Second Language Learning Theories

List of Illustrations

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1 Second Language Learning: Key Concepts and Issues

1.1 Introduction

1.2 What Makes for a Good Theory?

1.3 Views on the Nature of Language

1.4 The Language Learning Process

1.5 Views of the Language Learner

1.6 Links with Social Practice

1.7 Conclusion

References

Chapter 2: The Recent History of Second Language Learning Research

2.1 Introduction

2.2 The 1950s and 1960s

2.3 The 1970s

2.4 The 1980s: A Turning Point  

2.5 1990s Developments

2.6 The 2000s and 2010s

2.7 Second Language Learning Timeline

References

Chapter 3 Linguistics and Language Learning: The Universal Grammar Approach

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Why a Universal Grammar?

3.3 What Does UG Consist Of?

3.4 UG and L1 Acquisition

3.5 UG and L2 Acquisition

3.6 Evaluation of UG-Based Approaches to L2 Acquisition

References

Chapter 4 Cognitive Approaches to Second Language Learning (1): General

Learning Mechanisms

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Input-Based Emergentist Perspectives

4.3 Processing-Based Perspectives

4.4 Evaluation of General Cognitive Approaches

References

Chapter 5 Cognitive Approaches to Second Language Learning (2): Memory

Systems, Explicit Knowledge, and Skill Learning

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Memory Systems and Their Role in L2 Learning

5.3 Explicit Knowledge, Information Processing, and Skill Acquisition

5.4 Awareness and Attention in L2 Acquisition

5.5 Working Memory and L2 Learning

5.6 Evaluation of Cognitive Approaches (2): Memory Systems, Explicit Knowledge,

and Skill Learning

References

Chapter 6 Interaction in Second Language Learning

6.1 Introduction

6.2 The Revised Interaction Hypothesis (Long, 1996): An Appeal to Cognitive Theory

6.3 Negotiation of Meaning, Alignment, and the Learning of Target L2 Structures

and Vocabulary

6.4 The Role of Feedback during Oral Interaction

6.5 The Problem of “Noticing”

6.6 L2 Development in Computer-Mediated Interaction

6.7 Characteristics of Learners and of Tasks

6.8 Evaluation

References

Chapter 7 Meaning-Based Perspectives on Second Language Learning

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Early Functionalist Studies of SLL

7.3 Functionalism beyond the Case Study: The “Learner Varieties” Approach

7.4 Systemic Functional Linguistics and SLA

7.5 “Time Talk”: Developing the Means to Talk about Time

7.6 The Aspect Hypothesis

7.7 Cognitive Linguistics, “Thinking for Speaking”, and Embodied Cognition

7.8 Second Language Pragmatics

7.9 Evaluation

References

Chapter 8 Sociocultural Perspectives on Second Language Learning

8.1 Introduction

8.2 Sociocultural Theory

8.3 Applications of SCT to Second Language Learning

8.4 Evaluation

References

Chapter 9 Sociolinguistic Perspectives

9.1 Introduction

9.2 Sociolinguistically Driven Variability in Second Language Use

9.3 Second Language Socialization

9.4 Conversation Analysis and Second Language Learning

9.5 Communities as Contexts for L2 Development

9.6 The Language Learner as Social Being: L2 Identity, Agency, and Investment

9.7 Evaluation: The Scope and Achievements of Sociolinguistic Enquiry

References

Chapter 10 The Indvidual Language Learner

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Language Aptitude

10.3 Motivation and Language Attitudes

10.4 Anxiety and Willingness to Communicate

10.5 Positive Psychology and Learner Personality

10.6 Language Learning Strategies and Self-Regulation

10.7 Learner Age and Gender

10.8 Conclusion

References

Chapter 11 Integrating Theoretical Perspectives on Second Language Learning

11.1 Introduction

11.2 The MOGUL/MCF Project

11.3 Complex Dynamic Systems Theory (CDST)

11.4 Conclusion

References

Chapter 12 Conclusion

12.1 One Theory or Many?

12.2 Main Achievements of Second Language Learning Research

12.3 Future Directions for Second Language Learning Research

12.4 How to Do Research

12.5 Second Language Learning Research and Language Education

References

Glossary

Subject Index

Name Index

Biography

Rosamond Mitchell FAcSS is Emeritus Professor of Applied Linguistics at the University of Southampton, UK, and a past Chair of the British Association for Applied Linguistics. She is lead author of Language, Mobility and Study Abroad in the Contemporary European Context (2021, with Henry Tyne) and Anglophone Students Abroad (2017, with Nicole Tracy-Ventura and Kevin McManus).

Florence Myles is Professor Emerita of Second Language Acquisition at the University of Essex, UK, a former president of EUROSLA, and founding Chair of the Research in Primary Languages network. She has published widely on morphosyntactic development in SLA, the role of formulaic language in the construction of an L2 grammar, and how children of different ages learn foreign languages in the classroom.

Emma Marsden is Professor of Language Education at the University of Oxford, UK, and a past Journal Editor of Language Learning. She has published on second language learning, processing, teaching, and testing. Emma has (co-)directed open scholarship initiatives for materials and data (IRIS), accessible summaries (OASIS), lexical profiling (MultilingProfiler), and teaching and professional development resources (Language-Driven Pedagogy).

Laura Domínguez is Professor of Linguistics at the University of Southampton, UK, and a member of the editorial board of Second Language Research. She co-authored Research Methods in Generative Second Language Acquisition (2024, with Roumyana Slabakova and Tania Leal).