An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition Research

By Diane Larsen-Freeman, Michael H Long, Michael H. Long

Book Overview

Understanding how people learn and fail to learn second and foreign languages is increasingly recognised as a critical social and psycholinguistic issue. Second languages are vitally important to diverse groups of people, ranging from refugees to college students facing foreign language requirements. This book provides a synthesis of empirical findings on second and foreign language learning by children and adults, emphasising the design and execution of appropriate research.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0582553776
• ISBN13: 9780582553774
• Release Date: April 1991
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 398 Pages
• Weight: 1.01 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

very good survey of SLA research

This book was very helpful for master's thesis. It includes a broad landscape of SLA research. The studies described succinctly but with enough detail to evaluate the methods used. I came here hoping to find an updated version since 14 years have elapsed since its publication.

Not an Introduction to SLA

I think a lot of the previous reviewers have misinterpreted the purpose of this book. The key word in the title is "research". This book prepares graduate students who are going to do SLA reasearch in the course of their studies. It provides an excellent introduction to research by first presenting the different styles of reseach used in the field as well as research methods. The rest of the book consists of the major studies that have been conducted up until the publication of the book. A graduate student can use this as a resource book for their research. The methods of each study are well described. Also, students will be able to see what kind of research has already been conducted, so they can check whether the problem they want to research has already been done. Also, some new questions have arisen from these studies which would make excellent research projects. I assume that the previous reviewers were not interested in research, but in application. If that is the case then they bought the wrong book. For an introductory text to SLA research, I recommend Lightbrown and Spada's "How Languages are Learned". That book is designed for practicing educators, and it gives good explanations of the research without using much jargon. Please be sure to choose the book that suits your purpose. In other words, the previous negative reviews are more due to the reviewers' poor choice of material rather than any defect in the material itself.