The novel revolves around the character of Kitten, a young girl who has grown up in foster homes after being abandoned by her mother. Kitten's early life is marked by instability and neglect, and she longs for the love and stability that her peers seem to have.The story delves into Kitten's journey as she navigates the challenges of adolescence and strives to find her identity and sense of belonging. Along the way, she encounters various individuals who offer support, guidance, and friends...

A sweet, odd little story told from the point of view of the main character, a toddler. She doesn't quite understand what happened before she ended up in a Catholic orphanage, but she does know she remembers things that the "big people" in her life tell her are impossible, "There was never anything in the world like that." Just before her memories fade, something happens that proves she was right after all--and changes her life forever.

Now in its second edition, this Handbook is a current overview of Second Language (L2) research, providing state-of-the-art synopses of recent developments in each sub-area of the field, and bringing together contributions by emerging scholars and experts in Second Language Acquisition (SLA). Since the first edition, broad socio-political movements, alternative views of bilingualism, emergence of global markets, vast expansion of electronic resources, the development of social media, and t...

Imagine life in a small Alabama town as a little redheaded girl growing up in a family of six where physical and mental abuse from your father is considered normal for you, your younger siblings, and your mother. You try to live up to your father's ever-changing standards to reduce the amount of abuse you receive, but despite your efforts you were deemed a disappointment from birth. This is the story of April McKnight.April is determined to become something more than the limits tha...

Adult migrants who received little or no formal education in their home countries face a unique set of challenges when attempting to learn the languages of their new countries. Few adult migrants with limited or no literacy in their native languages successfully attain higher levels of literacy in their additional languages, even if they attain high levels of oral proficiency.This book, the result of a European- and United States-wide collaborative research project, aims to assist ...

What is language and how can we investigate its acquisition by children or adults? What perspectives exist from which to view acquisition? What internal constraints and external factors shape acquisition? What are the properties of interlanguage systems? This comprehensive 31-chapter handbook is an authoritative survey of second language acquisition (SLA). Its multi-perspective synopsis on recent developments in SLA research provides significant contributions by established experts and wid...

This book examines key issues in theories of what language is and what happens in the mind during second language acquisition (SLA), inspiring readers to think in new and exciting ways about language learning and teaching. Chapters, written by both established and rising star scholars, provide cutting-edge insights and new empirical findings on major topics of formal and cognitive linguistics, psycholinguistics and second language development, and offer a coherent, wide-ranging, reader-fri...

This volume bridges the knowledge gap between second language acquisition researchers and second language pedagogy professionals in its focus on a topic of mutual interest: input. The reader-friendly contributions from seasoned researchers including Stephen Krashen, Bill VanPatten and new voices offer a wide range of existing and new perspectives on the matter of input. A rare feature of the book is that it includes extensive coverage by experts including James Flege and Alene Moyer of the...

Very little information about the impact of reflection on teacher performance, teacher retention, and student learning is available in teacher preparation programs. This book provides practical and research-based chapters that offer greater clarity about the particular kinds of reflection that matter and avoids talking about teacher reflection generically, which implies that all kinds of reflection are of equal value. This book addresses five very pertinent concepts: (1) teacher reflectivi...

Internationally recognized in the UK and other English speaking countries, including the US, Australia and Canada, the IELTS (the International English Language Testing System) is one of the most important accepted international exams and can be a pre-requisite for education and employment overseas. How to Master the IELTS is an all-in-one guide covering all four modules for both academic and general training exams. It includes full length practice exams as well as training in reading and ...

In New York Times Bestselling author Richard Castle's newest novel, an illegal immigrant falls from the sky and NYPD Homicide Detective Nikki Heat's investigation into his death quickly captures the imagination of her boyfriend the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Jameson Rook. When he decides to work the case with Heat as his next big story, Nikki is at first happy to have him ride along. Yes, she must endure Rook's usual wild conspiracy speculations and adolescent wisecracks, but after...