Learning Language

Rebecca Adams is Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, University of Memphis, USA. Her research focuses on the role of conversational interaction in promoting second language development. She is the author of Learning a Language with Peers: Elevating Classroom Voices (Routledge, 2023) and Peer Interaction and Second Language Learning (Routledge, 2014), as well as articles and book chapters on peer learning, collaborative writing, and feedback in second language classrooms.Paul Warren is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Before retirement, Paul’s teaching and research was in psycholinguistics, phonetics, and laboratory phonology. He is a founding member of the Association for Laboratory Phonology, and a member of the Australasian Speech Science Technology Association and the International Phonetic Association. His publications include several books as well as contributions in edited collections, including The Routledge Handbook of Sociophonetics (Routledge, 2023).Lyn Wright is Professor of Applied Linguistics and TESOL, University of Memphis, USA. Her research and publications investigate language socialization and family language policy in bi- and multilingual families. She serves on the editorial board for the journal Language and Education.

"This book provides a comprehensive description of the many facets of First Language, Bilingual, and Second Language Acquisition. Adams, Warren and Wright bring together a thoughtful and rigorous exploration of these three types of acquisitions and examine their similarities and differences. They draw on different theoretical positions and a large body of research literature which includes in depth descriptions of the various data collections that have been used. This is a book that will be extremely useful for those wishing to extend their understanding of how languages are acquired in different contexts."Rhonda Oliver, Curtin University, Australia"An engaging, research-forward introduction to language learning across contexts! Adams, Warren and Wright offer a research-based understanding of distinct but related types of language acquisition (first, bilingual and second). Readers gain insight into the overlaps and contrasts across these processes as well how this knowledge base draws from varied theoretical frameworks and fields."Kendall King, Professor of Multilingual Education, C&I, University of Minnesota, USA"This readable, informative and balanced introduction to first, second and bi-/multi-lingual language learning reflects the realities of the modern world, where acquiring only a single language is becoming vanishingly rare. As such it provides a solid foundation both for more advanced study and for application to modern teaching and therapy."Susan Foster-Cohen, Associate Professor, University of Canterbury, New Zealand

• Part I: What is Language Acquisition? 1. Introduction to Language Acquisition 2. Diverse Contexts of Language Acquisition 3. Theories of Language Acquisition Part II: Sounds and Words 4. Acquiring Sounds and Words in a First Language 5. Acquiring Sounds and Words in Two or More Languages 6. Acquiring Sounds and Words in a Second Language Part III: Structures 7. Developing Structures in a First Language 8. Developing Structures in Two or More Languages 9. Developing Structures in a Second Language Part IV: Communication 10. Emerging Communication in a First Language 11. Emerging Communication in Two or More Languages 12. Emerging Communication in a Second Language Part V: Continuity 13. Continuities in Language Acquisition