How Languages are Learned

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A thoroughly updated edition of this award-winning, accessible guide to the study of language acquisition.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgements (p. xi)
• Preface to the fourth edition (p. xiii)
• Introduction (p. 1)
• Before we begin... (p. 2)
• 1 Language learning in early childhood (p. 5)
• Preview (p. 5)
• First language acquisition (p. 5)
• The first three years: Milestones and developmental sequences (p. 6)
• The pre-school years (p. 12)
• The school years (p. 13)
• Explaining first language acquisition (p. 14)
• The behaviourist perspective (p. 15)
• The innatist perspective (p. 20)
• Interactionist/developmental perspectives (p. 24)
• Language disorders and delays (p. 29)
• Childhood bilingualism (p. 30)
• Summary (p. 33)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 34)
• 2 Second language learning (p. 35)
• Preview (p. 35)
• Learner characteristics (p. 36)
• Learning conditions (p. 38)
• Studying the language of second language learners (p. 40)
• Contrastive analysis, error analysis, and interlanguage (p. 41)
• Developmental sequences (p. 45)
• More about first language influence (p. 57)
• Vocabulary (p. 60)
• Pragmatics (p. 65)
• Phonology (p. 68)
• Sampling learners' language (p. 72)
• Summary (p. 72)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 73)
• 3 Individual differences in second language learning (p. 75)
• Preview (p. 75)
• Research on learner characteristics (p. 77)
• Intelligence (p. 79)
• Language learning aptitude (p. 80)
• Learning styles (p. 83)
• Personality (p. 84)
• Attitudes and motivation (p. 87)
• Motivation in the classroom (p. 88)
• Identity and ethnic group affiliation (p. 89)
• Learner beliefs (p. 90)
• Individual differences and classroom instruction (p. 92)
• Age and second language learning (p. 92)
• The critical period: More than just pronunciation? (p. 94)
• Intuitions of grammaticality (p. 95)
• Rate of learning (p. 96)
• Age and second language instruction (p. 96)
• Summary (p. 99)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 100)
• 4 Explaining second language learning (p. 103)
• Preview (p. 103)
• The behaviourist perspective (p. 103)
• Second language applications: Mimicry and memorization (p. 103)
• The innatist perspective (p. 104)
• Second language applications: Krashen's 'Monitor Model' (p. 106)
• The cognitive perspective (p. 108)
• Information processing (p. 108)
• Usage-based learning (p. 110)
• The competition model (p. 111)
• Language and the brain (p. 113)
• Second language applications: Interacting, noticing, processing, and practising (p. 113)
• The sociocultural perspective (p. 118)
• Second language applications: Learning by talking (p. 119)
• Summary (p. 120)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 121)
• 5 Observing learning and teaching in the second language classroom (p. 123)
• Preview (p. 123)
• Natural and instructional settings (p. 123)
• In natural acquisition settings (p. 124)
• In structure-based instructional settings (p. 126)
• In communicative instructional settings (p. 127)
• Observation schemes (p. 129)
• Classroom comparisons: Teacher-student interactions (p. 129)
• Classroom comparisons: Student-student interactions (p. 135)
• Corrective feedback in the classroom (p. 139)
• Questions in the classroom (p. 145)
• Ethnography (p. 149)
• Summary (p. 151)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 152)
• 6 Second language learning in the classroom (p. 153)
• Preview (p. 153)
• Proposals for teaching (p. 153)
• 1 Get it right from the beginning (p. 154)
• 2 Just listen ... and read (p. 159)
• 3 Let's talk (p. 165)
• 4 Get two for one (p. 171)
• 5 Teach what is teachable (p. 177)
• 6 Get it right in the end (p. 182)
• Assessing the proposals (p. 194)
• Summary (p. 197)
• Suggestions for further reading (p. 198)
• 7 Popular ideas about language learning revisited (p. 201)
• Preview (p. 201)
• Reflecting on the popular ideas: Learning from research (p. 201)
• Conclusion (p. 212)
• Glossary (p. 213)
• Bibliography (p. 227)
• Index (p. 249)