Learning Foreign and Second Languages

by Byrnes, Heidi

• ISBN13: 9780873528009
• ISBN10: 087352800X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-01-01
• Publisher: Modern Language Assn of Amer

Summary

This inaugural volume in the MLA series Teaching Languages, Literatures, and Cultures provides an overview of second language acquisition research. Is language a system of linguistic forms to be acquired by the study of grammar, or is language a means of communication, where students learn not by studying rules but by engaging straightaway in the use of language to convey meanings? Which approach is better in the classroom? The vibrant field of second language acquisition research is now carefully examining questions like these.Written for a nonspecialized audience--for readers who share an interest in foreign language teaching and learning--Learning Foreign and Second Languages addresses both theory and methodology. Administrators, department chairs, curriculum and materials developers, teachers, and graduate students will find this collection of essays enlightening.

Table of Contents

Preface to the Series	p. vii
Introduction: Steps to an Ecology of Foreign Language Departments	p. 1
Constructing Second Language Acquisition Research in Foreign Language Departments	p. 23
Sociohistorical Perspectives on Language Teaching in the Modern United States	p. 39
Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, and Second Language Acquisition Theories	p. 58
Approaches to Empirical Research in Instructional Language Settings	p. 75
Cognitive Characteristics of Adult Second Language Learners	p. 105
Acquiring Competence in a Second Language: Form and Function	p. 128
Constraints and Resources in Classroom Talk: Issues of Equality and Symmetry	p. 157
Interlanguage Pragmatics	p. 183
The Role of Technology in Second Language Learning	p. 209
Evaluation of Learning Outcomes in Second Language Acquisition: A Multiplism Perspective	p. 238
Constructing Curricula in Collegiate Foreign Language Departments	p. 262
Notes on Contributors	p. 297
Name Index	p. 301
Subject Index	p. 309
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