Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language explores the topic of learner strategies - the ways in which language learners engage with the process of learning and communicating in a new language. The introduction to the book sets out the main theoretical issues, distinguishing language learning from language use strategies, and describing the main research methods for their investigation. The author presents innovative research linking the use of task-specific strategies with language performance. The volume then presents empirical research investigating the languages multilinguals select for their verbalized thoughts during language learning and language use. Finally, the author presents empirical research focusing on the strategies learners use in language test-taking contexts. The volume is intended primarily for language teachers and researchers, as well as for administrators of second language programs. It is also highly suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students of applied linguistics and will be of interest to foreign language students, stimulating them to reflect on their strategies for learning and using a second language. The chapters present questions and raise areas for further discussion and study, making the book suitable for those new to the field. At the same time, the provision of important new research will appeal to those with more advanced knowledge in the field.
Strategies in Learning and Using a Second Language examines what it takes to achieve long-term success in languages beyond the first language. Distinguishing language learning from language-use strategies, Andrew D. Cohen disentangles a morass of terminology to help the reader see what language strategies are and how they can enhance performance. Particular areas of research examined in the book include:
- links between the use of task-specific strategies and language performance
- how multilinguals verbalise their thoughts during language learning and use
strategies that learners use in test-taking contexts
In this fully revised and substantially rewritten second edition, every chapter has been reworked, with material either updated or replaced. Entirely new material has also been developed based on examples of specific strategies supplied by actual learners, mostly drawn from a website featuring these strategies in the learning of Spanish grammar.
Strategies in Learning and Using a Second language will be an invaluable resource for language teachers and researchers, as well as for administrators of second language programmes and for students of applied linguistics.
Andrew D. Cohen is a professor in phased retirement with the Program in Second Language Studies at the University of Minnesota. He has conducted research on language learner strategies for over 35 years and has himself studied 11 languages beyond his native English. His recent books include Language Learner Strategies (co-edited with Ernesto Macaro, 2007) and Teaching and Learning Pragmatics (co-authored with Noriko Ishihara, 2010).
