Mark Sebba - 29 May 2007
This article suggests ways in which different areas of linguistics can be illuminated by including a discussion of pidgins/creoles, as well as giving a suggested outline for a stand-alone course.
Benedetta Bassetti - 29 November 2006
Learning to read and write a second language writing system (L2WS) requires developing new skills or adapting pre-existing ones. Different writing systems represent different language units, with different levels of transparency and different symbols. L2WS learners, who developed processes and strategies appropriate for their L1 writing system, must adapt to the cognitive demands of their new writing system. Learners may need to become aware of new language units, to adjust their reliance on the phonological route, to adapt their eye movement patterns and hand movements and to learn new orthographic conventions. Learning an L2 writing system is therefore a complex but rewarding task.
- 8 March 2005
This article considers the expectations of students attending MA courses in Applied Linguistics, many of whom have a background in language teaching. It contrasts academic approaches to language with those widely adopted in the language classroom. It identifies four possible rationales when planning course content for Grammar and Linguistics modules at MA level. One treats linguistics as a body of knowledge; another aims to develop students language awareness. A third meets short-term goals by providing the linguistic knowledge necessary for the study of second language acquisition. A fourth aims for long-term goals by equipping students for new professional roles.
Roger Hawkins - 2 March 2005
This article first asks what linguistic knowledge, understanding and skills a graduate from an MA programme in Applied Linguistics should ideally have, and then considers what might reasonably be expected of graduates in the real world.
- 11 August 2004
Writing is not only the process the writer uses to put words to paper but also the resulting product of that process. This process and product are also conditioned by the purpose and place of writing (its audience and genre). Writing in a second language is further complicated by issues of proficiency in the target language, first language literacy, and differences in culture and rhetorical approach to the text. Instruction in writing can effectively improve student proficiency in a number of key areas. Approaches to instruction have variously targeted process, product and purpose of writing. More recent approaches both to its teaching and assessment recognise the need to integrate all aspects of writing.
Françoise Close and Mike Fay - 14 February 2003
This study describes an attempt to encourage some advanced learners of French as a foreign language (A-level plus two years) at Anglia Polytechnic University (APU) to develop some strategies and skills applicable both to language learning and to other knowledge domains. We examine what happened during a three-week learning and teaching sequence; we re-examine the principles and assumptions on which the teaching was based; and we draw conclusions pertinent to attempts to achieve similar ends, at APU and perhaps elsewhere. Our title is a wry reference to the stereotype, common within British Higher Education, of foreign language proficiency as a mere skill requiring only low-level cognitive activity.
- 4 February 2003
The vocabulary of any language is huge and its acquisition takes time, even for a native speaker. Research has concentrated more on how words are learnt than on what should be taught, though everyone agrees that a threshold of around 2000-3000 words is a requirement for further progress. The research suggests that extensive reading leads to good vocabulary gains, though this knowledge needs to be activated, e.g. in productive exercises. The teacher can also help the learner to become autonomous by teaching strategies and ensuring the availability of appropriate, motivating materials.
- 30 January 2003
Reading in a second language calls for fast, automatic word decoding and access to the mental lexicon (dictionary); this means working on building speed and fluency and on learning to recognise at least 10,000 words in the new language. Learners can build speed and fluency by learning vocabulary systematically and by doing lots of easy (‘extensive’) reading. Learners will also read better in their second language if they learn about text characteristics, and if they know how to handle a variety of strategies for getting meaning from texts. Background knowledge about the second-language culture will make comprehension easier as well.
Antonella Sorace - 8 January 2003
Since the original formulation of the 'Interlanguage Hypothesis' in the late '60s, the field of Second Language Acquisition has witnessed a remarkable expansion and diversification. It is now a research area that interfaces with several disciplines and encompasses a range of applied, theoretical and experimental approaches. As a consequence, Second Language Acquisition can be taught in different ways depending on the purpose of the course and the students' background and aims.
Rocio Ortega de Toro - 20 December 2002
The key points to the paper: introduction: research in progress; the importance of reading comprehension; authentic vs. modified: previous studies; criteria for modifications; preparations for the first experiment; conclusions so far.
Sophie Beare - 18 December 2002
This paper aims to: explore writing strategies in bilingual writers; compare first and second language writing strategies; discuss the results of the study and its implications in teaching second language writing.
- 25 October 2002
The purpose of this general overview article is to outline how research into second language acquisition (SLA) over the last few decades has fed into our understanding of learning and teaching in foreign language classrooms. After a very brief overview of SLA research findings concerning both route and rate of L2 development, theoretical models attempting to explain these findings are presented, ranging from purely linguistic to cognitive models and social/interactionist models. The relationship between SLA research and second language pedagogy is then explored. Finally, recent developments investigating specifically the relationship between instruction and L2 development are outlined.
Peter Skehan - 2 October 2002
The contribution surveys work on individual differences in second and foreign language learning. It covers the areas of foreign language aptitude, motivation, learning strategies and learning style. Research in each area is covered, and the current state of play in each sub-field is assessed. Further bibliographic guidance is provided.
Jeanine Treffers-Daller - 27 September 2002
The approach to the topic will depend on the target audience. Students of Linguistics do not necessarily have an indepth knowledge of a foreign language, which can make it more difficult for them to understand what it means to be bilingual/multilingual. They may benefit from an approach which stresses the similarities between being bidialectal and bilingual. Students of Modern Languages are often better able to understand what it means to use two or more languages in daily life. With these students it is possible and preferable to study concrete examples of bilingual speech.
Neil Smith - 27 September 2002
Language is central to everything we do; it is what makes us human. This article situates language at the centre of the intellectual universe, showing its relations with maths and medicine, with logic and literature. Whether your interest is in the use of language to determine a suspect's guilt or innocence, the problem of how babies can acquire language and stroke victims lose it, or just how many languages there are in the world, linguistics will give you guidance.
