Michael H. Long - Böcker

In recent years the concept of 'register' has been increasingly replaced by emphasis on the analysis of genre, which relates work in sociolinguistics, text linguistics and discourse analysis to the study of specialist areas of language. This book is a clear, authoritative guide to this complex area. He provides a survey of approaches to varieties of language, and considers these in relation to communication and task-based language learning. Swales outlines an approach to the analysis of genre, and then proceeds to consider examples of different genres and how they can be made accessible through genre analysis. This is important reading for all those working in teaching English for academic purposes and also of interest to those working in post-secondary writing and composition due to relevant issues in writing across the curriculum.

This important new book provides a critical overview of recent classroom-centered research and its implications for the teaching and learning of languages. Chaudron synthesizes and evaluates crucial research about the way student and teacher behaviours affect language learning and discusses research methods. Second Language Classrooms will be of vital interest to researchers, language teachers, and curriculum specialists, as well as readers with a general interest in education, linguistics, sociology, or psychology.

Traditionally, the curriculum has been regarded as a statement of what should be done in a course of study. The Learner-Centred Curriculum takes as its starting point what is done by language teachers in their classes. Nunan develops a concept of the negotiated model in which the curriculum is a collaboration between teachers and students. The author looks at the curriculum from a teacher's perspective and reports on what instructors focus on in planning, implementing, and evaluating language courses. He synthesizes theoretical models and recent empirical studies, and considers the vital part by curriculum design in coordinating the many aspects of language teaching.

The author shows how similarities and differences between languages can influence grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation acquisition. Terence Odlin reconsiders a question that many language teachers and educational researchers have addressed: How much influence can a learner's native language have in making the acquisition of a new language easy or difficult? Odlin analyzes and interprets research showing many ways in which similarities and differences between languages can influence the acquisition of grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. In addition, he provides a detailed look at work on other areas important for the study of transfer, including discourse, individual variation, and sociolinguistic factors. Language teachers, applied linguists, and educational researchers will find this volume extremely valuable to their work.

This volume explores the field of contrastive rhetoric, the study of how a person's first language and culture influence his or her writing in a second language. It presents a comprehensive view of the research in this field, emphasizing the connections between contrastive rhetoric and the related disciplines of composition studies, cultural anthropology, translation studies, and text linguistics. Connor draws on this research to provide sound advice for dealing with cross-cultural issues in a variety of second language writing contexts. Her goal is to make teachers aware of the many factors influencing their students' attempts to compose effective texts and to help teachers draw on the resources individual learners bring to the writing task. It is a solid reference for researchers and teachers in the field of second language writing.

This volume explores the field of contrastive rhetoric, the study of how a person's first language and culture influence his or her writing in a second language. It presents a comprehensive view of the research in this field, emphasizing the connections between contrastive rhetoric and the related disciplines of composition studies, cultural anthropology, translation studies, and text linguistics. Connor draws on this research to provide sound advice for dealing with cross-cultural issues in a variety of second language writing contexts. Her goal is to make teachers aware of the many factors influencing their students' attempts to compose effective texts and to help teachers draw on the resources individual learners bring to the writing task. It is a solid reference for researchers and teachers in the field of second language writing.

Although much has been written about the testing and evaluation of language students, few books have dealt with the much broader issue of measuring the success of language programs. Filling a critical gap in the literature of applied linguistics, Language Program Evaluation provides teachers, researchers, and administrators with a complete introduction to both qualitative and quantitative approaches to evaluating the effectiveness of their programs. Through a careful blend of theory, research, and practice, the author presents a testing model that is specifically tailored to the concerns of language education programs and which can be adapted to different contexts and updated as teaching and learning situations evolve. He proposes a shift from purely quantitative studies which consider only end-of-program achievement gains to ones that include an investigation of program process using qualitative, naturalistic methods.

This book provides a rich and accessible account of genre studies by a world-renowned applied linguist. The hardback edition discusses today's research world, its various configurations of genres, and the role of English within the genres. Theoretical and methodological issues are explored, with a special emphasis on various metaphors of genre. The book is full of carefully worded detail and each chapter ends with suggestions for pedagogical practice. The volume closes with evaluations of contrastive rhetoric, applied corpus linguistics, and critical approaches to EAP. Research Genres provides a rich and scholarly account of this key area.

This critical volume, provides an in-depth analysis of second language reading's multiple dimensions. The paperback edition describes the complexity of reading and explains how reading differs in a first and second language. The book is broad in scope, covering all major aspects of the reading process and synthesizing all current reading research. The author provides a cross-linguistic orientation, explaining how first and second languages can mutually facilitate one another. This important volume offers strategies for enhancing literary acquisition, second-language learning and bilingual processing, and will serve as a valuable guide for graduate students, professors, researchers and foreign language teachers.

Unlike many recent books on L2 vocabulary and processing, this volume does not set out to offer a complex perspective of the L2 lexicon, but rather represents a sustained attempt to come to grips with some very basic questions clustered around the relationship between the L2 mental lexicon and the L1 mental lexicon. It provides a substantial review of L1 and L2 lexical research issues such as similarities and differences between the conditions of L1 and L2 acquisition, the respective roles of form and meaning in L1 and L2 processing, and the degree of separation/integration between L1 and the L2 lexical operations. New research into the L2 lexicon from the Trinity College Dublin Modern Languages Project is considered in the latter part of the volume.

This text explores fundamental issues relating to student literacies and instructor roles and practices within academic contexts. It offers a brief history of literacy theories and argues for "socioliterate" approaches to teaching and learning in which texts are viewed as primarily socially constructed. Central to socioliteracy, the concepts "genre" and "discourse community," are presented in detail. The author argues for roles for literacy practitioners in which they and their students conduct research and are involved in joint pedagogical endeavors. The final chapters are devoted to outlining how the views presented can be applied to a variety of classroom texts. Core curricular design principles are outlined, and three types of portfolio-based academic literacy classrooms are described.

The studies in this volume explore needs analysis in the public, vocational and academic sectors, in contexts ranging from service encounters in coffee shops to foreign language needs assessment in the U.S. military. In each chapter, the authors explicitly discuss the methodology they employed, and in some cases also offer research findings on that methodology. Several studies are task-based. Contributions include work on English and other languages in both second and foreign language settings, as well as a comprehensive overview of methodological issues in needs analysis by the editor.

Computer Applications in Second Language Acquisition explores computer applications in second language acquisition by reviewing and interpreting research and development in three areas: computer-assisted second language learning, computer-assisted second language assessment, and computer-assisted second language research - addressing issues such as effective use of software in language teaching, values and limitations of computer-assisted testing, and the study of second language development with interactive computer programs. It offers a unique view of the topic by examining computer applications through perspectives from applied linguistics; it identifies cross-disciplinary work relevant to software development, use, and evaluation; and it suggests critical research directions. This is the first single volume on computer applications in the field which includes issues in teaching, assessment, and SLA research, and which treats evaluation extensively.

The author clarifies the nature of expertise in language teaching, its development, and how teachers employ it. This book is the first detailed study of what expertise in language teaching consists of and how it develops in language teachers. Exploring the classroom practices of her subjects in four illuminating case studies, Tsui succeeds in clarifying the nature of expertise in language teaching, the factors that shape and influence its development, and how teachers employ their expertise in teaching. In the process, the author critically examines an extensive literature on teacher cognition and shows how teachers' theories, knowledge, experience, and goals shape their classroom practices and their ability to move from novice to expert.

Second language acquisition has an identity problem. It is a young field struggling to emerge from the parent fields of education and applied linguistics. In his new book, Problems in Second Language Acquisition, Mike Long proposes a way to help second language acquisition develop a systematic and coherent focus using the philosophy of science as the lens.The volume is neatly organized into three parts--theory, research, and practice. This structure allows a focus on areas of SLA of interest to many in the field. These include theory proliferation and comparative theory evaluation; the Critical Period Hypothesis and negative feedback; and the practice of “synthetic” language teaching.The controversial volume will be of interest to researchers, educators, and graduate students in second language acquisition, applied linguistics, TESOL, and linguistics programs. It may be recommended as additional reading for an introductory SLA course in order to stimulate class discussions.

Second language acquisition has an identity problem. It is a young field struggling to emerge from the parent fields of education and applied linguistics. In his new book, Problems in Second Language Acquisition, Mike Long proposes a way to help second language acquisition develop a systematic and coherent focus using the philosophy of science as the lens.The volume is neatly organized into three parts--theory, research, and practice. This structure allows a focus on areas of SLA of interest to many in the field. These include theory proliferation and comparative theory evaluation; the Critical Period Hypothesis and negative feedback; and the practice of “synthetic” language teaching.The controversial volume will be of interest to researchers, educators, and graduate students in second language acquisition, applied linguistics, TESOL, and linguistics programs. It may be recommended as additional reading for an introductory SLA course in order to stimulate class discussions.

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an innovative approach to language teaching which emphasises the importance of engaging learners' natural abilities for acquiring language incidentally. The speed with which the field is expanding makes it difficult to keep up with recent developments, for novices and experienced researchers alike. This handbook meets that need, providing a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the field, written by a stellar line-up of leading international experts. Chapters are divided into five thematic areas, and as well as covering theory, also contain case studies to show how TBLT can be implemented in practice, in a range of global contexts, as well as questions for discussion, and suggested further readings. Comprehensive in its coverage, and written in an accessible style, it will appeal to a wide readership, not only researchers and graduate students, but also classroom teachers working in a variety of educational and cultural contexts around the world.

Task-based language teaching (TBLT) is an innovative approach to language teaching which emphasises the importance of engaging learners' natural abilities for acquiring language incidentally. The speed with which the field is expanding makes it difficult to keep up with recent developments, for novices and experienced researchers alike. This handbook meets that need, providing a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of the field, written by a stellar line-up of leading international experts. Chapters are divided into five thematic areas, and as well as covering theory, also contain case studies to show how TBLT can be implemented in practice, in a range of global contexts, as well as questions for discussion, and suggested further readings. Comprehensive in its coverage, and written in an accessible style, it will appeal to a wide readership, not only researchers and graduate students, but also classroom teachers working in a variety of educational and cultural contexts around the world.

Understanding how people learn and fail to learn second and foreign languages is increasingly recognised as a critical social and psycholinguistic issue. Second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people, ranging from refugees to college students facing foreign language requirements. This book provides a synthesis of empirical findings on second and foreign language learning by children and adults, emphasising the design and execution of appropriate research.

The Handbook of Second Language Acquisition presents an integrated discussion of key, and sometimes controversial, issues in second language acquisition research. Discusses the biological and cognitive underpinnings of SLA, mechanisms, processes, and constraints on SLA, the level of ultimate attainment, research methods, and the status of SLA as a cognitive science. Includes contributions from twenty-seven of the world's leading scholars. Provides an invaluable resource for all students and scholars of human cognition, including those in linguistics, psychology, applied linguistics, ESL, foreign languages, and cognitive science.

Bringing together an international and interdisciplinary team of contributors, this Handbook is a wide-ranging and invaluable reference guide to language teaching. A comprehensive reference work on language teaching, which combines the latest research findings, coverage of core topics, and examples of teaching experience from a variety of languages and settings Provides a unique breadth of coverage, including: the psycholinguistic underpinnings of language learning; social, political, and educational contexts; program design; materials writing and course design; teaching and testing; teacher education; and assessment and evaluation Offers a balanced evaluation of the major positions and approaches, including examining the increasingly important social and political context of language teaching Written by an international and interdisciplinary group of authors from a dozen different countries; English is only one of the many languages used as examples throughout the volume