Aims of this book
This book is the result of collaboration between a linguist with research interests in second language acquisition (Myles) and an educationist with research interests in second language teaching and learning in the classroom (Mitchell). Our general aim is to provide an up-to-date, introductory overview of the current state of second language learning (SLL) studies. Our intended audience is wide: undergraduates following first degrees in language or linguistics; graduate students embarking on courses in foreign language education/EFL/applied linguistics; and a broader audience of teachers and other professionals concerned with second-language education and development. SLL is a field of research with potential to make its own distinctive contribution to fundamental understandings, for example of the workings of the human mind or the nature of language. It also has the potential to inform the improvement of social practice in many fields, most obviously in language education. We are interested in SLL from both perspectives, and are concerned to make it intelligible to the widest possible audience. Our first (1998) edition was strongly influenced by the 1987 volume by McLaughlin, Theories of Second Language Learnings which provided a selective and authoritative introduction to key second-language learning theories of the day. In this second edition, our primary aim remains the same: to introduce the reader to those theoretical orientations on language learning that seem currently most productive and interesting for our intended audience. We have revised our text throughout to reflect the substantial developments that have taken place in the field in the last few years, so that the work aims to be fully up to date for a 21st century readership. New studies have been incorporated as examples, and theoretical advances are presented and explained.The evaluation sections in each chapter have been expanded and generally the book is rebalanced in favour of newer material.
All commentators recognize that although the field of second language learning research has been extremely active and productive in recent decades, we have not yet arrived at a unified or comprehensive view as to how second languages are learnt. We have therefore organized this book as a presentation and critical review of a number of different theories of SLL, which can broadly be viewed as linguistic, psycholinguistic and sociolinguistic. Indeed, the ‘map’ of the field we proposed in the first edition largely survives today, reflecting the fact that strands of research already active 20 years ago have continued to flourish. The most obvious example is the ongoing linguistic research inspired by the Universal Grammar theory of Noam Chomsky. However, while this vein of theorizing and empirical investigation remains active and productive, it has not succeeded in capturing the whole field, nor indeed has it attempted to do so. No single theoretical position has achieved dominance, and new theoretical orientations continue to appear. Whether or not this is a desirable state of affairs has been an issue of some controversy for SLL researchers (Beretta, 1993; van Lier, 1994; Lantolf, 1996; Gregg, 2003). On the whole, though we accept fully the arguments for the need for cumulative programmes of research within the framework of a particular theory, we incline towards a pluralist view of SLL theorizing. In any case, it is obvious that students entering the field today need a broad introduction to a range of theoretical positions, with the tools to evaluate their goals, strengths and limitations, and this is what we aim to offer.
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