Lexical Issues in L2 Writing

Research into lexical issues has been one of the most rapidly growing areas of second language acquisition studies in recent years, and understandably so: the importance of vocabulary can hardly be denied. Words are the key to every instance of communication, both spoken and written. This volume concentrates on vocabulary in written language, mostly in academic settings. The writers of the chapters come from different countries and universities, and, naturally, represent their own academic backgrounds, though they all share a common interest in investigating the characteristics of L2 lexis as it manifests itself in the written production of students at various stages of their language learning careers. The target language (L2) in the studies reported in the volume is English, except in one study on the lexical competence of multilingual learners of French. The subjects’ native languages include Czech, Danish, Finnish, Hungarian, and Swedish, thus representing several different language families. Each chapter constitutes an independent unit, but together the studies reported in them give the reader a varied and extensive picture of lexical issues in L2 writing. The authors approach their topics from different perspectives and use diverse research methods, adding to the multifaceted nature of the volume. The book will be of interest to researchers, educators and students of second language acquisition and applied linguistics.

About the Author :
Päivi Pietilä is a Professor of English at the University of Turku, Finland. Her research interests include second language learning and attrition, L2 speaking skills, L2 academic writing, lexical development and the lexis-grammar interface. She is the author of The English of Finnish Americans (1989) and L2 Speech (1999), in addition to numerous research articles published in international journals.Katalin Doró is Senior Assistant Professor at the University of Szeged, Hungary. Her main research interests include language acquisition, academic writing, language learning strategies and the lexical choices of EFL learners. She is the author of Role of Lexical Knowledge and Its Testing in an L2 Academic Context.Renata Pípalová is Associate Professor of English Linguistics at Charles University, Prague, and Associate Editor of the PJES journal. Her publications, including Thematic 0rganization of Paragraphs and Higher Text Units (2008), fall mostly into the area of discourse studies. Recently, she has explored academic discourse, non-native English, and manifest intertextuality.

Review :
"This volume presents a rich and varied sample of empirical research on L2 vocabulary in an up-to-date theoretical framing. Focusing on lexical issues in academic writing, this collection of papers succeeds not only in addressing most currently discussed topics in vocabulary acquisition research, but also accounts for related aspects of writing, such as discourse organization and readability. I find the in-depth discussion of research methodology both in the introductory chapter and in several of the other contributions particularly valuable. Similarly, the insightful comments on practical implications for language teaching are really helpful. All in all, the book offers a state-of-the-art look at contemporary research on lexical issues in second language acquisition and use. It is highly recommended reading for language teachers, students and researchers interested in the rapidly developing field of vocabulary acquisition research."Kenneth HyltenstamProfessor Emeritus of Bilingualism, Stockholm University"The chapters of this book uncover interesting patterning and tendencies in the lexis of non-native writing which offer the reader valuable insights into it. The presented findings open space for debate on a variety of points, such as the usefulness of cross-disciplinary approaches, the influence of external factors on the acquisition and use of L2 lexis and others. In addition to advancing the existing knowledge in the broad domain of L2 acquisition and use, they display a repertoire of various modern methodologies and tools for the study of lexical competence and performance of L2 users. Altogether, the book can be recommended as a valuable contribution to the field. It captures the present state-of-the-art and offers a variety of inspiring stimuli for further research. The volume will be welcomed by the broad public of scholars, researchers, specialists, and foreign language teachers, as well as all who are interested."Professor Libuše DuškováCharles University