptualization of language learner agency within the context of interactive online classes, a setting that has become increasingly prevalent in the post-pandemic era. The study aims to comprehend how language learners exercise their agency in response to changes in the learning environment and to identify the challenges and opportunities that the new online context presents for enhancing learner agency. Informed by an integrated framework on language learner agency and drawing on life-story interviews with students and teachers at a public university in China, this study addresses the research question in regard of the three components of agency: noticing, awareness, and action, in relation to both resources and constraints from two structural layers: institutional setting and situated activity. The research reveals that learners demonstrated a weakened ability to act and control outcomes due to insufficient awareness of the resources and constraints associated with online actions. The study proposes a refined model of language learner agency that features a bidirectional cycle of agency enactment and a dynamic interplay between resources and constraints. The findings offer valuable insights for strengthening language learner agency in the evolving landscape of online education
Educational technology · Mathematics education · Pedagogy · Qualitative research · Sociology · Computer Science · Discourse Analysis in Language Studies · EFL/ESL Teaching and Learning · Psychology · Second Language Learning and Teaching
The ecology of language learning
Toward a Psychology of Human Agency
Social Cognitive Theory
Learner agency and the use of affordances in language-exchange interactions
Finding success with the implementation of task-based language teaching
Understanding learner agency as a complex dynamic system
I took physical lessons for granted”
Investigating student agency and affordances during online virtual exchange projects in an ELF context from an ecological Call perspective
Social context and resources for language learning
Translanguaging/trans-semiotizing in teacher-learner interactions on social media
Experienced EFL teachers switching to online teaching
Teaching and learning languages online
Some guidelines for the phenomenological analysis of interview data
On Language Learner Agency
Autonomy in language teaching and learning
Proactive Language Learning Theory
The Mangle of Practice
Language and Agency
A Theory of Structure
| Citations per year | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |