Contemporary Approaches to Second Language Acquisition: (9 AILA Applied Linguistics Series)

Second language acquisition (SLA) is a field of inquiry that has increased in importance since the 1960s. Currently, researchers adopt multiple perspectives in the analysis of learner language, all of them providing different but complementary answers to the understanding of oral and written data produced by young and older learners in different settings. The main goal of this volume is to provide the reader with updated reviews of the major contemporary approaches to SLA, the research carried out within them and, wherever appropriate, the implications and/or applications for theory, research and pedagogy that might derive from the available empirical evidence. The book is intended for SLA researchers as well as for graduate (MA, Ph.D.) students in SLA research, applied linguistics and linguistics, as the different chapters will be a guide in their research within the approaches presented. The volume will also be of interest to professionals from other fields interested in the SLA process and the different explanations that have been put forward to account for it.
Recipient of the Spanish Association of Applied Linguistics 2014 Book Award.

Table of Contents:
1. Acknowledgments; 2. Foreword (by Myles, Florence); 3. Introduction (by Garcia Mayo, Maria del Pilar); 4. Chapter 1. What is easy and what is hard to acquire in a second language: A generative perspective (by Slabakova, Roumyana); 5. Chapter 2. Systemic Functional approaches to second language acquisition in school settings (by Garcia, Ana Llinares); 6. Chapter 3. From input, output and comprehension to negotiation, evidence, and attention: An overview of theory and research on learner interaction and SLA (by Pica, Teresa); 7. Chapter 4. Skill Acquisition Theory and the role of practice in L2 development (by Lyster, Roy); 8. Chapter 5. The Input Processing Theory in second language acquisition (by Benati, Alessandro G.); 9. Chapter 6. Processability Theory: Explaining developmental sequences (by Hakansson, Gisela); 10. Chapter 7. Sociocultural Theory and second language development: Theoretical foundations and insights from research (by Ganem-Gutierrez, Gabriela Adela); 11. Chapter 8. Investigating L2 spoken syntax: A Usage-based perspective (by Weinert, Regina); 12. Chapter 9. Connectionist models of second language acquisition (by Li, Ping); 13. Chapter 10. Dynamic Systems Theory as a comprehensive theory of second language development (by Bot, Kees de); 14. Chapter 11. Electrophysiology of second language processing: The past, present and future (by Sabourin, Laura L.); 15. Afterword. On multiplicity and mutual exclusivity: The case for different SLA theories (by Rothman, Jason); 16. List of contributors

Review :
This book offers a vibrant sampling of the theoretical complexity of SLA. Each chapter is forward-looking, authoritative, and epistemologically inviting. A remarkable collection that will fascinate neophytes and connoisseurs of SLA theories alike! There are a number of perspectives from which one might wish to gain an understanding of second languages: how they are acquired, how to teach them, how people use them, how acquisition and use is affected by the context in which they are learned. Different perspectives engender different kinds of investigation. The editors of the present volume have brought together a fine selection of contributions from researchers who are currently following different paths in the investigation of second language acquisition – some well-trodden, others relatively new. All offer a contemporary take on the issues that are central to their approaches. Anyone interested in the broad spectrum of contemporary research into second language acquisition will want to read this book. This intellectually stimulating volume showcases the epistemological and methodological diversity of SLA in a rich, informative way. At the same time, it hints at the emergent features around which the field coheres. Such a collection would be especially valuable to two audiences. For newcomers to SLA, the volume could offer a helpful starting point for approaching the multiple perspectives that make up the field. Although some chapters are perhaps less accessible than others, the collection is a useful resource for relevant courses in SLA or related fields. More experienced researchers might find the volume helpful for keeping abreast of developments in approaches parallel to their own. The potential of such a collection for stimulating interdisciplinary insights is also commendable.