Bücher der Reihe Second Language Acquisition

This collection of empirical studies examines multiple aspects involved in the acquisition, teaching and assessment of pragmatics in second language Chinese. The studies address themes such as the acquisition of key pragmatic features, methodological innovations in pragmatics assessment, individual difference factors and virtual learning contexts.

This book investigates the content of the grammar syllabuses typically employed in mainstream English Language Teaching. Using a mixed-methods approach, the author examines how the syllabuses used in coursebooks are actually constructed, how they evolved and how valid their contents are as a basis for teaching.

This book represents the most comprehensive account to date of foreign language (FL) writing. Its basic aim is to reflect critically on where the field is now and where it needs need to go next in the exploration of FL writing at the levels of theory, research, and pedagogy, hence the two parts of the book: 'Looking back' and 'Looking ahead'. The chapters in Part I offer accounts of both the inquiry process followed and the main insights gained in various long-term research programs. The chapters in Part 2 contribute a retrospective analysis of the available empirical research and of professional experiences in an attempt to move forward. The book invites the reader to step back and rethink seemingly well established knowledge about L2 writing in light of what is known about writing in FL contexts.

This book contributes to the growth of interest in task-based language learning and teaching that has been seen in recent years. It brings together research that focuses on various aspects and effects of pedagogic task design and presents work that uses tasks to examine oral interaction, written production, vocabulary and reading, lexical innovation and pragmatics in different formal language learning contexts and in different languages (English as a second/foreign language, French/German/Italian/Spanish as foreign languages). It also provides guidelines for task classification, sequencing and design.The book is addressed to both professionals and students interested in second language acquisition research. It will also be of use to professionals involved in language pedagogy and curriculum design.

This volume contains a selection of papers analyzing language transfer, a phenomenon which results from language contact in bilingual and multilingual language acquisition and learning contexts. The main focus of the volume is on the lexical aspects of language transfer.

This book provides an overview of current research on the age factor in foreign language learning, addressing issues, which are critical for language planning. It presents new research on foreign language learning within bilingual communities in formal instruction settings focussing on syntax, phonology, writing, oral skills and learning strategies.

This edited volume focuses on writing Chinese as a second language (L2). It provides readers with cutting-edge empirical research and insightful teaching methods and strategies for effectively developing L2 writing competence in L2 Chinese classroom contexts.

Contributing to emerging research on third language acquisition, this book presents readers with a practical guide to understanding how these languages are processed, learned and taught. With examples from a range of learning contexts, it emphasises the role of teachers as bridges between education and research on multilingualism.

This book outlines a framework for teaching second language pragmatics grounded in Vygotskian sociocultural psychology. Using multiple sources of metalinguistic and performance data, the volume explores both theoretical and practical issues relevant to teaching second language pragmatics from a Vygotskian perspective.

This book closes the gap between theory and practice for teachers and researchers wishing to capitalize on learners' individuality in second or foreign language learning. Issues of content are targeted through a description of the variables of anxiety, beliefs, cognitive abilities, motivation, strategies, styles and willingness to communicate.

This book synthesises current theory and research on L2 motivation in the EFL Japanese context covering topics such as the issues of cultural identity, demotivation, language communities, positive psychology, possible L2 selves and internationalisation within a key EFL context.

This book explores how lexical competence develops in a foreign language, and also argues for the importance of lexical accuracy as a measure of the quality of foreign language writing and as an indicator of receptive vocabulary knowledge.

Examining the overseas experience of language learners in diverse contexts through a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches, studies in this volume look at the acquisition of language use, socialization processes, learner motivation, identity and learning strategies. In this way, the volume offers a privileged window into learner experiences abroad while addressing current concerns central to second language acquisition.

This book examines the various ways in which age affects the process and the product of foreign language learning in a school setting. It presents studies that cover a wide range of topics, from phonetics to learning strategies. It will be of interest to students and researchers working in SLA research, language planning and language teaching.

This study of language issues in the context of migration provides interdisciplinary insights into language as learned, used and lived by refugees in Norway. It offers an innovative contribution to the field of SLA by bringing together structural, cognitive, social and critical approaches to data collected among the same individuals.

This collection of papers brings together a diverse range of conceptualisations of the self in the domain of second language acquisition and foreign language learning. The volume attempts to unite a fragmented field and provides a thorough overview of the ways in which the self can be conceptualised in SLA contexts.

This book addresses several pressing concerns of teachers and researchers who are looking for ways to integrate technology use in and out of their classrooms and assess its usefulness in the learning process. It provides an up-to-date examination of technology-supported pedagogy and language acquisition in a variety of Japanese as a foreign or second language contexts. It equips readers with practical pedagogical information, including methods of implementation and learning assessment, and ideas for how technology can be applied to achieve a wide range of learning objectives. The topics examined include cultural learning, identity construction, speaking, reading, writing, pronunciation, collaborative online learning, digital and 3D virtual reality games, online text analysis, and participation in online communities. In addition, different e-learning configurations such as flipped, online, and distance learning classrooms are explored. Studies examine various current technologies (e.g. blogs, synchronous/asynchronous telecollaboration, corpus analysis software, modern pronunciation tools) and will have both direct and indirect consequences for teaching and learning a second/foreign language with technology across all languages.

This book offers a comprehensive investigation into advanced students' knowledge of vocabulary in their L1 and L2. This cross-sectional study examines the qualitative and quantitative aspects of students' vocabulary knowledge in subfields such as suffixation, idioms and proverbs, multi-word verbs, polysemous words and inferencing skills.

SLA literature tends to focus predominantly on what motivates language learners, but what demotivates them has not been widely discussed. This book, focusing exclusively on demotivation, will help readers to understand motivational issues from a different perspective. The aims of the work are threefold: to present the current developments of demotivation research in the field of SLA and bridge motivational theory/research and demotivation research; to promote the understanding of possible causes of demotivation; and to expand the focus of demotivation research through a reflection on current motivation theory/research and a discussion of methodological issues. The research presented in this book is situated in Japanese English-teaching contexts and will serve as a foundation for anyone wishing to better understand the causes of demotivation in SLA and to explore the topic in their own contexts.