Spanish Second Language Acquisition provides a panoramic overview of previous studies on the acquisition of Spanish as a second or foreign language, the theoretical approaches used in these studies, and the effects of various pedagogical approaches on the development of Spanish interlanguage systems. Barbara Lafford and Rafael Salaberry have compiled the first volume to provide a comprehensive critical overview of the research done and data compiled on how adults acquire Spanish as a second language. Major scholars in the field of SLA have contributed chapters having to do with a wide range of "products" (phonology, tense/aspect, subjunctive, clitics, lexicon, discourse/pragmatics) and "processes" (generative, cognitive and sociocultural theories) involved in the acquisition process-concluding with a discussion of the effects of instruction on Spanish interlanguage development. While being an invaluable reference tool for undergraduate and graduate programs that focus on the acquisition of Spanish as a second language, due to the extraordinary range of the review research on theoretical and methodological issues, this is also an extremely useful volume for second language theoreticians and practitioners involved in all aspects of the pedagogy of other second languages. It is the editors' desire that students, teachers, program administrators and scholars alike will benefit from the insights that the contributors bring to the myriad issues that language professionals confront.
Sociocultural theory is concerned with the relationship between language and
mind and is based principally on the work of the Russian psychologist L. S.
Vygotsky. One of the principal claims of the theory is that language activity,
including ...
This text examines the under-researched and often troubling phenomenon of silence in second language learning through a triangulation of SLA research, memoirs and language learner diaries, and psychoanalytic concepts of anxiety, ambivalence, conflict and loss. It moves beyond the view of silence as the mere absence of speech, inviting the reader to consider it as both a psychical event and a linguistic moment in the continuous process of identity formation.
Chapter 3 Looking and Looking Again: Memoirs of Second Language Learning
When I hear my voice, I just hate it ... It is not simply that my ears hate my mouth,
or my mouth hates my eyes. The inner conflict inhabits my entire being.
As a number of researchers have pointed out, theories of language acquisition
must explain both properties of linguistic representations (the form and nature of
the grammar) and transition or development (how and why grammars change ...
The articles in this volume are intended to bridge what Sridhar and Sridhar (1986) have called the 'paradigm gap' between traditional SLA research on the one hand and research into institutionalised second-language varieties in former colonial territories on the other. Since both learner Englishes and second-language varieties are typically non-native forms of English that emerge in language contact situations, it is high time that they are described and compared on an empirical basis in order to draw conceptual and theoretical conclusions with regard to their form, function and acquisition. The present collection of articles places special emphasis on empirical evidence obtained from large-scale analyses of computerised corpora of learner Englishes (such as the International Corpus of Learner English) and of second-language varieties of English (such as the International Corpus of English). It addresses questions such as Are the phenomena we find in ESL and EFL varieties features or errors? or How common and wide-spread are features across contact varieties of English? "
Marianne Hundt and Joybrato Mukherjee University of Zurich and Justus Liebig
University, Giessen The present book goes back to a workshop on “Second- language varieties of English and learner Englishes” at the First Conference of
the ...
This volume offers a practical introduction to the use of neuroscience to teach second languages. It provides information on the relation between how the brain learns and how this can be used to construct classroom activities, evaluates methods, syllabi, approaches, etc. from the perspective of brain functioning. It illustrates how teaching can unfold with actual examples in several languages.
Epistemic Modality, Language, and Conceptualization: A Cognitive-Pragmatic
Perspective. Amsterdam: John Benjamins. Nuyts, J. and Pederson, E. (1997) (
eds.). Language and Conceptualization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
.
Part of the "Cognitive Science and Second language Acquisition" series, this volume provides an overview of the field, and proposes an integrative model of how L2 speech is produced. It examines how research on second language and bilingual speech production can be grounded in L1 research conducted in cognitive science and in psycholinguistics.
When investigating how automatic processing works in language production,one
hastoface several problems.The first ofthese isthat researchers greatly disagree
on what is meant by automaticity, and as a result, they often hold conflicting ...
Introducing Second Language Acquisition: Perspectives and Practices represents a clear and concise introduction to the main concepts, issues, and debates in second language acquisition studies aimed specifically at undergraduates encountering the topic for the first time. Follows six fictitious language learners throughout the text whose stories serve to introduce various concepts and issues Contains specific chapters on first language acquisition and bilingualism, as well as explicit references to the most recent and important research Covers key topics including acquisition contexts, theoretical perspectives, language teaching methods, second language development, and individual differences (such as age, aptitude, and motivation) Grabs student attention with lighthearted cartoons that illustrate and reinforce key ideas Features a full range of pedagogical tools to aid student learning, including “language learning in practice” textboxes; bolded new terms defined in the margins; an end-of-book glossary; self-assessment and classroom discussion questions; exercise and project ideas; and further online viewing sections
Research into second language acquisition is a truly multidisciplinary endeavor.
Some of the major disciplines that contribute to SLA include theoretical linguistics
, education,psychology, and sociology. Inthe past several decades, the field of ...
This new volume of work highlights the distinctiveness of child SLA through a collection of different types of empirical research specific to younger learners. Characteristics of children's cognitive, emotional, and social development distinguish their experiences from those of adult L2 learners, creating intriguing issues for SLA research, and also raising important practical questions regarding effective pedagogical techniques for learners of different ages. While child SLA is often typically thought of as simple (and often enjoyable and universally effortless), in other words, as child's play, the complex portraits of young second language learners which emerge in the 16 papers collected in this book invite the reader to reconsider the reality for many younger learners. Chapters by internationally renowned authors together with reports by emerging researchers describe second and foreign language learning by children ranging from pre-schoolers to young adolescents, in home and school contexts, with caregivers, peers, and teachers as interlocutors.
Acquiring Japanese as a second language (JSL) in a naturalistic context A
longitudinal study of a young child from a Processability Theory (PT) perspective
Junko Iwasaki Edith Cowan University In recent times Processability Theory (PT)
...
Issues of language curriculum development underlied the planning and implementation of language teaching programmes. These papers argue for the process to be made explicit and deal with curriculum planning, specification of ends and means, programme implementation and classroom implementation.
Chapter 13, Seeing the wood AND the trees: some thoughts on language
teaching analysis, by H. H. Stern, appeared in its original form on pp. 319-4 of M.
Heid (Ed.) Kommunikation im Klassenzimmer: Protokall eines
Werkstattgesprachs des ...
A survey and analysis of second language theory discusses the development of ideas in this expanding area of language studies. It looks at the implications of these ideas and directions for future research. Contains study questions and activities as well as practical guidelines on the use of available research resources.
Author's Preface How on earth do people learn new languages? Even today, the
way in which language learners gain knowledge and skill in a language that is
not their mother tongue is still very much of a mystery. What research in the last ...
