How do people learn a second language? For almost two decades, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching has been recognized as an exceptional guide to the theoretical foundations of language teaching.
The fourth edition offers an overview of the study of Second Language Acquisition, while acting as a reference for the growing storehouse of research, subfields, and specializations of SLA.
Table of Contents:
1 Language, Learning, and Teaching
Current Issues in Second Language Acquisition
Language
Learning and Teaching
Schools of Though in Second Language Acquisition
Structuralism/Behaviorism
Rationalism and Cognitive Psychology
Constructivism
Language Teaching Methodology
In the Classroom: The Grammar Translation Method
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
2 First Language Acquisition
Theories of First Language Acquisition
Competence and Performance
Comprehension and Productions
Nature or Nurture
Universals
Systematicity and Variability
Language and Thought
Imitation
Practice
Input
Discourse
In the Classroom: Gouin and Berlitz–The First Reformers
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
3 Age and Acquisition
Dispelling Myths
Types of Comparison and Contrast
The Critical Period Hypothesis
Neurological Considerations
Hemispheric Lateralization
Biological Timetables
Right-Hemispheric Participation
Anthropological Evidence
The Significance of Accent
Cognitive Considerations
Affective Considerations
Linguistic Considerations
Bilingualism
Interference Between First and Second Language
Interference in Adults
Order of Acquisition
Issues in First Language Acquisition Revisited
In the Classroom: The Audiolingual Method
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
4 Human Learning
Learning and Training
Pavlov’s Classical Behaviorism
Skinner’s Operant Conditioning
Ausubel’s Meaningful Learning Theory
Systematic Forgetting
Rogers’s Humanistic Psychology
Types of Learning
Transfer, Interference, and Overgeneralization
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning
Aptitude and Intelligence
In the Classroom: The “Designer” Methods of the 1970s
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
5 Styles and Strategies
Process, Style, and Strategy
Learning Styles
Field Independence
Left- and Right-Brain Functioning
Ambiguity Tolerance
Reflectivity and Impulsivity
Visual and Auditory Styles
Strategies
Learning Strategies
Communication Strategies
Avoidance Strategies
Compensatory Strategies
Strategies-Based Instruction
In the Classroom: Styles and Strategies in Practice
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
6 Personality Factors
The Affective Domain
Self-Esteem
Inhibition
Risk-Taking
Anxiety
Empathy
Extroversion
Myers-Briggs Character Types
Motivation
Instrumental and Integrative Orientations
Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
The Neurobiology of Affect
Measuring Affective Factors
In the Classroom: Putting Methods into Perspective
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
7 Sociocultural Factors
From Stereotypes to Generalizations
Attitudes
Second Culture Acquisition
Social Distance
Culture in the Classroom
Language Policy and Politics
World Englishes
ESL and EFL
Linguistic Imperialism and Language Rights
Language Policy and the “English Only” Debate
Language, Thought, and Culture
In the Classroom: Toward a Principled Approach to Language Pedagogy
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
8 Cross-Linguistic Influence and Learner Language
The Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis
From the CAH to CLI (Cross-Linguistic Influence)
Markedness and Universal Grammar
Learner Language
Error Analysis
Mistakes and Errors
Errors in Error Analysis
Identifying and Describing Errors
Sources of Error
Interlingual Transfer
Intralingual Transfer
Context of Learning
Communication Strategies
Stages of Learner Language Development
Variability in Learner Language
Fossilization
Form-Focused Instruction
Error Treatment
In the Classroom: A Model for Error Treatment
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
9 Communicative Competence
Defining Communicative Competence
Language Functions
Functional Syllabuses
Discourse Analysis
Conversation Analysis
Pragmatics
Language and Gender
Styles and Registers
Nonverbal Communication
Kinesics
Eye Contact
Proxemics
Artifacts
Kinesthetics
Olfactory Dimensions
In the Classroom: Communicative Language Teaching
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Journal Entry
10 Theories of Second Language Acquisition
Building a Theory of SLA
Domains and Generalizations
Hypotheses and Claims
Criteria for a Viable Theory
An Innatist Model: Drashen’s Input Hypothesis
Cognitive Models
Mclaughlin’s Attention-Processing Model
Implicit and Explicit Models
A Social-Constructivist Model: Long’s Interaction Hypothesis
From Theory to Practice
Out on a Limb: The Ecology of Language Acquisition
Topics and Questions for Study and Discussion
Suggested Readings
Language Learning Experience: Final Journal Entry
Bibliography
