Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept

From the reviews:

“Towards an Understanding of Language Learner Self-Concept is an especially insightful and timely contribution. Using a strong, interdisciplinary approach that builds on reflections from current research in both psychology and applied linguistics, Mercer focuses on how learners form their English as a foreign language (EFL) self-concept. … I would have no hesitation in highly recommending this book to language teachers and others who are interested in self-concept or any self-related constructs.” (James Rock, JALT Journal, Vol. 35 (1), May, 2013)

“The book starts with a useful overview of the research domain, which culminates in a convincing argument for the need to depart from the dominant quantitative and hypothesis-testing approaches to researching self-concept and this is exactly what Mercer endeavours to do. … we indeed gain insights that typically remain hidden from the sight of more positivist-oriented researchers, but which resonate much more closely with the everyday experiences of language learners and teachers. The contribution that this book therefore makes to the field is unquestionable.” (Magdalena Kubanyiova, ELT Journal, Vol. 67 (1), January, 2013)