A Practical Approach to Critical Analysis of Quantitative Research
Aimed at students of applied linguistics and TEFL on research training courses and practising language teachers, this work provides specific advice and support to those wishing to learn how to approach the critical anaysis of a research paper.
Aimed at students of applied linguistics and TEFL on research training courses and practising language teachers, this work provides specific advice and support to those wishing to learn how to approach the critical anaysis of a research ...
This volume, as a sequel to Fossilization in Adult Second Language Acquisition by Han (2004), brings together a collection of most recent theoretical and empirical studies on fossilization, a classic problem of second language acquisition. It covers a wide range of perspectives and issues. The analyses discussed herein address key concerns of many second language researchers and teachers with regard to just how far anyone can go in learning a new language.
USHA LAKSHMANAN A widely held assumption about the acquisition of a
second language beyond one's native language is that children, but not adults,
are typically successful with respect to ultimate attainment of the grammar of the
target ...
Introduction to Instructed Second Language Acquisition is the first book to present a cohesive view of the different theoretical and pedagogical perspectives that comprise instructed second language acquisition (ISLA), defined as any type of learning that occurs as a result of the manipulating the process and conditions of second language acquisition. The book begins by considering the effectiveness of ISLA and the differences between ISLA and naturalistic L2 learning. It then goes on to discuss the theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical aspects of such key issues in ISLA as grammar learning; interaction in the classroom; focus on form, function and meaning; vocabulary learning; pronunciation learning; pragmatics learning; learning contexts; and individual differences. This timely and important volume is ideally suited for the graduate level ISLA course, and provides valuable insights for any SLA scholar interested in the processes involved in second language learning in classroom settings.
In addition to the various aspects of language that must be learned in ISLA, it is
also important to consider the contexts in which ISLA can take place because
different contexts provide different challenges and advantages for L2 learning.
Translation can help improve foreign language teaching and learning - this study shows how. In an increasingly globalised world and in an increasingly multilingual Europe, translation plays an important role. Significant signs of a new revival of translation in language teaching have become visible, as shown by recent literature on applied linguistics. This book contributes to this movement, embracing both a theoretical and an empirical purpose by integrating viewpoints from Applied Linguistics, Translation Studies and Second Language Acquisition. In an attempt to show how the use of translation in foreign language classes can help enhance and further improve reading, writing, speaking and listening skills, this work calls for a re-evaluation and a rehabilitation of the translation activities in the foreign language classes.
2 Second Language Acquisition (SLA) 2.1 Introduction to SLA Learning is not
about concrete knowledge but it involves the way people learn, bearing in mind
all their strengths and weaknesses, the strategies and techniques adopted and it
...
This book examines current advances in the role of interactional feedback in second language (L2) teaching and learning. Drawing on recent theory and research in both classroom and laboratory contexts, the book explores a wide range of issues regarding interactional feedback and their relevance for both theory and practice, including how interactional feedback is used, processed, and contributes to L2 acquisition. This book will provide a useful resource for applied linguistics students and academics as well as language teachers and teacher educators who would like to gain insight into the role of interactional feedback and how it can be used as a means of integrating form and meaning in classroom contexts.
Adams, R. (2007), “Do second language learners benefit from interacting with
each other?,” in A. Mackey (ed.), Conversational Interaction in Second Language
Acquisition: A Collection of Empirical Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp
.
Understanding the way in which learners differ from one another is of fundamental concern to those involved in second-language acquisition, either as researchers or teachers. This account is the first to review at book length the important research into differences, considering matters such as aptitude, motivation, learner strategies, personality and interaction between learner characteristics and types of instruction.
(a) by responding positively to the given learning opportunities, or by identifying
and seeking preferred learning environments and exploiting them. (b) by adding
related language learning activities to the regular programme, and/or intensifying
...
One of the key issues in second language learning and teaching concerns the role and practice of grammar instruction. Does it make a difference? How do we teach grammar in the language classroom? Is there an effective technique to teach grammar that is better than others? While some linguists address these questions to develop a better understanding of how people acquire a grammar, language acquisition scholars are in search of the most effective way to approach the teaching of grammar in the language classroom. The individual chapters in this volume will explore a variety of approaches to grammar teaching and offer a list of principles and guidelines that those involved in language acquisition should consider to design and implement effective grammar tasks during their teaching. It proposes that the key issue is not whether or not we should teach grammar but how we incorporate a teaching grammar component in our communicative language teaching practices.
As the consciousness about certain grammar forms and rules often relies on
learners' prior language knowledge, among many other factors, there is a need
for exploring the roles of language awareness in the process of L3 grammar
learning.
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
...
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
...
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 ...
