Customer Reviews

How Languages Are Learned (Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers)

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really recommend this book as an introduction to Second Language Acquisition (SLA) reasearch. It was written with the language teacher in mind. Many of the other books on the subject are focused on the researcher rather than the teacher, so this book fills a gap in the literature. The explanations of the major theories are carried out without frequent use of jargon, so it's easy for the beginner to get a handle on SLA theory. I even recommend this for students who are studying SLA in graduate school. This will provide an excellent introduction that could be read before reading more difficult texts. After readinging "How Languages Are Learned", you'll understand more in depth discussions about the theories covered. A must for all practicing language teachers.

I used this book in a graduate ESL teacher-training SLA course. It presents all the relevant theory and research in terms students can understand. I adapted some of the authors' analyses to be used as models in student projects. Works well in combination with Vivian Cook's _Second Language Learning and Language Teaching_. I will definitely use it again.

Lightbrown and Nada's "How Languages are Learned" makes a good introduction to second language acquisition and some of the linguistic theories that are out there regarding it. Without overloading you with details, the book gives you enough to make some more informed choices about the classroom.

They start from a basis set in first language learning and some of the ideas that have come from there, as well as the nature of how children learn their first language. From there, it is pretty much straight into second language acquisition, including 5 approaches to it, learner language, interaction approaches and styles, factors that affect second language acquistion, (such as learner beliefs, motivations and even a detailed discussion on the age of students), and a range of others. The book is wrapped up with the authors' responses to 12 common beliefs about language learning.

For those looking for more inspiration in the classroom, there are better books out there. This one will give you something to think about, and maybe use as a basis for adjusting one's technique, but it really deals more in the theory and how that impacts on our understanding of students. If theory, and a decent introduction to it, is what you are after, then might I recommend this one as a good starting point.

Unlike some, Lightbrown and Nada have avoided throwing in so much jargon that their book is rendered useless by most people. It is very accessible and easily read. There will probably be no headaches after this one. It is an interesting, well-written book.

I have used this book in undergraduate Introduction to Language Learning and Language Teaching courses, as well as in a graduate seminar on language acquistion theory.

As previous reviewers have noted, Lightbown and Spada provide an easy-to-read and accessible text. The third edition expands on the second, and includes more recent variations on several of the language acquisition theories presented in the second edition (I've also used the second edition).

Unfortunately, it is missing some of the current and exciting work that is being done in usage-based theory and discourse analysis, and therefore will become more of a historical review of language acquisition theories as time goes on.

By itself it isn't enough for an entire course, either for language acquisition or teaching methodology. However, L&S deftly connect the dots with regard to how theories drive the thinking behind pedagogy.
I would recommend this book, in addition to other texts and course materials, to anyone teaching in a language teacher training program.

For language teachers. Covers elements of first and second language learning with a view to language teaching. Does not provide any lesson plans/class activities, its more theory than practical. Makes the reader aware of the current issues and proposes effective models. I like it, I'm buying a copy.

Based on research, this book focuses on a *descriptive* approach of how languages are currently being learned and taught. My main reproach is that there is no focus on how languages are *successfully* learned, just on how most teachers teach and most students struggle. Moreover, the focus is on learning inside the classroom, which -- even though obviously worth talking about -- is in my experience the least efficient of settings to learn.

All in all, it is a useful book if you want to know what kind of errors most students do commit. It does not cover, however, the *optimal* way for people to learn or teachers to teach, which to me is a shame. Take it as a description of symptoms, not as a way to fix people.

I would instead recommend reading:
- Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language, 3rd Edition (Marianne Celce-Murcia), for a description of learning styles and teaching methods.
- How The ELL Brain Learns (David A. Sousa), for a description of the cognitives processes involved in learning a 1st or 2nd language.

I am an MA student at University of Massachusetts Boston. I had to read H. Douglas Brown's Principles of Language Learning and Teaching for my class but I didn't completely understand after reading his book. I then spent some time reading this book How Languages are Learned by Patsy Lightbown, and I understand completely. It cleared up my frustrations. I highly recommended it to anybody who needs a little references before the more advanced book.

This book gives an excellent overview of the way in which humans learn language--both their native language (L1) and subsequent languages (L2, L3, etc). Not only does it give an excellent introduction to each of the areas of language acquisition, it serves as a springboard to further research, with an outstanding and very recent bibliography. Recommended for methods classes, but specifically meant for self-study.

Other books I've read on the subject of language teaching either just rehearse points about the various theories and methodologies, give lists of teaching tips, or delve into narrow research topics. This book is different. While it provides a general overview of theories and methods, it also provides a nice overview of specific and relevant studies from a broad range of age groups (many from late elementary, middle school, and university ESL or other immersion programs), and weaves them into a comprehensible "big picture" of foundational principles for language teaching and acquisition.

It was apparent to me that the authors generally favored communicative programs (over grammar or translation based programs), and seemed to be directing their message to those working in communicative programs. Their main message seems to be that an effective program must provide rich opportunities to use the language for authentic communication (with an emphasis on negotiating meaning), but that we need to pull away from the extremes of communicative approaches and make sure we are still teaching grammar.

The authors thoughtfully work through the various perspectives and approaches, and include examples from numerous studies that support or contradict the various assumptions about language learning and teaching. The book reinforced many of my own hunches about language learning, but also provided me with significant and practical insights as to the limits of my hunches. The book gave me a new appreciation for the complexity and variation in language learning, and gave me new inspiration about the dynamic role I can play as a language teacher.

This is a great book for teaching. I read it in college and forgot about it until I realized that I couldn't remember the names of the language patterns my students were following. Fun to learn about and easy to reference.