Benati provides clarity about the characteristics and notion of language proficiency in the field of second language acquisition. He looks at four areas of research paradigmatically related to the role of proficiency: theorizing and measuring second language proficiency; the dimensions of L2 proficiency; factors contributing to the attainment of L2 proficiency and attaining L2 proficiency in the classroom. It also contains a variety of research accounts about the specific factors which have an effect on proficiency together with a theorised measurement of proficiency in second language research. It will be required reading for researchers in applied linguistics and second language acquisition.
It is a truism of testing that one-item tests are nonfunctional, and so if we apply
this to the assessment of spoken language performance, this means that a series
of tasks will be necessary for any effective assessment to be made. The matrix in
...
There is increasingly wide agreement among teachers, researchers, inspectors, advisers and policy-makers that both teaching and research will benefit from being brought closer together. But how can this be achieved? Hard-pressed practioners cannot be expected to review a constant flow of conference papers, journals and other publications, even if such items were accessibly written. This unique book synthesizes relevant research findings for the professional practioner and highlights their implications for the quality of teaching and learning. Whether you are a teacher looking to improve your practice or a researcher looking for a concise overview of the literature, this book will prove a valuable acquisition.
Part 1 is a short account of the teaching and research context, both the genetic
research context in England and the foreignlanguage or second-language (L2)
acquisition research context internationally. Part 2 provides an extensive review
of ...
From the ancient Mediterranean world to the present day, our conceptions of what is universal in language have interacted with our experiences of language learning. This book tells two stories: the story of how scholars in the west have conceived of the fact that human languages share important properties despite their obvious differences, and the story of how westerners have understood the nature of second or foreign language learning. In narrating these two stories, the author argues that modern second language acquisition theory needs to reassess what counts as its own past. The book addresses Greek contributions to the prehistory of universal grammar, Roman bilingualism, the emergence of the first foreign language grammars in the early Middle Ages, and the Medieval speculative grammarians efforts to define the essentials of human language. The author shows how after the renaissance expanded people's awareness of language differences, scholars returned to the questions of universals in the context of second language learning, including in the 1660 Port-Royal grammar which Chomsky notoriously celebrated in Cartesian Linguistics. The book then looks at how Post-Saussurean European linguistics and American structuralism up to modern generative grammar have each differently conceived of universals and language learning. Universal Grammar in Second Language Acquisition is a remarkable contribution to the history of linguistics and will be essential reading for students and scholars of linguistics, specialists in second language acquisition and language teacher-educators.
This chapter depicts second language learning and conceptualization of the
shared properties of languages between the fourth or fifth century CE until the
end of the first millennium. Because Christianity influenced the evolution of both
topics ...
Social Interaction, Language Use, and Learning Japanese
Online Communication in a Second Language examines the use of social computer mediated communication with speakers of Japanese via longitudinal case studies of up to four years. Through the analysis of over 2,000 instances of online communication, in addition to extensive interviews, the book explores opportunities for language acquisition and use in authentic online interaction.
Table 4.3 Kaylene's contacts Gender Age English proficiency % Japanese
varieties to Kaylene %Japanese varieties from Kaylene Relationship type Ruriko
F 23 TOEIC 875 70 75 Language exchange partner Junko F 40 Very Good 90 70
...
Second Language Students in English-Medium Classrooms offers a real-life practical guide to teachers that will enable them to serve students from many linguistic and cultural backgrounds effectively. Written in an accessible manner it includes numerous exemplary strategies and resources as well as practical references to the latest uses of embedded technology. All of these are designed to reflect contemporary practice in international schools. The book also tackles the controversial and politically-charged issues of the potentially overwhelming impact of English in global contexts and the use of students’ mother-tongues in English-medium classrooms. Written by an author and researcher with over 35 years’ experience, this book is an essential resource for all teachers, administrators and parents of children in international schools.
postcolonial theoriesof dominance and privilege. Nevertheless, thisisa term
usedon many websites relatingto international education.What ismeant are those
countriesand peoples who have historicallyused English as their primary language.
On Second Language Writing brings together internationally recognized scholars in a collection of original articles that, collectively, delineate and explore central issues with regard to theory, research, instruction, assessment, politics, articulation with other disciplines, and standards. In recent years, there has been a dramatic growth of interest in second-language writing and writing instruction in many parts of the world. Although an increasing number of researchers and teachers in both second-language studies and composition studies have come to identify themselves as specialists in second-language writing, research and teaching practices have been dispersed into several different disciplinary and institutional contexts because of the interdisciplinary nature of the field. This volume is the first to bring together prominent second-language writing specialists to systematically address basic issues in the field and to consider the state of the art at the end of the century (and the millennium).
Joan G. Carson Georgia State University Considering the intersection of second language acquisition (SLA) and second language (L2) writing is no easy task.
SLA theory aims to describe and explain learners' competence. L2 writing
focuses ...
Aimed at beginning to intermediate undergraduates and above, this textbook is designed to help the student achieve optimal success as a language learner and user. It teaches students to understand their own preferences in learning, develop individual learning plans and approaches, and select appropriate learning strategies. Each chapter contains an overview and review section, with learning activities that students can carry out either individually or in classrooms.
She has directed language programs at the Foreign Service Institute, the
Defense Language Institute, the American Global Studies Institute, and NASA,
and has provided consultation on language learning to ministries of education in
nearly ...
What is second language acquisition? Second language acquisition (SLA) is a
research field that focuses on learners and learning rather than teachers and
teaching. In their best-selling text, Gass and Selinker (2008, p. 1) define SLA as “
the ...
In the age of the global village and the world wide web, understanding the way in which people learn languages is of ever increasing importance. This book makes the essentials of this rapidly expanding area of study accessible to readers encountering it for the first time.
The grammatical features that he did seem to have acquired (for example, plural -
s and copula is) could be accounted for by positive transfer from his native language, Spanish. In short, Alberto appeared to have fossilized, or as
Schumann put ...
This textbook offers an introductory overview of eight hotly-debated topics in second language acquisition research. It offers a glimpse of how SLA researchers have tried to answer common questions about second language acquisition rather than being a comprehensive introduction to SLA research. Each chapter comprises an introductory discussion of the issues involved and suggestions for further reading and study. The reader is asked to consider the issues based on their own experiences, thus allowing them to compare their own intuitions and experiences with established research findings and gain an understanding of methodology. The topics are treated independently so that they can be read in any order that interests the reader.
Figure 8.1 Newcastle upon Tyne Civic Centre the common written language.
Portuguese in Brazil has a similar unifying function for the speakers of the 215 languages in Brazil, as well as its super-central role for communicating with the
other ...
