Second Language Acquisition Abroad
The LDS Missionary Experience
Editor
This volume brings together for the first time a collection of studies devoted to missionary language learning and retention. Introductory chapters provide historical perspectives on this population and on language teaching philosophy and practice in the LDS tradition. The empirical studies which follow are divided into two sections, the first examining mission language acquisition by English-speaking missionaries abroad, the second focusing on post-mission language attrition. These chapters by internationally known scholars offer cutting-edge research using a number of different target languages in addressing various issues in second language development. Finally, a comprehensive bibliography of sources on mission languages is included. The readership of this pioneering work is expected to extend beyond specialists in study abroad and missionary language training to a broader audience of applied linguists, educators, and students interested in language acquisition and attrition. In addition, the book offers useful insights to adults who want to maintain a second language.
[Studies in Bilingualism, 45] 2012. x, 268 pp.
Publishing status: Available
© John Benjamins Publishing Company
Table of Contents
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Foreword | pp. ix–x
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Chapter 1. Introduction: Investigating mission languagesLynne Hansen | pp. 1–10
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Section I Acquisition of mission languages
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Chapter 2. Language learning and teaching in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day SaintsC. Ray Graham | pp. 11–28
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Chapter 3. The development of speaking proficiency of LDS missionariesDan Dewey and Ray T. Clifford | pp. 29–50
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Chapter 4. An examination of the effects of input, aptitude, and motivation on the language proficiency of missionaries mearning Japanese as a second languageJenifer Larson-Hall and Dan Dewey | pp. 51–88
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Chapter 5. In the beginning was the word: Vocabulary learning in six mission languagesLynne Hansen, Karri Lam, Livia Orikasa Nufer, Paul Rama, Geraldine Schwaller and Ronald M. Miller | pp. 89–108
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Section II Attrition of mission languages
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Chapter 6. The lost word: Vocabulary attrition in six mission languagesLynne Hansen, Andrew Colver, Wonhye Chong, Helama Pereira, Jeremy Robinson, Akihiro Sawada and Ronald M. Miller | pp. 109–134
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Chapter 7. Vocabulary attrition in adult speakers of Spanish as a second languageC. Ray Graham | pp. 135–184
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Chapter 8. Savings in the relearning of mission vocabulary: The effects of time and proficiencyLynne Hansen, Melanie McKinney Sterling and Yukako Umeda | pp. 185–202
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Chapter 9. What counts in the retention of numeral classifiers in Japanese and Chinese?Lynne Hansen and Yunglin Chen | pp. 203–220
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Chapter 10. Syntactic attrition in L2 Japanese missionary languageRobert A. Russell | pp. 221–244
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Chapter 11. The measurement of oral fluency in mission languagesLynne Hansen, James Gardner, James Pollard, Joshua Rowe and Junko Tsukayama | pp. 245–258
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Comprehensive bibliography of mission language references: Unannotated | pp. 263–266
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Comprehensive bibliography of mission language references: Annotated | pp. 259–262
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Index | pp. 267–268
“A well researched and sensitive volume, focusing on a special group of learners and offering valuable new insights on L2 learning in the study abroad context, enriched by a complementary discussion of maintenance or loss when the need for L2 language use diminshes.”
Barbara F. Freed, Carnegie Mellon University
“This fascinating edited collection presents a wide-ranging look at L2 learning and attrition in what is possibly a unique population of second language learners—returning missionary students from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (Mormons). Though the context is very specific, the studies have clear implications for L2 studies in general. The book provides stimulating and comprehensive results and analyses that address the strengths, limitations and implications of the missionaries' language training, plus a stimulating history of the Church's 175-year focus on second language learning and teaching. This volume is sure to spark useful debate and many new thoughts about L2 acquisition and attrition, and about how to capitalize on future opportunities to study large, special L2 learner groups. This book is a wonderful source of ideas and information for anyone interested in L2 acquisition; I highly recommend it.”
Professor Norman Segalowitz, Concordia University, Montréal
“This volume captures the life cycle of second language acquisition in a particular study abroad setting: the LDS missionary language experience. Beginning with the language teaching philosophy which informs the initial language instruction, the first section of the book documents the second language acquisition of both European and Asian languages by this group of L2 learners, and the second part chronicles attrition, relearning, and retention. Hansen has edited another excellent volume unified by a single context of acquisition, the missionary experience, with contributions ranging from acquisition to attrition and relearning. This book is a must read both for readers interested in the life-cycle of acquisition, and those who want to explore acquisition in this study abroad setting.”
Kathleen Bardovi-Harlig, Indiana University
Cited by
Cited by 7 other publications
Hansen, Lynne
2012. Second Language Vocabulary Attrition. In The Encyclopedia of Applied Linguistics, 
Ni, Chuanbin & Xiaobing Jin
2020. Will Emotional Effects Modulate L2 Lexical Attrition as they Do in L2 Acquisition?. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research 49:4 ► pp. 583 ff.
Ortega, Lourdes
2013. SLA for the 21st Century: Disciplinary Progress, Transdisciplinary Relevance, and the Bi/multilingual Turn. Language Learning 63:s1 ► pp. 1 ff.
Pérez-Vidal, Carmen
2014. Chapter 2. Study abroad and formal instruction contrasted. In Language Acquisition in Study Abroad and Formal Instruction Contexts [AILA Applied Linguistics Series, 13], ► pp. 17 ff.
Sanz, Cristina
2014. Chapter 1. Contributions of study abroad research to our understanding of SLA processes and outcomes. In Language Acquisition in Study Abroad and Formal Instruction Contexts [AILA Applied Linguistics Series, 13], ► pp. 1 ff.
Schmitt, Norbert & Diane Schmitt
2020. Vocabulary in Language Teaching,
Viera, Carolina & Kelly Arispe
2022. Can Spanish programs evaluate oral proficiency gains for all learners? An empirical analysis of traditional and nontraditional Spanish majors' oral proficiency development. Foreign Language Annals 55:3 ► pp. 832 ff.
This list is based on CrossRef data as of 16 april 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.
Subjects
Main BIC Subject
CJA: Language teaching theory & methods
Main BISAC Subject
LAN020000: LANGUAGE ARTS & DISCIPLINES / Study & Teaching