Acknowledgements

This volume has benefited from the energy, feedback, enthusiasm, and support of many inspiring individuals. I would like to thank Kees Vaes, Anne Burns, Patricia Leplae, and the team at John Benjamins who made this volume part of the AILA Applied Linguistics Series. Their enthusiasm and guidance made this project possible and enjoyable from the get-go. I was beyond fortunate to work with such an indefatigably inspiring group of contributors on this volume. It is truly a “dream team” of top-notch scholars, who are as admirable as individuals as they are accomplished. I would also like to recognize one contributor in particular, Thi Le Hoang Chu, who tragically passed on before this volume was completed. It is a profound privilege to honor her memory with the publication of her dissertation work.

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the reviewers: Diana Arroyo (Indiana University, United States), Amanda Baker (University of Wollongong, Australia), Melissa Bowles (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States), Jean-Marc Dewaele (Birkbeck, University of London, United Kingdom), Susan M. Gass (Michigan State University, United States), Kimberly L. Geeslin (Indiana University, United States), Jaemyung Goo (Gwangju National University of Education, South Korea), Florencia Henshaw (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, United States), Matthew Kanwit (University of Pittsburgh, United States), YouJin Kim (Georgia State University, United States), Shaofeng Li (The University of Auckland, New Zealand), Avizia Y. Long (Texas Tech University, United States), Sarah Mercer (University of Graz, Austria), Kimi Nakatsukasa (Texas Tech University, United States), Rhonda Oliver (Curtin University, Australia), Mostafa Papi (Mississippi State University, United States), Mirosław Pawlak (Adam Mickiewicz University in Kalisz, Poland & State University of Applied Sciences in Konin, Poland), Luke Plonsky (Georgetown University, United States), Charlene Polio (Michigan State University, United States), Rebecca Sachs (Virginia International University, United States), Ellen J. Serafini (George Mason University, United States), Megan Solon (University at Albany, SUNY, United States), and Nicole Ziegler (The University of Hawai’i at Manoa, United States). Their detailed and constructive comments strengthened this volume immensely.

I am thankful for Shawn Loewen for facilitating this research as the International Association of Applied Linguistics (AILA) Research Network (ReN) Convenor, for the AILA Executive Board for granting the ReN official status, and for the ReN members and their outstanding discussions regarding individual differences since the founding of the ReN in 2012. I would like to recognize the many colleagues who have invited me to bring life to the idea of broadening individual difference research beyond learners in the form of invited chapters (Geeslin; Loewen & Sato), talks (García Mayo; Gilabert), and plenaries (Pawlak).

I am grateful to the outstanding graduate students I have worked with, particularly those in the Individual Difference seminars I taught at Indiana University during the spring of 2012 and the fall of 2016. I am indebted to several IU graduate students who provided outstanding research assistance throughout this project: Silvina Bongiovanni, Carly Henderson, Daniel Jung, Laura Merino, and Celia Zamora. Their enthusiasm and generosity of time, particularly during semester breaks, made a significant difference. Many thanks are also due to the Department of Spanish and Portuguese and the Office of the Vice Provost for Research, for providing funding for some of this research assistance. I am forever grateful to Avizia Y. Long, who provided invaluable research support in the earlier stages of this project, and even more appreciated support as a colleague and friend later on.

This volume, and the expansion of individual difference research beyond learners, has been a dream of mine since my graduate work at Georgetown University. I am thankful for the incredible training I received and the friendships created during those formative years, particularly Melissa Baralt, who has been a constant sounding board, cheerleader, rave partner, fellow yogi, and collaborator ever since. Several additional academic friends have provided tremendous support and encouragement of work-life balance over the years, most notably Kimberly L. Geeslin, YouJin Kim, Shawn Loewen, Avizia Y. Long, Marije Michel, Luke Plonsky, Andrea Révész, Ellen J. Serafini, Megan Solon, and Julio Torres.

Finally, there are several individuals I would like to thank for adding so much joy and meaning to this journey: My wonderfully diverse Bloomington community of friends, who make this such an enjoyably quirky place to be. Susie Kirsch, my greatest role model of WLB and my anchor when the waves start rocking the boat. I was blessed with indescribably supportive parents, who have encouraged all of my dreams over the years, and who instilled in me a love for reading and challenged me to always ask questions. I am wholeheartedly thankful for my kind, beautiful, and dazzlingly curious son, Felix, who provides the most effective motivation to work efficiently during my limited writing hours, and the most spectacularly fulfilling non-work time I could ever imagine. And of course, this project would not be the same without my husband, Nick. He is my fiercest advocate, no matter the project at hand. The fact that most everyone involved in this project has met him at a conference (or, more likely, at the social events at conferences!) really says it all.