How Languages are Learned 4e (Oxford Handbooks for Language Teachers)

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0194541266 ISBN 13: 9780194541268

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2013

A thoroughly updated edition of this prize-winning, readable introduction to the main theories of first and second language acquisition.

This book introduces you to some of the language acquisition research that will help you not just to evaluate existing materials, but also to adapt and use them in a way that fits what we currently understand about how languages are learned.

-Content including new research and new areas in pedagogy to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of research in the field.
-Chapter Preview s and Summaries with round-up questions.
-Companion website with vodcasts, content updates, and shared user content.
-Also available as an e-book.

About the Author:

Patsy M. Lightbown is Distinguished Professor Emerita at Concordia University in Montreal and Past President of the American Association for Applied Linguistics. Her research focuses on how instruction and feedback affect second-language acquisition in classrooms where the emphasis is on "communicative" or "content-based" language teaching. The contexts for her work have included elementary schools in Canada and, more recently, dual-language bilingual classes in the U.S. Nina Spada is Professor of Applied Linguistics at the Modern Language Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. Her main areas of professional interest are second language acquisition, classroom research in L2 teaching and learning, and English as a Second Language.

Review:

How Languages Are Learned, 4th edn. P. Lightbrown & N. Spada. (2013) Oxford U. Press. ISBN 978-0-19-454126-8; 256pp+. This edition of the standard introductory work on this subject is over 20 pp. longer than the 3rd edition. A strong feature of this admirable book is its concise, clear summaries of important research findings. The chapters are; Language learning in early childhood, Second language learning (SLL), Individual differences in SLL, Explaining SLL, Observing learning and teaching in the SL classroom, SLL in the classroom, and Popular ideas about language learning revisited. Extra activities, study questions, and videos are available online at www.oup.com/elt/teacher/hlal * The Teacher Trainer Journal, Vol 29/3 *