Publications
This collection brings together publications, methods, tools, and case studies developed through the Language Learning in the Wild (L2W) project. Together, they document how language learning can be supported through participation in everyday life, exploring approaches developed across different countries, contexts, and educational settings.
Clark, B. & Lindemalm, K. (Eds.). (2011). Språkskap – Swedish as a social language.
This edited volume presents the Språkskap project, which views language learning as a socially situated activity rather than a classroom-bound process. The book documents how adult migrants learning Swedish can be guided in their development of language skills through participation in everyday social practices, community activities, and interactions with native speakers. A central argument is that meaningful social engagement creates opportunities for language learning that formal instruction alone cannot provide.
Clark, B., Wagner, J., Lindemalm, K., & Bend, O. (2011). Språkskap: Supporting second language learning “In the Wild”.
This conference paper describes the design principles and implementation of the Språkskap project. The authors demonstrate how technology, social networking, and community- based activities create opportunities for second-language learning in authentic settings. The paper argues that inclusive design facilitates language learning by helping learners participate in real social interactions rather than relying solely on classroom exercises.
Clark, B., & Torretta, N. B. (2018). Co-creating language learning journeys: A designerly approach to supporting experiential language learning practices: A resource for teachers and teacher educators. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Presents a design-based approach to supporting language learning beyond the classroom. Clark and Torretta argue that learners should be active co designers of their language learning experiences, with teachers helping to create conditions for meaningful engagement in real-world social and
linguistic environments. The work offers practical frameworks for connecting formal instruction with everyday language use and experiential learning opportunities.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2018a). “We’re learning a lot of new words”: Encountering New L2 vocabulary outside of class. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 46–63.
Eskildsen examines how second-language learners encounter and learn new vocabulary during everyday interactions outside formal instruction. Using conversation analysis and longitudinal data, he demonstrates that vocabulary learning emerges through spontaneous word searches and repair sequences in naturally occurring conversations. The study challenges traditional notions of negotiation for meaning and argues that learning in the wild is better understood as a social process of collaboratively resolving communication problems and maintaining mutual understanding.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2018b). Building a semiotic repertoire for social action: Interactional competence as biographical discovery. Classroom Discourse, 9, 68–76.
This article conceptualizes interactional competence as something that develops throughout a learner’s life through participation in diverse social contexts. Eskildsen argues that learners gradually build a semiotic repertoire of linguistic, bodily, and interactional resources that enable effective social action. The paper emphasizes learning as a process of biographical discovery shaped by accumulated experiences across contexts.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Publications
This collection brings together publications, methods, tools, and case studies developed through the Language Learning in the Wild (L2W) project. Together, they document how language learning can be supported through participation in everyday life, exploring approaches developed across different countries, contexts, and educational settings.
Clark, B. & Lindemalm, K. (Eds.). (2011). Språkskap – Swedish as a social language.
This edited volume presents the Språkskap project, which views language learning as a socially situated activity rather than a classroom-bound process. The book documents how adult migrants learning Swedish can be guided in their development of language skills through participation in everyday social practices, community activities, and interactions with native speakers. A central argument is that meaningful social engagement creates opportunities for language learning that formal instruction alone cannot provide.
Clark, B., Wagner, J., Lindemalm, K., & Bend, O. (2011). Språkskap: Supporting second language learning “In the Wild”.
This conference paper describes the design principles and implementation of the Språkskap project. The authors demonstrate how technology, social networking, and community- based activities create opportunities for second-language learning in authentic settings. The paper argues that inclusive design facilitates language learning by helping learners participate in real social interactions rather than relying solely on classroom exercises.
Clark, B., &; Torretta, N. B. (2018). Co-creating language learning journeys: A designerly approach to supporting experiential language learning practices: A resource for teachers and teacher educators. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Presents a design-based approach to supporting language learning beyond the classroom. Clark and Torretta argue that learners should be active co designers of their language learning experiences, with teachers helping to create conditions for meaningful engagement in real-world social and
linguistic environments. The work offers practical frameworks for connecting formal instruction with everyday language use and experiential learning opportunities.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2018a). “We’re learning a lot of new words”: Encountering New L2 vocabulary outside of class. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 46–63.
Eskildsen examines how second-language learners encounter and learn new vocabulary during everyday interactions outside formal instruction. Using conversation analysis and longitudinal data, he demonstrates that vocabulary learning emerges through spontaneous word searches and repair sequences in naturally occurring conversations. The study challenges traditional notions of negotiation for meaning and argues that learning in the wild is better understood as a social process of collaboratively resolving communication problems and maintaining mutual understanding.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2018b). Building a semiotic repertoire for social action: Interactional competence as biographical discovery. Classroom Discourse, 9, 68–76.
This article conceptualizes interactional competence as something that develops throughout a learner’s life through participation in diverse social contexts. Eskildsen argues that learners gradually build a semiotic repertoire of linguistic, bodily, and interactional resources that enable effective social action. The paper emphasizes learning as a process of biographical discovery shaped by accumulated experiences across contexts.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2025). The road of L2 discovery. Language, Interaction and Learning, 16(2), 199–228.
In this article, Eskildsen develops the concept of second-language learning as a process of discovery that unfolds through participation in everyday social interaction. Drawing on longitudinal interactional data, he argues that language development emerges through learners’ active engagement with communicative challenges and opportunities in their environments. The article synthesizes previous research on learning in the wild and presents L2 development as an experiential, socially situated, and participant-driven process, centrally rooted in the development of social-interactional histories.
Eskildsen, S. W., & Theodórsdóttir, G. (2017). Constructing L2 learning spaces: Ways to achieve learning inside and outside the classroom. Applied Linguistics, 38, 143–164.
This article investigates how participants collaboratively create opportunities for language learning in classroom and non-classroom settings. Through conversation-analytic studies of repair sequences, the authors show that learning spaces are co-constructed differently depending on context. Classroom learning spaces tend to be extended and supported by reading and writing activities, whereas learning in the wild is embedded within ongoing social activities and is often brief, immediate, and directly tied to accomplishing practical tasks.
Hellermann, J., Eskildsen, S. W., Pekarek Doehler, S., & Piirainen-Marsh, A. (Eds.). (2019). Conversation Analytic Research on Learning-in-Action: The Complex Ecology of Second Language Interaction “in the Wild”. Springer.
Summary: This edited collection brings together conversation-analytic studies of language learning in naturally occurring interactions. The contributors explore how learning emerges through participation in workplaces, service encounters, homes, and community settings. The volume advances the view that language learning is an interactional achievement embedded within everyday social practices rather than a process confined to educational institutions.
Kasper, G., & Burch, A. R. (2016). Focus on form in the wild. In R. A. van Compernolle & J. McGregor (Eds.), Authenticity, Language and Interaction in Second Language Contexts (pp. 198–232). Multilingual Matters.
This chapter investigates how learners attend to linguistic form during authentic interactions outside the classroom. Kasper and Burch demonstrate that attention to grammar, vocabulary, and language structure arises naturally during communication when participants encounter difficulties or seek clarification. The chapter challenges the assumption that focus-on- form instruction is primarily a classroom phenomenon and shows how it occurs in everyday interaction.
Lilja, N., Eskildsen, S. W., Wagner, J., Eilola, L., Jokipohja, A.-K., Gudmundsen, J., Härmävaara, H.-I., Piirainen-Marsh, A., Svennevig, J., Urbanik, P., Schümchen, N., & Poikonen, J. (2023). A Nordic model for supporting language learning in everyday contexts. In Fast Track to Vision 2030. NordForsk.
This report proposes a Nordic model for supporting language learning beyond formal educational settings. The authors argue that successful language learning depends on opportunities for participation in everyday social life and recommend policies that create language-learning infrastructures in communities, workplaces, leisure activities, and digital environments. The model emphasizes inclusion, social participation, and collaboration between educational institutions, public organizations, and local communities to facilitate language development among migrants and multilingual populations.
Svennevig, J. (2018). “What’s it called in Norwegian?” Acquiring L2 vocabulary items in the workplace. Journal of Pragmatics, 126, 68-77.
This article analyzes workplace interactions involving second-language learners and demonstrates how vocabulary acquisition occurs during routine professional activities. Through requests for lexical assistance, clarification sequences, and collaborative problem-solving, learners acquire new vocabulary while performing their jobs. The study highlights the workplace as an important site for situated language learning and professional socialization.
Wagner, J. (2015). Designing for language learning in the wild: Creating social infrastructures for second language learning. In T. Cadierno & S. W. Eskildsen (Eds.), Usage-Based Perspectives on Second Language Learning (pp. 75–102). De Gruyter.
Summary: This chapter argues that language learning can be enhanced by designing social infrastructures that encourage meaningful interaction between learners and speakers of the target language. Drawing on the concept of learning in the wild, Wagner proposes that communities, technologies, and public spaces can be intentionally organized to create opportunities for authentic language use. The chapter emphasizes participation and social engagement as key drivers of language development.
Publications
This collection brings together publications, methods, tools, and case studies developed through the Language Learning in the Wild (L2W) project. Together, they document how language learning can be supported through participation in everyday life, exploring approaches developed across different countries, contexts, and educational settings.
Clark, B. & Lindemalm, K. (Eds.). (2011). Språkskap – Swedish as a social language.
This edited volume presents the Språkskap project, which views language learning as a socially situated activity rather than a classroom-bound process. The book documents how adult migrants learning Swedish can be guided in their development of language skills through participation in everyday social practices, community activities, and interactions with native speakers. A central argument is that meaningful social engagement creates opportunities for language learning that formal instruction alone cannot provide.
Clark, B., Wagner, J., Lindemalm, K., & Bend, O. (2011). Språkskap: Supporting second language learning “In the Wild”.
This conference paper describes the design principles and implementation of the Språkskap project. The authors demonstrate how technology, social networking, and community- based activities create opportunities for second-language learning in authentic settings. The paper argues that inclusive design facilitates language learning by helping learners participate in real social interactions rather than relying solely on classroom exercises.
Clark, B., &; Torretta, N. B. (2018). Co-creating language learning journeys: A designerly approach to supporting experiential language learning practices: A resource for teachers and teacher educators. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.
Presents a design-based approach to supporting language learning beyond the classroom. Clark and Torretta argue that learners should be active co designers of their language learning experiences, with teachers helping to create conditions for meaningful engagement in real-world social and
linguistic environments. The work offers practical frameworks for connecting formal instruction with everyday language use and experiential learning opportunities.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2018a). “We’re learning a lot of new words”: Encountering New L2 vocabulary outside of class. The Modern Language Journal, 102, 46–63.
Eskildsen examines how second-language learners encounter and learn new vocabulary during everyday interactions outside formal instruction. Using conversation analysis and longitudinal data, he demonstrates that vocabulary learning emerges through spontaneous word searches and repair sequences in naturally occurring conversations. The study challenges traditional notions of negotiation for meaning and argues that learning in the wild is better understood as a social process of collaboratively resolving communication problems and maintaining mutual understanding.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2018b). Building a semiotic repertoire for social action: Interactional competence as biographical discovery. Classroom Discourse, 9, 68–76.
This article conceptualizes interactional competence as something that develops throughout a learner’s life through participation in diverse social contexts. Eskildsen argues that learners gradually build a semiotic repertoire of linguistic, bodily, and interactional resources that enable effective social action. The paper emphasizes learning as a process of biographical discovery shaped by accumulated experiences across contexts.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2022). Participant-driven L2 learning in the wild: An overview and its pedagogical implications. In H. Reinders, C. Lai, & P. Sundqvist (Eds.), The Routledge Handbook of Language Learning and Teaching Beyond the Classroom (pp. 52–66). Routledge.
This chapter provides an overview of research on second-language learning in non- classroom settings and examines how learners initiate and shape learning opportunities. Using interactional data from learners of Danish, Eskildsen identifies the practices through which learners seek understanding, receive assistance, and develop linguistic competence in everyday interactions. He also proposes pedagogical approaches that connect classroom instruction with learners’ social lives, including scaffold-building activities and tasks that encourage participant-driven learning outside the classroom.
Eskildsen, S. W. (2025). The road of L2 discovery. Language, Interaction and Learning, 16(2), 199–228.
In this article, Eskildsen develops the concept of second-language learning as a process of discovery that unfolds through participation in everyday social interaction. Drawing on longitudinal interactional data, he argues that language development emerges through learners’ active engagement with communicative challenges and opportunities in their environments. The article synthesizes previous research on learning in the wild and presents L2 development as an experiential, socially situated, and participant-driven process, centrally rooted in the development of social-interactional histories.
Eskildsen, S. W., & Theodórsdóttir, G. (2017). Constructing L2 learning spaces: Ways to achieve learning inside and outside the classroom. Applied Linguistics, 38, 143–164.
This article investigates how participants collaboratively create opportunities for language learning in classroom and non-classroom settings. Through conversation-analytic studies of repair sequences, the authors show that learning spaces are co-constructed differently depending on context. Classroom learning spaces tend to be extended and supported by reading and writing activities, whereas learning in the wild is embedded within ongoing social activities and is often brief, immediate, and directly tied to accomplishing practical tasks.
Hellermann, J., Eskildsen, S. W., Pekarek Doehler, S., & Piirainen-Marsh, A. (Eds.). (2019). Conversation Analytic Research on Learning-in-Action: The Complex Ecology of Second Language Interaction “in the Wild”. Springer.
Summary: This edited collection brings together conversation-analytic studies of language learning in naturally occurring interactions. The contributors explore how learning emerges through participation in workplaces, service encounters, homes, and community settings. The volume advances the view that language learning is an interactional achievement embedded within everyday social practices rather than a process confined to educational institutions.
Kasper, G., & Burch, A. R. (2016). Focus on form in the wild. In R. A. van Compernolle & J. McGregor (Eds.), Authenticity, Language and Interaction in Second Language Contexts (pp. 198–232). Multilingual Matters.
This chapter investigates how learners attend to linguistic form during authentic interactions outside the classroom. Kasper and Burch demonstrate that attention to grammar, vocabulary, and language structure arises naturally during communication when participants encounter difficulties or seek clarification. The chapter challenges the assumption that focus-on- form instruction is primarily a classroom phenomenon and shows how it occurs in everyday interaction.
Lilja, N., Eskildsen, S. W., Wagner, J., Eilola, L., Jokipohja, A.-K., Gudmundsen, J., Härmävaara, H.-I., Piirainen-Marsh, A., Svennevig, J., Urbanik, P., Schümchen, N., & Poikonen, J. (2023). A Nordic model for supporting language learning in everyday contexts. In Fast Track to Vision 2030. NordForsk.
This report proposes a Nordic model for supporting language learning beyond formal educational settings. The authors argue that successful language learning depends on opportunities for participation in everyday social life and recommend policies that create language-learning infrastructures in communities, workplaces, leisure activities, and digital environments. The model emphasizes inclusion, social participation, and collaboration between educational institutions, public organizations, and local communities to facilitate language development among migrants and multilingual populations.
Svennevig, J. (2018). “What’s it called in Norwegian?” Acquiring L2 vocabulary items in the workplace. Journal of Pragmatics, 126, 68-77.
This article analyzes workplace interactions involving second-language learners and demonstrates how vocabulary acquisition occurs during routine professional activities. Through requests for lexical assistance, clarification sequences, and collaborative problem-solving, learners acquire new vocabulary while performing their jobs. The study highlights the workplace as an important site for situated language learning and professional socialization.
Wagner, J. (2015). Designing for language learning in the wild: Creating social infrastructures for second language learning. In T. Cadierno & S. W. Eskildsen (Eds.), Usage-Based Perspectives on Second Language Learning (pp. 75–102). De Gruyter.
Summary: This chapter argues that language learning can be enhanced by designing social infrastructures that encourage meaningful interaction between learners and speakers of the target language. Drawing on the concept of learning in the wild, Wagner proposes that communities, technologies, and public spaces can be intentionally organized to create opportunities for authentic language use. The chapter emphasizes participation and social engagement as key drivers of language development.