Publisher Description

This book investigates the issue of cloze-validity as a measure of second language reading comprehension. It starts off by making a distinction between general reading ability and the more specific reading comprehension followed by a thorough review of the related research on L2 reading comprehension and sorting out the confusion in the literature in this categorization. A comprehensive account of cloze procedure is presented discussing its origin, different versions, its use for teaching and testing purposes, as well the latest research on cloze as measures of readability, language proficiency and second language reading. The book includes studies conducted at several stages on validating cloze as a measure of reading and interview and questionnaire techniques are applied to investigate the validity of eight cloze tests, criterion reading tests, and other cloze and reading tests in general. Two new cloze tests, i.e. reader-centered cloze test and phrase cloze test, are also introduced and researched as measures of reading ability. The book concludes with suggestions for developing tests that can better measure reading comprehension in light of recent research insights on the complex and dynamic nature of reading. This book will appeal to researchers, lecturers and graduate and post-graduate students taking a course in Second Language Acquisition, Applied Linguistics, TESOL, Language Assessment, and Educational Measurement.

In a field like L2 vocabulary teaching and learning where interest and research studies are burgeoning, this book offers a useful collection of papers that contains new ways of investigating vocabulary development, techniques for vocabulary teaching such as the Focus on Form hypothesis, word associations, and the use of concordance data. In addition, it tackles recent areas of analysis such as the treatment of vocabulary in teaching materials—an area of almost complete neglect in the literature. The book is divided into three parts. Part one provides the overview and deals with the development of a model for vocabulary teaching and learning. Part two focuses on empirical studies on lexical processing in English and Spanish. Part three centers on materials design for vocabulary teaching and learning. The advances made in this book will certainly be of interest to researchers, teachers, and graduate students working on this very active field of inquiry.

Written specifically for K–12 educators, this accessible book explains the processes involved in second-language acquisition and provides a wealth of practical strategies for helping English language learners (ELLs) succeed at reading. The authors integrate knowledge from two fields that often remain disconnected—linguistics and literacy—with a focus on what works in the classroom. Teachers learn effective practices for supporting students as they build core competencies not just for reading in English, but also for listening, speaking, and writing. Engaging vignettes and examples illustrate ways to promote ELLs’ communicative skills across the content areas and in formal and informal settings.

This book offers an in-depth explanation of Task-Based Language Teaching (TBLT) and the methods necessary to implement it in the language classroom successfully. Combines a survey of theory and research in instructed second language acquisition (ISLA) with insights from language teaching and the philosophy of education Details best practice for TBLT programs, including discussion of learner needs and means analysis; syllabus design; materials writing; choice of methodological principles and pedagogic procedures; criterion-referenced, task-based performance assessment; and program evaluation Written by an esteemed scholar of second language acquisition with over 30 years of research and classroom experience Considers diffusion of innovation in education and the potential impact of TBLT on foreign and second language learning

This volume employs a range of empirical methodologies, including eye-tracking, direct observation, qualitative research and corpus analysis, to describe the use of discourse markers in second language acquisition. It aims to enrich our understanding of the cognitive behaviour of L2 speakers.

What distinguishes this book is its broad, yet thorough, view of theory, process, and research on adult second-language reading. Offering extensive discussions of upper-register second-language texts (both expository and narrative) that adult second-language readers encounter daily across the globe, it also presents an assessment schema for second-language text comprehension as well as for the assessment of teaching. Understanding Advanced Second-Language Reading: includes languages other than English in the discussion of second language reading is firmly anchored in a theory of second language reading ─ the concept of compensatory processing emphasizes the multi-dimensionality and dynamic nature of L2 reading development focuses on comprehension of upper-register literary texts balances theory and instructional practices. Filling the need for a coherent, theoretically consistent, and research-based portrait of how literate adolescents and adults comprehend, and learn to comprehend, at greater levels of sophistication and whether that ability can be enhanced by instruction, this is a must-have resource for reading and second-language researchers, students, and teachers.

There is ample evidence that language users, including second-language (L2) users, can predict upcoming information during listening and reading. Yet it is still unclear when, how, and why language users engage in prediction, and what the relation is between prediction and learning. This volume presents a collection of current research, insights, and directions regarding the role of prediction in L2 processing and learning. The contributions in this volume specifically address how different (L1-based) theoretical models of prediction apply to or may be expanded to account for L2 processing, report new insights on factors (linguistic, cognitive, social) that modulate L2 users’ engagement in prediction, and discuss the functions that prediction may or may not serve in L2 processing and learning. Taken together, this volume illustrates various fruitful approaches to investigating and accounting for differences in predictive processing within and across individuals, as well as across populations.

Abstract:

This book provides an overview of current theory, research and practice in the field of language anxiety and brings together a range of perspectives on this psychological construct in a single volume. Chapters in the volume are divided into three sections. Part 1 revisits language anxiety theory, showing that it can be viewed as a complex and dynamic construct and that it is linked to other psychological variables, such as the self and personality. In Part 2, a series of contextualised studies on language anxiety are presented, with a key feature of these studies being the diverse research designs which are applied in different instructional settings across the globe. Part 3 bridges theory and practice by presenting coping strategies and practice activities with a view to informing classroom practice and pedagogical interventions.