This volume presents six alternative approaches to studying second language acquisition – 'alternative' in the sense that they contrast with and/or complement the cognitivism pervading the field. All six approaches – sociocultural, complexity theory, conversation-analytic, identity, language socialization, and sociocognitive – are described according to the same set of six headings, allowing for direct comparison across approaches. Each chapter is authored by leading advocates for the approach described: James Lantolf for the sociocultural approach; Diane Larsen-Freeman for the complexity theory approach; Gabriele Kasper and Johannes Wagner for the conversation-analytic approach; Bonny Norton and Carolyn McKinney for the identity approach; Patricia Duff and Steven Talmy for the language socialization approach and Dwight Atkinson for the sociocognitive approach. Introductory and commentary chapters round out this volume. The editor’s introduction describes the significance of alternative approaches to SLA studies given its strongly cognitivist orientation. Lourdes Ortega’s commentary considers the six approaches from an 'enlightened traditional' perspective on SLA studies – a viewpoint which is cognitivist in orientation but broad enough to give serious and balanced consideration to alternative approaches. This volume is essential reading in the field of second language acquisition.

Second language acquisition (SLA) is a field of inquiry that has increased in importance since the 1960s. Currently, researchers adopt multiple perspectives in the analysis of learner language, all of them providing different but complementary answers to the understanding of oral and written data produced by young and older learners in different settings. The main goal of this volume is to provide the reader with updated reviews of the major contemporary approaches to SLA, the research carried out within them and, wherever appropriate, the implications and/or applications for theory, research and pedagogy that might derive from the available empirical evidence. The book is intended for SLA researchers as well as for graduate (MA, Ph.D.) students in SLA research, applied linguistics and linguistics, as the different chapters will be a guide in their research within the approaches presented. The volume will also be of interest to professionals from other fields interested in the SLA process and the different explanations that have been put forward to account for it.

Second language acquisition (SLA) is a field of inquiry that has increased in importance since the 1960s. Currently, researchers adopt multiple perspectives in the analysis of learner language, all of them providing different but complementary answers to the understanding of oral and written data produced by young and older learners in different settings. The main goal of this volume is to provide the reader with updated reviews of the major contemporary approaches to SLA, the research carried out within them and, wherever appropriate, the implications and/or applications for theory, research and pedagogy that might derive from the available empirical evidence. The book is intended for SLA researchers as well as for graduate (MA, Ph.D.) students in SLA research, applied linguistics and linguistics, as the different chapters will be a guide in their research within the approaches presented. The volume will also be of interest to professionals from other fields interested in the SLA process and the different explanations that have been put forward to account for it.

This state-of-the-art volume offers a comprehensive and accessible examination of perspectives within the field of discourse analysis on the processes and conditions of second language learning, teaching, and use. Led by Brian Paltridge and Matthew T. Prior, this collection brings together leading global researchers in the field to guide readers through background theories, theoretical paradigms, methodological issues, and pedagogical implications by synthesizing current and past work, and setting a future agenda for discourse-oriented second language research. The book is a critical resource which will be indispensable for scholars and advanced students of applied linguistics, second language acquisition, education, and related fields.

The challenge to improve second language acquisition efficiency has always been at the heart of education because a good command of a language provides new opportunities to manipulate information and apply acquired knowledge and skills to novel problems in new situations. Thus, there is a necessity for creating an alternative to either task-based or form-focused methods commonly employed in today’s instruction. An Invariant-Based Approach to Second Language Acquisition: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an essential reference source that elaborates on traditional 2L concepts and terms and provides new practical tools and mechanisms for developing student communicative competencies. Featuring research on topics such as syllabus design, language interpretation, and speech types, this book is ideally designed for educators, administrators, researchers, and academicians.

Method and Postmethod in Language Teaching provides a comprehensive, accessible, and engaging guide to the much-debated notions of ‘method’, ‘methods’, and ‘postmethod’ in language teaching. Divided into three sections − ‘Contexts’, ‘Concepts’, and ‘Debates’ – the book sets out ‘traditional’ understandings of method(s), examines alternative accounts and critiques that inform, and at times go beyond, postmethod thinking within language teaching, and finally relates these issues to key practical debates and dilemmas that teachers navigate in the classrooms. Highlighting the importance of teachers’ understandings of their own professional contexts, the volume uses the notion of method as a ‘lens’ through which teachers and other language teaching professionals can clarify their understandings of language teaching, both in terms of pedagogic practices and classroom possibilities, and with regard to the development of this diverse field more generally. Throughout, readers are encouraged to develop their own thinking and practice in contextually appropriate ways, supported by discussion questions and key readings that accompany each chapter, a glossary of key terms, and suggestions for additional reading. This book is an indispensable resource for language teachers and other language teaching professionals, as well as postgraduate and upper-level undergraduate students of Applied Linguistics, Language Teacher Education, and ELT/TESOL and other language teaching programmes.

Chronotopic identities : on the timespace organization of who we are / Jan Blommaert and Anna De Fina -- "Whose story?" : narratives of persecution, flight and survival told by the children of Austrian holocaust survivors / Ruth Wodak and Markus Rheindorf -- Linguistic landscape : interpreting and expanding language diversities / Elana Shohamy -- A competence for negotiating diversity and unpredictability in global contact zones / Suresh Canagarajah -- The strategic use of address terms in multilingual interactions during family mealtimes / Fatma Said and Zhu Hua -- Everyday encounters in the market place : translanguaging in the superdiverse city / Adrian Blackledge, Angela Creese, and Rachel Hu -- (In)convenient fictions : ideologies of multi-lingual competence as resource for recognizability / Elizabeth R. Miller -- Constructed dialogue, stance, and ideological diversity in metalinguistic discourse / Anastasia Nylund -- Citizen sociolinguistics : a new media methodology for understanding language and social life / Betsy Rymes, Geeta Aneja, Andrea Leone-Pizzighella, Mark Lewis, Robert Moore -- Recasting diversity in language education in postcolonial, late-capitalist societies / Luisa Martøn Rojo, Christine Anthonissen, Inmaculada Garcia-Sánchez and Virginia Unamuno -- Diversity in school : monolingual ideologies versus multilingual practices / Anna de Fina

divdivHow does a person learn a second language? In this provocative book, Marysia Johnson proposes a new model of second language acquisition (SLA)—a model that shifts the focus from language competence (the ability to pass a language exam) to language performance (using language competently in real-life contexts). Johnson argues that current SLA theory and research is heavily biased in the direction of the cognitive and experimental scientific tradition. She shows that most models of SLA are linear in nature and subscribe to the conduit metaphor of knowledge transfer: the speaker encodes a message, the hearer decodes the sent message. Such models establish a strict demarcation between learners’ mental and social processes. Yet the origin of second language acquisition is located not exclusively in the learner’s mind but also in a dialogical interaction conducted in a variety of sociocultural and institutional settings, says the author. Drawing on Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Bakhtin’s literary theory, she constructs an alternative framework for second language theory, research, teaching, and testing. This approach directs attention toward the investigation of dynamic and dialectical relationships between the interpersonal (social) plane and the intrapersonal (individual) plane. Johnson’s model shifts the focus of SLA away from a narrow emphasis on language competence toward a broader view that encompasses the interaction between language competence and performance. Original and controversial, A Philosophy of Second Language Acquisition offers: · an introduction to Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory and Bakhtin’s literary theory, both of which support an alternative framework for second language acquisition; · an examination of the existing cognitive bias in SLA theory and research; · a radically new model of second language acquisition. /DIV/DIV

This book offers historical, philosophical, and sociocultural perspectives on Chinese language education for speakers of other languages with a special focus on Chinese language education in the United States. It provides a comprehensive, cross-disciplinary look at changes in CFL/CSL education over time in China and the U.S. and the philosophical, political and sociocultural influences that led to these changes. The essays address a wide array of topics related to Chinese language education, including: A historical overview of the field Theories that apply to CFL/CSL learning Policies and initiatives for CFL/CSL by the Chinese and U.S. governments Medium of instruction Curriculum and instruction for CFL/CSL learners at K-12 and college levels Technology for CFL/CSL education Chinese language learning for heritage learners CFL in study abroad contexts CFL teacher education and training This work is essential reading for scholars and students interested in gaining a greater understanding of Chinese language education in the two countries and around the world.

The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Second Language Acquisition is the first reference work of its kind. The handbook contains twenty contributions from leading experts in the field of Chinese SLA, covering a wide range of topics such as social contexts, linguistic perspectives, skill learning, individual differences and learning settings and testing. Each chapter covers historical perspectives, core issues and key findings, research approaches, pedagogical implications, future research direction and additional references. The Routledge Handbook of Chinese Second Language Acquisition is an essential reference for Chinese language teachers and researchers in Chinese applied linguistics and second language acquisition.