Methods in current instructed second language acquisition research range from laboratory experiments to ethnography using non-obtrusive participant observation, from cross-sectional designs to longitudinal case studies. Many different types of data serve as the basis for analysis, including reaction times measurements, global test scores, paper and pencil measures, introspective comments, grammaticality judgements, as well as textual data (elicited or naturalistic, oral or written, relating to comprehension or production). Some studies rely on extensive quantification of data, while others may favour a more qualitative and hermeneutic analytic approach. Many of these issues and methods are exemplified by the contributions to this volume. Data-based studies included here deal with the acquisition of specific linguistic phenomena (e.g. verb and noun morphology, lexicon, clause structures) in a range of target languages (e.g. English, French, German, Russian) from a variety of settings involving different instructional approaches (e.g. traditional foreign language classes, immersion classes, intensive ESL classes, content and language integrated language classes). Collectively, the chapters in this book illustrate the productivity and diversity of current research on instructed second language acquisition. As such they serve as a valuable resource for researchers in SLA, psycholinguistics, linguistics, and language education.

The book concerns theoretical, interdisciplinary and methodological issues in L2 acquisition research. It gives an accurate and up-to-date overview of high quality work currently in progress in research methodology, processing, principles and parameters theory, phonology, the bilingual lexicon, input and instruction. The volume will have the purpose of a handbook for teachers, students and researchers in the area of second language acquisition. The aim is to provide the reader with an acquisition perspective on processes of second and foreign language learning.

The Routledge Handbook of Instructed Second Language Acquisition is the first collection of state-of-the-art papers pertaining to Instructed Second Language Acquisition (ISLA). Written by 45 world-renowned experts, the entries are full-length articles detailing pertinent issues with up-to-date references. Each chapter serves three purposes: (1) provide a review of current literature and discussions of cutting edge issues; (2) share the authors’ understanding of, and approaches to, the issues; and (3) provide direct links between research and practice. In short, based on the chapters in this handbook, ISLA has attained a level of theoretical and methodological maturity that provides a solid foundation for future empirical and pedagogical discovery. This handbook is the ideal resource for researchers, graduate students, upper-level undergraduate students, teachers, and teacher-educators who are interested in second language learning and teaching. .

Review text: "The works in this collection make a valuable contribution to instructed SLA research."Shannon Sauro in: Studies in second language acquistion 4/2006.

Instructed Second Language Acquisition of Arabic examines the acquisition of agreement asymmetries in the grammatical system of Arabic as a second/foreign language through the lens of instructed second language acquisition. The book explores how to improve the processes of L2 learning of Arabic using evidence-based classroom research. Before it does this, it characterizes the variable challenges that English L2 learners of Arabic face when they acquire four structural cases in Arabic grammar that entail agreement asymmetries. Using the pretest–posttest design, it examines the effects of four classroom interventions using quantitative and qualitative measures. In these interventions, form-based and meaning-based measures were used to reveal to what degree learners have developed explicit and implicit knowledge of these aspects of asymmetry. In the concluding chapter, the book provides focused and specific implications based on the results of the four studies. It provides theoretical implications that enrich the discussions of instructed second language Acquisition in Arabic and other languages more broadly. It also provides implications for teachers, curriculum designers, and textbook writers of Arabic. This book will be informative for Arabic applied linguists, researchers of Arabic SLA, Arabic instructors (at the K–12 and the college level), and Arabic program directors and coordinators. The book will also appeal to all SLA and ISLA researchers.

One of the key issues in second language learning and teaching concerns the role and practice of grammar instruction. Does it make a difference? How do we teach grammar in the language classroom? Is there an effective technique to teach grammar that is better than others? While some linguists address these questions to develop a better understanding of how people acquire a grammar, language acquisition scholars are in search of the most effective way to approach the teaching of grammar in the language classroom. The individual chapters in this volume will explore a variety of approaches to grammar teaching and offer a list of principles and guidelines that those involved in language acquisition should consider to design and implement effective grammar tasks during their teaching. It proposes that the key issue is not whether or not we should teach grammar but how we incorporate a teaching grammar component in our communicative language teaching practices.

Acknowledgements Notes on the Contributors Preface; P.Meara Lexical Features of Parental Academic Language Input: the Effect on Vocabulary Growth in Monolingual Dutch Children; L.Henrichs & R.Schoonen Vocabulary, Reading and Classroom Supports for Language; D.Dickinson, T.Flushman & J.Freiberg Exploring Vocabulary with Young L1 Learners: the Contribution of a Corpus; A.Sealey Vocabulary, Education and Diversity; V.Edwards Language Dominance and Lexical Diversity: How Bilinguals and L2 Learners Differ in their Knowledge and Use of French Lexical and Functional Items; J.Treffers-Daller Lexical Diversity and Native-Like Selection: the Bonus of Studying Abroad; P.Foster Lexical Performance by Native and Non-Native Speakers on Language-Learning Tasks; P.Skehan Can Differential Processing of L2 Vocabulary Inform the Debate on Teacher Codeswitching Behaviour? The Case of Chinese Learners of English; E.Macaro, Tao Guo, H.Chen & L.Tian Lexical Development in Instructed L2 Learners of French: Is there a Relationship with Morphosyntactic Development?; A.David, F.Myles, V.Rogers & S.Rule A New Method of Measuring Rare Word Diversity: the Example Of L2 Learners of French; D.Malvern & B.Richards Vocabulary Knowledge and Academic Success: a Study of Chinese Students in UK Higher Education; H.M.Daller & H.Xue Vocabulary Size and the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages; J.Milton & T.Alexiou References Index

A collection of essays that offers case studies that provide a coherent and organized overview of contemporary Italian pedagogy. It is suitable addresses the needs of instructors and teacher trainers, putting in perspective different examples that can be used for more effective teaching techniques according to the ACTFL guidelines.