Second Language Acquisition: A Theoretical Introduction To Real World Applications

This book is written in order to help undergraduate students and trainee teachers to reflect on certain topics and key issues related to second language acquisition. Despite the proliferation of books and introductory courses in second language acquisition, most of these books very often provide a very complex account of theoretical views in second language acquisition and sometimes fail to emphasise the crucial interplay between how people learn languages and what is the most effective way to teach languages. The overall purpose of this book is to provide an overview of second language acquisition research and theories by identifying the main key issues in this field and by highlighting the relevance of this research for classroom implications. The study of second language acquisition is a rich and varied enterprise, carried out by researchers, whose interests and training often lie in broader disciplines of linguistics, psychology, sociology, and education. Readers will be encouraged to critically reflect on the presented content through self-engaging thinking activities in the form of questions, matching activities, choices and conclusions about the implications of SLA theories to the real world applications.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction to second language acquisition 2. Similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition 3. How learners process information in second language acquisition 4. How the internal system develops in a second language 5. How learners learn to communicate in a second language 6. What we know in SLA Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Professor Alessandro G. Benati is Director of CAROLE at the University of Greenwich, UK Tanja Angelovska is Assistant Professor of English Linguistics at the Universität Salzburg, Austria

Review :
A very good resource to introduce students and trainees to the topic of SLA in such a way that it can be easily understood. This knowledge is reinforced by the activities included and the references for further research on the topic ... The authors cover and review all the main areas of knowledge of this topic in an engaging, practical way for anyone dealing with this complex matter for the first time. In short, the main strength of this book is to help learners and teachers to tackle the numerous studies and theories on this issue. As promised, this book provides an overview of SLA that is beginner-friendly. This is in contrast to other introductory texts that focus more on analyzing theories and their originating studies (e.g. VanPatten & Williams, 2015). What this allows for is gaining a general understanding that can aid teachers in thinking through both the rationale underpinning what they do in the classroom and the progression of the field informing their work. Moreover, the text gives clear suggestions for the classroom, such as meaningful, task-based activities. The inclusion in this text of information regarding multilinguals and heritage speakers is especially welcome, since these types of students are increasingly common and have different needs than the traditional L2 learner who only has speaks one L1. This book demonstrates that knowing how languages learned help language instructors to develop a more innovative and effective way to teach foreign languages and to create the necessary conditions for students to learn more efficiently and appropriately. Readers searching for an introductory text that explores how second languages are learned alongside effective teaching practices need not look further. Second Language Acquisition: A Theoretical Introduction to Real World Applications is sure to please undergraduate students and future educators who will highly benefit from the down-to-earth foundation that it provides. The text not only reviews key theories and findings that are essential to becoming familiar with innovative language pedagogies, but it also encourages readers to reflect on how to further improve these teaching techniques.