Review article Minimalism and beyond: second language acquisition for the twenty-first century

2001 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 306-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.A. Balcom
2002 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 172-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roumyana Slabakova

This review article surveys recent research on the first and second language acquisition of temporal and aspectual properties of natural languages.Three recently published books are discussed in the context of the primacy or aspect hypothesis and the prototype, the connectionist and the discourse explanations for the attested acquisition sequences. A potentially misleading terminological issue is highlighted: Deictic tense, grammatical and lexical aspect are often conflated in acquisition studies. Recent research from the (innatist) generative perspective (e.g., Olsen and Weinberg, 1999) is also examined. An alternative explanation of the skewed acquisition sequences in terms of processing costs is proposed. Some important topics for future aspect research are identified.


2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-379
Author(s):  
Claire Foley

Three new textbooks in second language acquisition (SLA) differ in their aims. Saville-Troike (2006) offers a concise introductory text with an interdisciplinary approach. De Bot, Lowie and Verspoor (2005) provide a more comprehensive and more advanced introductory text with excerpts from the scholarly literature. Sanz (2005) presents an edited volume representing research in various subfields within an information-processing approach to SLA. All three offer valuable material for instructors to draw on, and they complement one another in interesting ways.


2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 271-288 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Thomas ◽  
Nicole Pettitt

The practice of securing informed consent from research participants has a relatively low profile in second language (L2) acquisition research, despite its prominence in the biomedical and social sciences. This review article analyses the role that informed consent now typically plays in L2 research; discusses an example of an L2 study where complex issues of informed consent surfaced; and summarizes debates about informed consent that are underway in other disciplines, but which so far have been little recognized in scholarship on L2 acquisition.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 418-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patti Spinner

This review article presents a summary of research on the second language acquisition of Bantu languages, including Swahili, Zulu, Xhosa and Lingala. Although second language (L2) research on these languages is currently very limited, work in morphosyntax and phonology suggests promising directions for future study, particularly on noun class, tense and aspect.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 559-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yang Zhao

There has been considerable research in Chinese as a second language (L2) in recent years, particularly in its morphological and syntactic aspects. This article reviews research in these aspects with reference to the broader discipline of second language acquisition (SLA) and suggests that L2 Chinese research has contributed to SLA through verification, modification or posing challenges to research findings in the L2 acquisition of other languages. On the basis of these studies, the author points out the limits of current L2 Chinese research and discusses the prospects for future development, arguing that L2 Chinese is to be investigated against hypotheses based on other L2s so that theoretical contributions can be made to the discipline of SLA.


2000 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan H. Foster-Cohen

This review article outlines the major tenets of Relevance Theory as presented in the original book (1986) and in the second edition (1995). Each chapter summary is followed by a brief exploration of the points of contact between Sperber and Wilson's ideas and second language research. In some cases this leads to new predictions, in other cases it suffices to point out parallel discussions, which might profit from a Relevance Theory vantage point. It is concluded that Relevance Theory can be usefully exploited to understand second language comprehension and, perhaps, to understand second language acquisition.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 48-72 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roumyana Slabakova

This review article selects and elaborates on the important issues of adult second language acquisition research in the second decade of the twenty-first century. The fundamental question of whether adult second language acquisition and child first language acquisition are similar or different is addressed throughout the article. The issues of a critical period for acquisition, the importance of the linguistic input, and processing are discussed. Generative as well as usage-based perspectives are considered. Future research concerns and promising areas of investigation are proposed.


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