Twelve Lectures on Second Language Acquisition

This book differs from other reviews of research findings inside second language acquisition studies in three ways. Firstly, while individual studies are analysed in detail, the book achieves a synthesis of the different perspectives, in that a coherent model of language acquisition underpins the structure and argumentation. Secondly, the author is continually concerned with the relevance of the studies reviewed for the practical business of foreign language learning (both inside and outside the classroom), and their relevance for foreign language teaching. Thirdly, the book is based on a series of lectures, and features of the original verbal delivery have been retained. The result is a more relaxed, informal style, which is both entertaining, and will help make the content particularly accessible to users of English as a lingua franca. The contents include the basis of first and second language acquisition, how far first and second language acquisition are similar, a comparison of L2 language learning inside and outside the classroom, and the role and influence of languages already known. The influence of age, aptitude and motivation in deciding learning success, and the roles of different kinds of language exposure and different forms of interaction inside and outside the classroom are further topics. A view of language learning as information-processing is then developed, before issues of language teaching are addressed.