International scholars and researchers present cutting edge contributions on the significance of vocabulary in current thinking on first and second language acquisition in the school and at home. By pursuing common themes across first and second language and bilingual contexts, the editors offer a collection that tackles the most important issues.

With contributions from leading scholars of bilingualism, Language Dominance in Bilinguals is the first publication to survey different approaches to language dominance, along with suggested avenues for further research. It illustrates how a critical approach to the notion of language dominance, as well as its operationalization and measurement, can provide new insights into this burgeoning area of research. Drawing on adult and child data from a variety of language pairs, the chapters discuss how language dominance is to be conceptualized and distinguished from such related constructs as language proficiency and language competence. This volume is the first of its kind to present an overview of different approaches to language dominance from across the theoretical spectrum, as well as suggested avenues for further research. Accessibly written, Language Dominance in Bilinguals is a valuable new addition to the field and essential reading for students and scholars working in bilingualism, speech therapy and education.

With contributions from leading scholars of bilingualism, Language Dominance in Bilinguals is the first publication to survey different approaches to language dominance, along with suggested avenues for further research. It illustrates how a critical approach to the notion of language dominance, as well as its operationalization and measurement, can provide new insights into this burgeoning area of research. Drawing on adult and child data from a variety of language pairs, the chapters discuss how language dominance is to be conceptualized and distinguished from such related constructs as language proficiency and language competence. This volume is the first of its kind to present an overview of different approaches to language dominance from across the theoretical spectrum, as well as suggested avenues for further research. Accessibly written, Language Dominance in Bilinguals is a valuable new addition to the field and essential reading for students and scholars working in bilingualism, speech therapy and education.

Over the last 20 years vocabulary research has grown from a Cinderella subject in foreign language teaching and research to a position of some importance. Vocabulary is now considered integral to just about every aspect of language knowledge. With this development have come standard and widely-used tests, such as vocabulary size and lexical richness measures, and very commonly accepted metaphors, such as the mental lexicon as a web of words. Less widely known outside academic circles, however, is the extensive work on learners' lexis and the utility, reliability and validity of the tests we use to measure and investigate it. Vocabulary is a lively and vital area of research and innovation. This volume brings together contributions from internationally-renowned researchers in this field to explain much of the background to study in this area. It introduces to a wider audience the concerns, the new approaches and the most recent developments in the field of vocabulary research and testing.