Customer Reviews

Understanding Second Language Acquisition (Oxford Applied Linguistics)

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"Understanding Second Language Acquisition" is an ideal companion for students taking an initial course in applied linguistics, or for teachers who want to improve their understanding of how learners learn a second language. This book seeks to help teachers make their theory of language learning explicit by examining language-learner language and the processes that produce it. Despite being written as long ago as the mid-eighties, it is still reasonably up-to-date. It covers all the major areas of SLA that one would expect; the role of the first language, variability in interlanguage, individual differences, input, interaction, learner strategies, the Universal Hypothesis, and the role of formal instruction. I enjoyed this book partly because it was written simply, descriptively and scientifically, and partly because the author was my professor when I was a grad student. That will be of no consequence to you, of course, but his thoroughness and clear style is something that I believe all of us can benefit from.

Although the book contains a lot of valuable data for trainee teachers, the author's opinions are not stated.