Patsy M. Lightbown , Nina Spada
How Languages are Learned 4th edition
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The authors and publisher are grateful to those who have given permission to reproduce the following extracts and adaptations of copyright material: p.17 Extract from Language Development and Language Disorders by Lois Bloom and Margaret Lahey (1978). Macmillan Publishers; p.47 Figure from ‘Some issues relating to the Monitor Model’ by Stephen Krashen, On TESOL (1977). Reprinted by permission of TESOL International Association; p.49 Extract from ‘Constructing an acquisition-based procedure for second language assessment’ by Manfred Pienemann, Malcolm Johnston, and Geoff Brindley in Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Volume 10/2, pp.217–43 (1988). Reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press; p. 53 Extract from ‘Speeding up acquisition of his/her: Explicit L1/L2 contracts help’ in Second Language Acquisition and the Younger Learner: Child’s Play? by Joanna White (2008) pp.193–228. With kind permission of John Benjamins Publishing Company, Amsterdam/Philadelphia; p.54 Extract from ‘Second language instruction does make a difference’ by Catherine Doughty in Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Volume 13/4, pp.431–69 (1991). Reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press; p. 136 Reprinted from International Journal of Educational Research, Volume 37 by Merrill Swain and Sharon Lapkin ‘Talking it through: two French immersion learners’ response to reformulations’ pp.285–304 (2002) with permission from Elsevier; p.139 Extract from ‘Corrective feedback and learner uptake’ by Roy Lyster and Leila Ranta in Studies in Second Language Acquisition, Volume 19/1 pp.37–66 (1997). Reproduced by permission of Cambridge University Press.
Cartoons by: Sophie Grillet © Oxford University Press 1993, 2005, and 2012.
To the teachers and students from whom we have learned so much
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We wish first to thank the readers who responded so positively to the earlier editions of this book. With each edition, we have benefited from suggestions and feedback offered by colleagues and students. Our thanks to Ahlem Ammar, Alexander Ary, Philippa Bell, Luz Celaya, Laura Collins, Maria Fröhlich, Randall Halter, Zhaohong Han, Marlise Horst, Jim Hu, Phillip Hubbard, Youjin Kim, Roy Lyster, Alison Mackey, Kim McDonough, Shawn Loewen, Paul Meara, Imma Miralpeix, Vicki Murphy, Carmen Muñoz, Heike Neumann, Howard Nicholas, Paul Quinn, Katherine Rehner, Mela Sarkar, Raquel Serrano, Younghee Sheen, Wataru Suzuki, and Yasuyo Tomita. Leila Ranta, and Jude Rand made essential contributions to the first edition.
At Oxford University Press, we owe a debt to Henry Widdowson for his early encouragement and to Cristina Whitecross, who was our editor for the first three editions. We are grateful to Catherine Kneafsey, Julia Bell, Hazel Geatches, and Ann Hunter who have worked with us through the development of this new edition. We thank the English Speaking Union for conferring the 1993 Duke of Edinburgh book prize for Applied Linguistics on the book.
PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
How Languages Are Learned (HLAL) started out as a series of professional development workshops for teachers in Quebec, Canada, where we both worked for many years. Three editions of the book have now travelled far from those origins. When we were working on the first edition in the 1980s and 1990s we were still in the early days of remarkable growth of research in second language acquisition. In updating the research for each new edition, the decisions about what to include have grown more difficult. Keeping the book to a reasonable length has often meant choosing between classics in the field and important new studies, of which there are now so many. In this edition, we have annotated some ‘Suggestions for further reading’ at the end of each chapter. We encourage readers to follow these readings and the reference list to deepen their understanding of topics that we can only introduce here.
In this fourth edition of HLAL, we have added ‘Questions for reflection’ at the end of each chapter, and we have included some new ‘Activities’ that give readers opportunities to explore some of the topics. Another new feature of this edition is a companion website which contains additional activities, readings, and other web-based material and resources to enhance your reading and understanding of the contents of the book. It will also provide opportunities for readers to interact with others and to share their ideas for teaching and learning languages.
The website for How Languages are Learned can be accessed at www.oup.com/elt/teacher/hlal.
We are currently working on a new series of books for teachers, the Oxford Key Concepts for the Language Classroom. Each volume, written by a different author, will focus on a specific topic (such as assessment, content-based language teaching, literacy, and oral interaction), reviewing the relevant research and linking the findings to classroom practice. We hope that the books in this series will encourage teachers to continue learning about some of the topics that are introduced in HLAL.
We hope that both new readers and those who have read the previous editions of HLAL will find ideas and information that will challenge and inspire them to make their own contributions to second language learning, teaching, and research.
INTRODUCTION
When new methods and textbooks for second and foreign language teaching are introduced, they are often said to be based on the latest research in psychology, linguistics, or pedagogy. Teachers are told that they will be more effective than those that have gone before. In many cases, the new approaches are prescribed for immediate implementation in a school or region. Sometimes, the new materials come with opportunities for extensive training in their implementation. Sometimes, they are simply ordered and distributed to teachers who have to do their best to use them effectively.
Many approaches to language teaching have been proposed and implemented.