The Art of Teaching Spanish explores in-depth the findings of research in second language acquisition (SLA) and other language-related fields and translates those findings into practical pedagogical tools for current—and future—Spanish-language instructors. This volume addresses how theoretical frameworks affect the application of research findings to the teaching of Spanish, how logistical factors affect the way research findings can be applied to teach Spanish, and how findin...

Robert Blake, now with Gabriel Guillén, updates his successful book (1st ed. 2008, 2nd ed. 2013) on how to teach foreign languages using technology. Brave New Digital Classroom touches on all of the key concepts and challenges of teaching with technology, focusing on issues specific to FLL or L2 learning and CALL. Originally referred to as computer-assisted language learning, CALL has come to encompass any kind of learning that uses digital tools for language learning.This...

Informed by the latest research in the fields of second language acquisition and applied linguistics, El español y la lingüística aplicada responds to the central questions that lie at the heart of learning Spanish as a second or foreign language. What does it mean to know a language? Can technology help second language learners? How does studying abroad promote language acquisition?Framing chapters in terms of these and other critical areas of inquiry, Robert J. Blake and...

From the creator of beloved stories about dogs--their bravery, loyalty, and companionship--comes a celebration of music, friendship, Paris, and puppies set against an exquisitely illustrated Parisian backdrop!On a beautiful bridge in Paris, performing dogs Victor and Hugo dance and sing as their Maestro plays his music. But when Maestro’s accordion falls over the side of the bridge and onto a barge, the music stops—not only for Maestro, but for everyone! Victor and...

The Psycholinguistics of Bilingualism presents a comprehensive introduction to the foundations of bilingualism, covering language processing, language acquisition, cognition and the bilingual brain.This thorough introduction to the psycholinguistics of bilingualism is accessible to non-specialists with little previous exposure to the fieldIntroduces students to the methodological approaches currently employed in the field, including observation, experimenta...

Introducing Second Language Acquisition: Perspectives and Practices represents a clear and concise introduction to the main concepts, issues, and debates in second language acquisition studies aimed specifically at undergraduates encountering the topic for the first time.Follows six fictitious language learners throughout the text whose stories serve to introduce various concepts and issuesContains specific chapters on first language acquisition and bilingu...

Whether we grow up with one, two, or several languages during our early years of life, many of us will learn a second, foreign, or heritage language in later years. The field of Second language acquisition (SLA, for short) investigates the human capacity to learn additional languages in late childhood, adolescence, or adulthood, after the first language --in the case of monolinguals-- or languages --in the case of bilinguals-- have already been acquired. Understanding Second Language A...

For two years now I've been regularly blogging about ELT-related issues that have caught my attention. The topics have been loosely organized around the format of an encyclopaedic dictionary I'd published previously, called An A-Z of ELT. I've since clocked up over a hundred posts that in turn have attracted thousands of comments comprising I don't know how many tens of thousands of words.A couple of things that have emerged from this 'long conversation' are: (1) the same issues com...

As an interdisciplinary area of research, translation studies attracts students and scholars with a wide range of backgrounds, who then need to face the challenge of accounting for a complex object of enquiry that does not adapt itself well to traditional methods in other fields of investigation. This book addresses the needs of such scholars – whether they are students doing research at postgraduate level or more experienced researchers who want to familiarize themselves with methods outs...

The Routledge Handbook of Second Language Acquisition brings together fifty leading international figures in the field to produce a state-of-the-art overview of Second Language Acquisition.The Handbook covers a wide range of topics related to Second Language Acquisition: language in context, linguistic, psycholinguistic, and neurolinguistic theories and perspectives, skill learning, individual differences, L2 learning settings, and language assessment. All chapter...

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...

Heritage speakers are native speakers of a minority language they learn at home, but due to socio-political pressure from the majority language spoken in their community, their heritage language does not fully develop. In the last decade, the acquisition of heritage languages has become a central focus of study within linguistics and applied linguistics. This work centres on the grammatical development of the heritage language and the language learning trajectory of heritage speakers, synt...