Written for students encountering the topic for the first time, this is a clear and practical introduction to second language acquisition (SLA). It explains in non-technical language how a second language is acquired; what the second language learner needs to know; and why some learners are more successful than others. The textbook introduces in a step-by-step fashion a range of fundamental concepts – such as SLA in adults and children, in formal and informal learning contexts, and in diverse socio-cultural settings – and takes an interdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to consider SLA from linguistic, psychological and social perspectives. Each chapter contains a list of key terms, a summary, and a range of graded exercises suitable for self-testing or class discussion. Providing a solid foundation in SLA, this book is set to become the leading introduction to the field for students of linguistics, psychology, and education, and trainee language teachers.
This construct combines the knowledge of language which defines linguistic
competence, knowledge of the specific components and levels of a language,
and knowledge that is required for their appropriate use in communicative
activities.
Review text: "The works in this collection make a valuable contribution to instructed SLA research."Shannon Sauro in: Studies in second language acquistion 4/2006.
Second language acquisition in a study abroad context: A comparative
investigation of the effects of study abroad and foreign language instruction on
the L2 learner's grammatical development Martin Howard This paper investigates
a ...
Second Language Acquisition: - introduces the key areas in the field, including: multilingualism, the role of teaching, the mental processing of multiple languages, and patterns of growth and decline - explores the key theories and debates and elucidates areas of controversy - gathers together influential readings from key names in the discipline, including: Vivian Cook, William E. Dunn and James P. Lantolf, S.P. Corder, and Nina Spada and Patsy Lightbown. Written by experienced teachers and researchers in the field, Second Language Acquisition is an essential resource for students and researchers of applied linguistics.
In the previous units, we have looked at the ways an individual may process
information, and for the sake of the argument we have discussed these issues as
if all language learners were similar. However, there are enormous differences ...
No language teaching program should be designed without a thorough analysis of the students' needs. The studies in this volume explore Needs Analysis in the public, vocational and academic sectors, in contexts ranging from service encounters in coffee shops to foreign language needs assessment in the U.S. military. In each chapter, the authors explicitly discuss the methodoldogy they employed, and in some cases also offer research findings on that methodology. Several studies are task-based, making the collection of special interest to those involved in task-based language teaching. Contributions include work on English and other languages in both second and foreign language settings, as well as a comprehensive overview of methodological issues in Needs Analysis by the editor.
Yet, if this aspect of course design is to go beyond reliance on notoriously
unreliable textbook writer intuitions, such is the task facing the conscientious
materials writer (and publisher). It is the kind of `homework' language teachers
and applied ...
Second Language Writing Systems looks at how people learn and use a second language writing system, arguing that they are affected by characteristics of the first and second writing systems, to a certain extent independently of the languages involved. This book for the first time presents the effects of writing systems on second language reading and writing and on second language awareness, and provides a new platform for discussing bilingualism, biliteracy and writing systems.
VIVIAN COOK Since the decline of audiolingualism as a teaching method, there
has been little public debate about the respective roles of spoken language and
written language in language teaching or about how to teach the writing system ...
Reading is a multi-faceted, complex construct, and its complexity increases in second-language reading. In this volume, the author provides an in-depth analysis of the multiple dimensions of second language reading, presenting syntheses of current research on first and second language reading. (Miswest).
Language transfer has long been a central concern among L2 researchers. As
an outgrowth of the contrastive analysis (CA) hypothesis, transfer concepts were
widely endorsed in the 1950s and 1960s. Their basic hypothesis, a derivative of ...
"This collection is the first to consistently adopt Conversation Analysis as an approach to second language interaction. By examining first and second language speakers' participation in a wide range of activities, it challenges the dominant view of 'nonnative speakers' as deficient communicators. Proposing instead to understand second language users' conversational participation as interactional achievement, the book makes a powerful case for 'ethnomethodological respecification' in second language research." Professor Gabriele Kasper, University of Hawai'i Conversations involving speakers whose first language is not the language in which they are talking have become widespread in the globalized world. Migration, increased travel for business or pleasure, as well as communication through new technologies such as the internet make Second Language Conversations an increasingly common everyday event. In this book Conversation Analysis is used to explore natural, casual talk between speakers in a second language. The contributors shift emphasis away from controlled contexts such as the classroom towards more sociable environments in which people go about their daily routines. English, German, French, Japanese, Finnish and Danish are all analyzed as second languages within a variety of professional, educational and sociable situations. This collection of essays aims to present naturally occurring Second Language Conversations in order to show what speakers in these situations do; how they utilize first language conversational practices, and whether or not grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation help or hinder the construction of meaning. >
Language. Learners. -. Being. a. Second. Language. Speaker. in. Institutional.
Interaction. Salla Kurhila In the conversation analytic tradition, the salience of the
participants' identities is seen as being dynamic. The relevance of the identities is
...
Despite persistent assertions of washback (the influence of testing on teaching and learning) limited research studies have been undertaken on the subject. Even fewer studies have made use of quantitative and qualitative methods to examine washback. This book, at the intersection of language testing and teaching practices/programs, investigates the impact of the introduction of the 1996 Hong Kong Certificate of Education in English, a high-stakes public examination, on classroom teaching and learning in Hong Kong secondary schools. The washback effect was observed initially at the macro level, including different parties within the Hong Kong educational context, and subsequently at the micro level, in terms of the classroom, including aspects of teachers' attitudes, teaching content and classroom interactions. Further, the book offers insights into the concept that a test can be used as a change agent to encourage innovation in the classroom.
This book, at the intersection of language testing and teaching practices/programs, investigates the impact of the introduction of the 1996 Hong Kong Certificate of Education in English, a high-stakes public examination, on classroom ...
The education reform movement of the past two decades has focused on raising academic standards. Some standards advocates attach a testing mechanism to gauge the extent to which high standards are actually accomplished, whereas some critics accuse the push for standards and testing of impeding reform and perpetuating inequality. At the same time, the testing profession has produced advances in the format, accuracy, dependability, and utility of tests. Never before has obtaining such an abundance of accurate and useful information about student learning been possible. Meanwhile, the American public remains steadfast in support of testing to measure student performance and monitor the performance of educational systems. Many educational testing experts who acknowledge the benefits of testing also believe that those benefits have been insufficiently articulated. Although much has been written on standardized testing policy, most of the material has been written by opponents. The contributing authors of this volume are both accomplished researchers and practitioners who are respected and admired worldwide. They bring to the project an abundance of experience working with standardized tests. The goal of Defending Standardized Testing is to: *describe current standardized testing policies and strategies; *explain many of the common criticisms of standardized testing; *document the public support for, and the realized benefits of, standardized testing; *acknowledge the limitations of, and suggest improvements to, testing practices; *provide guidance for structuring and administering large-scale testing programs in light of public preferences and the "No Child Left Behind Act" requirements; and *present a defense of standardized testing and a vision for its future. Defending Standardized Testing minimizes the use of technical jargon so as to appeal to all who have a stake in American educational reform.
Furthermore, she stated, “it is plain that test scores underestimate cognitive
abilities for bilinguals with low levels of English proficiency...the academic
potentialof studentswithlowlevels ofEnglish proficiency is substantially
reducedbyverbal ...
A Study of Testing Validity and the Role of Smallwords in Contributing to Pupils' Fluency
This book reports on a two-part study: the validation of a test of spoken English for Norwegian secondary school pupils and the corpus-based investigation of the role played by 'smallwords', such as 'well', 'sort of', and 'you know', in bringing about fluency. The first study builds on the Messickian six central aspects of construct validity to produce a practical framework for test validation. It identifies potential sources of invalidity in the test being examined particularly relating to 'fluency'. The second study sets about to explore the concept of fluency, and to expose the extent to which it is acknowledged in the literature to be associated with smallwords, albeit under other names. The findings from the corpus study are drawn on to propose new elements to include in descriptors of fluency, and the implications of the study for classroom practices are discussed.
The 'thing' that is supposed to be tested in the EVA speaking test is 14–15-year-
old Norwegian students' communicative language ability ( CLA) in English
spoken interaction. Prior to developing a test of spoken CLA, one of the first tasks
is to ...
