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SECOND LANGUAGE LEARNING THEORIES (2nd ed.). Rosamond Mitchell and Florence Myles. London: Arnold, 2004. Pp. xiii + 303. $21.95 paper.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2006

H. D. Adamson
H. D. Adamson
Affiliation:
University of Arizona
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Extract

Second Language Learning Theories (2nd ed.). Rosamond Mitchell and Florence Myles. London: Arnold, 2004. Pp. xiii + 303. $21.95 paper.

According to one authority, there are over 20 theories of SLA. This book attempts to help students without a substantial background in linguistics make sense of this diverse field by explaining and relating the most important of these. The second edition updates the original by dropping or shortening the discussion of older theories (Schumann's, 1986, acculturation model is now discussed in the chapter on historical antecedents) and updating the discussion of others (the expanded chapter on Vygotsky is particularly good). Chapter 1 contains a discussion of what an adequate theory of SLA would look like, pointing out, for example, the distinction between a property theory like Universal Grammar (UG) and a transition theory like connectionism; this distinction is referred to throughout the book. Chapter 2 offers a valuable account of the historical development of the SLA field, which includes discussions of behaviorism and the monitor model. Again, this preliminary groundwork is referred to in subsequent chapters.

Type
BOOK REVIEWS
Information
Studies in Second Language Acquisition , Volume 28 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 520 - 522
Copyright
© 2006 Cambridge University Press

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References

REFERENCES

Bailey, R. (1996). Competing constraints in the speech of adult Chinese learners of English. In R. Bayley & D. Preston (Eds.), Second language acquisition and linguistic variation (pp. 97–120). Amsterdam: Benjamins.
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Long, M. (1983). Input, interaction, and second language acquisition. In H. Winitz (Ed.), Native language and foreign language acquisition. Vol. 379 of Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (pp. 250–278). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.
Schumann, J. (1986). Research on the acculturation model for second language acquisition. Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, 7, 379–392.Google Scholar
Swain, M. (1995). Three functions of output in second language learning. In G. Cook & B. Seidlhofer (Eds.), Principle and practice in applied linguistics: Studies in honour of H. G. Widdowson (pp. 125–144). Oxford: Oxford University Press.