How to Use this Book

As all books in the Routledge Applied Linguistics Series, this book consists of three parts: an Introduction, an Extension and an Exploration. In the Introduction part (Part A) we introduce key terms and concepts, including introductory activities and reflective tasks aimed at awareness raising and generation of interest in the reader. The main aim is to establish key understandings of the main themes in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA).

In the Extension part (Part B) we present core readings on the various topics dealt with in Part A. The aim is to present the reader with some core readings from existing books and articles, most of them edited to improve clarity. All readings include pre-reading, while-reading and post-reading tasks that should help the reader to come to a better understanding of the texts.

In the Exploration part (Part C), we present assignments with an emphasis on open-ended, student-centred activities and tasks in the form of small-size projects designed to enhance the readers’ understanding of the main issues discussed. The tasks and projects are designed in such a way that students can work with them and apply them in their own contexts. Most tasks can be done individually, though we believe that they have more to offer when performed in groups.

Each part starts with an introduction. In Part A we start with a short introduction to the field, and highlight the main topics. In the introduction to Part B we give some information on how to read the SLA texts, pointing out some of the pitfalls in reading scientific materials. We encourage the readers to be critical in what they read and not to take anything for granted. We will provide them with some insights into the textual characteristics of publications in this field. The introduction to Part C aims at providing the reader with some knowledge and skills to complete the tasks and projects in this part. It deals very briefly with some statistical issues, but we do not assume any statistical skills or knowledge.

Like all books in this Series, the target audience is upper undergraduates and post-graduates on language, applied linguistics and communication studies programmes as well as teachers and researchers in the field of language teaching. Although there is no specific language focus, many of the examples are English based, simply because this is the language our intended international readership has in common.

There are basically two ways to use this book. The first is to go through Part A first, and then on to Parts B and C. The advantage is that after reading Part A, the students will have acquired some knowledge about the issues discussed in the later parts. Some of the tasks in Parts B and C are based on this approach because they refer to theories and concepts that are discussed in Part A. The other approach is to go through the first sections of each of the parts together, so first A1, B1 and C1, then A2, B2, C2 and so on. The advantage of that approach is that the issues presented in Part A are developed more deeply through the combination of theory, readings and tasks. In the first tryout of this book in the MA in Applied Linguistics program at the University of Groningen, we took this approach and it seemed to work quite well.

Finally, we want to point out that the present book is not just a rehash of what others have written on this topic. We have tried to re-conceptualise some of the basic issues in SLA by linking them to a theory that has its origins in the hard sciences and mathematics: Dynamic Systems Theory. We have tried to stay away from the mathematics as much as possible and to link some theoretical notions to aspects of SLA. This is clearly an on-going project that is not quite finished with this book. On the contrary, readers are invited to make their own judgement with respect to the relevance of this theory for language learning and teaching.