This book provides a clear and accessible introduction to the main methods of analysing samples of learner language. It examines the theoretical and research bases for the different methods, and thereby serves as an introduction to the field of second language acquisition research. The book is intended for students on postgraduate courses in TESOL or Applied Linguistics, or for teachers wishing to do action research to find out more about how learners learn language.

Task-based language teaching is now a well-established pedagogic approach but problematic issues remain, such as whether it is appropriate for all learners and in all instructional contexts. This book draws on the author's experience of working with teachers, together with his knowledge of relevant research and theory, to examine the key issues. It proposes flexible ways in which tasks can be designed and implemented in the language classroom to address the problems that teachers often face with task-based language teaching. It will appeal to researchers and teachers who are interested in task-based language teaching and the practical and theoretical issues involved. It will also be of interest to students and researchers working in the areas of applied linguistics, TESOL and second language acquisition.

The implicit/ explicit distinction is central to our understanding of the nature of L2 acquisition. This book begins with an account of how this distinction applies to L2 learning, knowledge and instruction. It then reports a series of studies describing the development of a battery of tests providing relatively discrete measurements of L2 explicit/ implicit knowledge. These tests were then utilized to examine a number of key issues in SLA - the learning difficulty of different grammatical structures, the role of L2 implicit/ explicit knowledge in language proficiency, the relationship between learning experiences and learners' language knowledge profiles, the metalinguistic knowledge of teacher trainees and the effects of different types of form-focused instruction on L2 acquisition. The book concludes with a consideration of how the tests can be further developed and applied in the study of L2 acquisition.

Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics is a series of introductory level textbooks covering the core topics in Applied Linguistics, primarily designed for those beginning postgraduate studies, or taking an introductory MA course as well as advanced undergraduates. Titles in the series are also ideal for language professionals returning to academic study. The books take an innovative 'practice to theory' approach, with a 'back-to-front' structure. This leads the reader from real-world problems and issues, through a discussion of intervention and how to engage with these concerns, before finally relating these practical issues to theoretical foundations. Additional features include a glossary of key terms, and discussion questions. Following the back-to-front approach of the series, the book takes problematic issues in language pedagogy as its starting points. These are then examined in terms of second language acquisition. Each chapter begins with a look at the pedagogical proposals found in teacher guides and then asks 'Do these proposals accord with what we know about how languages are acquired?' Pedagogical topics covered include teaching methods, syllabus design, explicit instruction, comprehension versus production-based instruction, task-based instruction, authentic materials, the role of the learners' first language in the classroom, error correction and catering for individual differences. Including a glossary of key terms and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter, and assuming no prior knowledge of second language acquisition, this is the ideal text for all students studying language teaching methods, language teacher education, English teaching methodology and second language acquisition modules in advanced undergraduate and postgraduate/graduate TESOL and Applied Linguistics courses.

Task-based language teaching is now a well-established pedagogic approach but problematic issues remain, such as whether it is appropriate for all learners and in all instructional contexts. This book draws on the author's experience of working with teachers, together with his knowledge of relevant research and theory, to examine the key issues. It proposes flexible ways in which tasks can be designed and implemented in the language classroom to address the problems that teachers often face with task-based language teaching. It will appeal to researchers and teachers who are interested in task-based language teaching and the practical and theoretical issues involved. It will also be of interest to students and researchers working in the areas of applied linguistics, TESOL and second language acquisition.

Task-based language teaching is an approach which differs from traditional approaches by emphasising the importance of engaging learners' natural abilities for acquiring language incidentally through the performance of tasks that draw learners' attention to form. Drawing on the multiple perspectives and expertise of five leading authorities in the field, this book provides a comprehensive and balanced account of task-based language teaching (TBLT). Split into five sections, the book provides an historical account of the development of TBLT and introduces the key issues facing the area. A number of different theoretical perspectives that have informed TBLT are presented, followed by a discussion on key pedagogic aspects - syllabus design, methodology of a task-based lesson, and task-based assessment. The final sections consider the research that has investigated the effectiveness of TBLT, addresses critiques and suggest directions for future research. Task-based language teaching is now mandated by many educational authorities throughout the world and this book serves as a core source of information for researchers, teachers and students.

Task-based language teaching is an approach which differs from traditional approaches by emphasising the importance of engaging learners' natural abilities for acquiring language incidentally through the performance of tasks that draw learners' attention to form. Drawing on the multiple perspectives and expertise of five leading authorities in the field, this book provides a comprehensive and balanced account of task-based language teaching (TBLT). Split into five sections, the book provides an historical account of the development of TBLT and introduces the key issues facing the area. A number of different theoretical perspectives that have informed TBLT are presented, followed by a discussion on key pedagogic aspects - syllabus design, methodology of a task-based lesson, and task-based assessment. The final sections consider the research that has investigated the effectiveness of TBLT, addresses critiques and suggest directions for future research. Task-based language teaching is now mandated by many educational authorities throughout the world and this book serves as a core source of information for researchers, teachers and students.

Routledge Introductions to Applied Linguistics is a series of introductory level textbooks covering the core topics in Applied Linguistics, primarily designed for those beginning postgraduate studies, or taking an introductory MA course as well as advanced undergraduates. Titles in the series are also ideal for language professionals returning to academic study. The books take an innovative 'practice to theory' approach, with a 'back-to-front' structure. This leads the reader from real-world problems and issues, through a discussion of intervention and how to engage with these concerns, before finally relating these practical issues to theoretical foundations. Additional features include a glossary of key terms, and discussion questions. Following the back-to-front approach of the series, the book takes problematic issues in language pedagogy as its starting points. These are then examined in terms of second language acquisition. Each chapter begins with a look at the pedagogical proposals found in teacher guides and then asks 'Do these proposals accord with what we know about how languages are acquired?' Pedagogical topics covered include teaching methods, syllabus design, explicit instruction, comprehension versus production-based instruction, task-based instruction, authentic materials, the role of the learners' first language in the classroom, error correction and catering for individual differences. Including a glossary of key terms and questions for discussion at the end of each chapter, and assuming no prior knowledge of second language acquisition, this is the ideal text for all students studying language teaching methods, language teacher education, English teaching methodology and second language acquisition modules in advanced undergraduate and postgraduate/graduate TESOL and Applied Linguistics courses.

The last decade has seen a growing body of research investigating various aspects of L2 learners' performance of tasks. This book focuses on one task implementation variable: planning. It considers theories of how opportunities to plan a task affect performance and tests claims derived from these theories in a series of empirical studies. The book examines different types of planning (i.e. task rehearsal, pre-task planning and within-task planning), addressing both what learners do when they plan and the effects of the different types of planning on L2 production. The choice of planning as the variable for investigation in this book is motivated both by its importance for current theorizing about L2 acquisition (in particular with regard to cognitive theories that view acquisition in terms of information processing) and its utility to language teachers and language testers, for unlike many other constructs in SLA 'planning' lends itself to external manipulation. The study of planning, then, provides a suitable forum for demonstrating the interconnectedness of theory, research and pedagogy in SLA.

The series attracts single or co-authored volumes from authors researching at the cutting edge of this dynamic field of interdisciplinary enquiry. The titles range from books that make such developments accessible to the non-specialist reader to those which explore in depth their relevance for the way language is to be conceived as a subject, and how courses and classroom activities are to be designed. As such, these books not only extend the field of applied linguistics itself and lend an additional significance to its enquiries, but also provide an indispensable professional foundation for language pedagogy and its practice. The scope of the series includes: second language acquisition bilingualism and multi/plurilingualism language pedagogy and teacher education testing and assessment language planning and policy language internationalization technology-mediated communication discourse-, conversation-, and contrastive-analysis pragmatics stylistics lexicography translation