Book Review
The Book “Introducing Second Language Acquisition” written by Muriel Saville Troike and Karon Barto introduces us to the field pertaining to Second Language Acquisition (SLA). There are three purposes for writing this book- this book can help in providing basic knowledge related to second language learning phenomena, stimulation of interest and for offering practical help to that of the second language learners. The book talks about the integration of linguistic, psychological and the social perspectives in relation to SLA after recognizing differential nature of that assumptions. The book has been written in a manner that maintains the balance between the quantity and the quality of the representation. The book focuses on the aspect of second language competence and how this aspect can be perceived from that of different points of the view.
The book was published by Cambridge University Press which forms a part of that of University of Cambridge. The press helps in furthering the mission of the University by spreading knowledge in pursuit of that of education along with learning. The table of contents of the book reveal that the book has been organized in a logical manner. The first chapter introduces second language acquisition, second chapter talks about the foundation of that of Second Language Acquisition, third chapter talks about the element of linguistics, fourth chapter talks about Psychology in relation to SLA, fifth chapter talks about social contexts in relation to SLA, sixth chapter talks about the acquisition of knowledge for second learning and the seventh chapter talks about learning and teaching. The contents of the book have been organized in a logical manner that makes the matter clear in front of the readers of the book. The first chapter throws light on the second language and the first language. It talks about the diversity in relation to learning and the learners. The Second Chapter- Foundations of SLA talks about the world of the second languages and nature of the aspect of language learning. It discusses about logical problem in relation to language learning and the frameworks pertaining to SLA. The third chapter discusses about nature of the language, early approaches to that of SLA and universal grammar. It also discusses about functional approaches in relation to SLA. The fourth chapter contains material about learning process, complexity theory and effects of that of multilingualism. The fifth chapter talks about the social along with cultural knowledge that are embedded within a language. It talks about the categorizing of objects along with events that can help the second language learners in communicating effectively. The sixth chapter elaborates on recognising the functioning of the words grammatically that have a bearing on the aspect of learning the second language. The seventh chapter talks about the relation between that of language teaching and that of second language acquisition. It talks about the choice of the linguistic forms in relation to focussed instruction and the benefits on the basis of the individual factors.
The date of publication of the book is the year 2016 that shows that the information provided in the book is up-to-date. The content of the book has been updated that makes the information relevant for the readers. The authors of the book are Muriel Saville Troike and that of Karen Barto who have wide knowledge in the field. Muriel Saville Troike is an American linguistics and he is a member of the American Association for Applied Linguistics. The other books that have been written by the author is “ Perspectives on Silence”, “ A handbook of bilingual education” and “ Foundations for teaching English as the second Language”. The other author of the book is Karen Barto who has more than 17 years of the experience in relation to language teaching along with teacher training. She has a Ph.d In that of Second Language Acquisition and Teaching that makes the knowledge that she has in relation to Second Language Acquisition very valuable. The immense knowledge that these authors have helped in making the book valuable for the readers.
The book states that the second language learner should possess that of real-world knowledge that can help them in relation to language acquisition. The book talks about the stages in relation to language acquisition. It talks about the stage of Preproduction that helps the learners in building the vocabulary to around 500 words without speaking of the language. The second stage that is known as Early Production that can help the learners in learning around that of 1000 words vocabulary. The third stage called “Speech Emergence” talks about how learners can acquire about 3000 words and speak in the short sentences. The developmental stage of Intermediate Fluency talks about learning around 6000 words which helps the students in the forming of complex phrases. The stage of that of Advanced Fluency enables the learners in becoming near-native.
The book talks about the initial stage that can be called innate capacity and how the linguists believe in the fact that the children have a genetic disposition that helps them in learning language throughout their life. The book argues that innate capacity in relation to language acquisition can go beyond that of childhood and one can learn the subsequent languages by the methods that are akin to the older learners acquiring other domain of the knowledge like mathematics or that of history. The book states that it is not possible to observe the mental capacity in relation to language directly. The various beliefs are on the basis of theoretical assumptions which are tested by taking recourse to indirect methods that the individuals coming from various disciplinary perspective cannot agree on. The book argues that second language learning follows that of first language learning and for the purpose of second language learning it is important that a learner should have prior knowledge in relation to the first language. The book asserts that prior knowledge in relation to first language is can help in transferring from first language to the second language at the time of development of the second language. Initial stage in relation to second language learning has the resource of the first language competence that can act both as an asset and as an impediment.
The book states that the intermediate stage can help an individual in progressing from the initial to the final stage in relation to linguistic system. The book highlights the view that first language along with second language learners can play a creative role in relation to language development. The development can be said to be an unconscious process pertaining to first language child grammar that is related to that of cognitive maturation. The children matures along with that of the language abilities. The developing of the learner language in relation to the second language learners takes place at the age when cognitive maturity cannot be held to be an important factor. In the inter-mediate state the second language learners reach the level of maturity that can help them in producing complex utterances in relation to the first language.
The book argues the view that cross-linguistic influence occurs in various levels of that of second language learning. The book has rightly stated that positive transfer can facilitate second language learning because the first language structure will also work for that of second language learning. Negative features of that of first language feature can be got from that of forms in second language which would be produced by the native speaker of the second language. The book states that the inappropriate transfer of that of L 1 pronunciation to that of L2 can be said to be detectable in the foreign accent of that of non-native speaker’s production. The book states that the older children have access to that of world knowledge that occurs owing to cognitive development. This can be available for that of the second language learning at the intermediate state. The book provides a pertinent example that the older children within the immigrant families can enrol in the US schools having prior knowledge in relation to the academic subject areas. The subject areas can be equal or more advanced as compared to the US curriculum expectation. The students can lack the competence in relation to second language learning. The book states that the students do not have to learn the concepts again as the concepts are not dependent on that of any specific language. The students can require the new language specific form that can be represented in that of second language learning. The book has aptly pointed out that the advanced international students like engineering along with computer science can learn the second language of English for the concepts that they have already got as compared to the native English speakers who have acquired the concepts in the beginning.
The book has talked about nature in relation to language learning. The book has successfully stated that the acquisition of the first language is generally completed before one enters the school and this kind of development can take place without any kind of conscious effort. The book has made it clear that the children learn distinctive sounds in relation to first language before they reach the age of three. Children can control the grammatical patterns of the first language before they reach the age of five and the complex grammatical patterns continue developing through that of the school years. The book has argued that successful learning can take place in the event of having significant exposure to that of more than that of one language in that of early childhood. In the event of children hearing and responding to more than that of two languages, it will result in simultaneous multilingualism. The book has put forth that children have been able to accomplish mastery in that of the first language in the last sixty years owing to the developments taking place in the arena of linguistics along with psychology. The book has stated very convincingly that the language acquisition of children can be said to be purposive and the developing of language takes place because they have to communicate the wants. The communicative needs of the children are satisfied with the help of gesture along with that of non-speech sound like that of whines and the grunts. The book has stated that children learns the language by taking recourse to imitation. The book has stated that however there are utterances of the children that are original and which cannot be stated to be imitations.
The book has illustrated with the help of various examples how the learning of English as the second language can be easily done in the event of an individual knowing about the vital concepts that can facilitate their learning. The adults in the immigrant families of that of USA know the process of driving of a car as they have the vocational knowledge that can be transferred to that of the new social setting. There remains some amount of English that has to be learned before the passing of the test for that of the driver’s license. The book has succeeded in illustrating how the people do not need to learn driving again. The book has been successful in illustrating that the transfer of that of knowledge to that of second language setting can be made easily in the event of first language support that can evolve to form a part of that of second language learning. The second language learning can be carried out easily in the event of key terminology being shared across the languages. The skills in relation to social interaction can be transferred from that of first language to that of the second language easily.
The book has stated that language input is crucial for both first language along with second language learning. The book has correctly laid stress on the fact that children need reciprocal interaction with that of other people to facilitate the aspect of first language learning. Children cannot learn the first language from experiences like listening to the radio or by watching the television. The book discusses that children take less amount of time for learning the first language and it takes place without any kind of wild divergence. There are innate principles that cause the child to organize input that they get in certain form and not in other form. The book has aptly talked about the elements pertaining to linguistic input. The book says that linguistic input comprises of sounds, words and the sentences. The book has argued that there exist similar pattern pertaining to the acquisition of language within the world.
The book has covered the topic in a comprehensive manner and explained elaborately about the aspect of that of second language acquisition. It has successfully explained about the relation of the first language with that of the second language and how the learning of concepts can help in the quicker learning of the second language. The author is writing the book for mainly the undergraduate students but the book is also suited for the graduate students. The graduate students who do not have prior knowledge in relation to linguistics can also read the book. The intended audience of the book are those people who want to get in-depth knowledge regarding the acquiring of the second language. The audience of the book would be those people who want to gain more knowledge in relation to language learning. The book makes use of tables for illustrating the concepts. The tables help in elaborating on the different stages in relation to language learning like the initial and the intermediate states. The illustrations given in the book can be said to be relevant as they talk about different aspects in relation to that of second language acquisition. The illustrations help in making the matter clear in front of the readers.
The book provides us with an introduction pertaining to that of second language acquisition. The book helps in providing basic knowledge in regard to second language learning and it can stimulate interest of that of the readers. The book is useful in providing practical help to second language learners. The publisher of the book is Cambridge University Press that helps in serving mission of that of University. The book states that children possess genetic disposition which enables them in the learning of language throughout the whole span of their life. The book has covered the topic elaborately and explained about various aspects in relation to that of second language acquisition. The book has talked about the relation that exists between first and the second language. It states how concepts can help an individual in learning second language more rapidly. The book has used tables for making the concept clear in front of the readers. The book has beautifully explained the various stages of that of language learning like initial and intermediate states. The book has been written for undergraduate and graduate students. Graduate students not having knowledge regarding linguistics can learn important things from the book.
Bibliography
Saville-Troike, M., & Barto, K. (2016). Introducing second language acquisition. Cambridge University Press.
