Second Language Acquisition and the Younger Learner

Child's play?

Editors

Jenefer Philp | University of Auckland

Rhonda Oliver | Edith Cowan University, Bunbury

Alison Mackey | Georgetown University

Hardbound – Available

ISBN 9789027219848 | EUR 105.00 | USD 158.00

Paperback – Available

ISBN 9789027219855 | EUR 36.00 | USD 54.00

e-Book –

ISBN 9789027290564 | EUR 105.00/36.00*
| USD 158.00/54.00*

This new volume of work highlights the distinctiveness of child SLA through a collection of different types of empirical research specific to younger learners. Characteristics of children’s cognitive, emotional, and social development distinguish their experiences from those of adult L2 learners, creating intriguing issues for SLA research, and also raising important practical questions regarding effective pedagogical techniques for learners of different ages. While child SLA is often typically thought of as simple (and often enjoyable and universally effortless), in other words, as “child’s play”, the complex portraits of young second language learners which emerge in the 16 papers collected in this book invite the reader to reconsider the reality for many younger learners. Chapters by internationally renowned authors together with reports by emerging researchers describe second and foreign language learning by children ranging from pre-schoolers to young adolescents, in home and school contexts, with caregivers, peers, and teachers as interlocutors.

[Language Learning & Language Teaching, 23] 2008. viii, 334 pp.

Publishing status: Available
Published online on 19 September 2008

https://doi.org/10.1075/lllt.23

Table of Contents

List of contributors | p. vii

Introduction

Child's play? Second language acquisition and the younger learner in context

Jenefer Philp, Alison Mackey and Rhonda Oliver | pp. 3–23

Section 1. Characteristics of child SLA

Defining child second language acquisition, defining roles for L2 instruction

Howard Nicholas and Patsy M. Lightbown | pp. 27–51

Perspectives on second language acquisition at different ages

Christine Dimroth | pp. 53–79

Section 2. Instructed language learning in the early years of education

When the gate opens: The interaction between social and linguistic goals in child second language development

Jenefer Philp and Susan Duchesne | pp. 83–103

Developing conversational skills in a second language: Language learning affordances in a multiparty classroom setting

Asta Cekaite | pp. 105–129

The impact of teacher input, guidance and feedback on ESL children's task-based interactions

Rhonda Oliver, Jenefer Philp and Alison Mackey | pp. 131–147

Negotiation of meaning in the classroom: Does it enhance reading comprehension?

Kris Van den Branden | pp. 149–169

Section 3. Instructed language learning in later years of education

Incidental focus on form and learning outcomes with young foreign language classroom learners

Eva Alcón-Soler and María del Pilar García Mayo | pp. 173–192

Speeding up acquisition of his and her: Explicit L1/L2 contrasts help

Joanna White | pp. 193–228

Section 4. Child SLA at home and in the community

Acquiring Japanese as a second language (JSL) in a naturalistic context: A longitudinal study of a young child from a Processability Theory (PT) perspective

Junko Iwasaki | pp. 231–253

Learning a second language in the family

Rosamond Mitchell and Chong Nim Lee | pp. 255–277

Home-school connections for international adoptees: Repetition in parent-child interactions

Lyn Wright | pp. 279–301

Language transfer in child SLA: A longitudinal case study of a sequential bilingual

Eun-Young Kwon and ZhaoHong Han | pp. 303–331

Index | pp. 333–334

“This is a highly valuable and timely collection of studies examining various aspects of child SLA. It especially directs our attention to the crucial role of the learning context in the acquisition process.”

Ellen Simon, Ghent University, The Journal of Child Language 37: 945-950

“This outstanding collection of articles should forever silence those who still cling to the notion, repeated ad nauseam, that child first and second language acquisition are 'child's play', simple, enjoyable and effortless. It's primary aim is, as the editors state, 'to stimulate reflection about the unique nature of child SLA , as well as consideration of differences between younger children, older children and adolescents' (p.4). In this, they and their fellow authors succeed brilliantly. [...] The value of this collection lies in bringing together research, some of it previously published, in a number of areas to provide support for a thesis involving differential second language development in early, middle and older childhood, which has increasing relevance in terms of language learning policy and practice. Not only should this book be read by all those involved in SLA teaching and research, but also by teachers of foreign languages and those who decide on foreign and second language learning in our schools.”

Robert Vanderplank, Oxford University Language Centre, in System 37: 741-752, 2009

Cited by (35)

Cited by 35 other publications

Order by:

Yan, Jing & Christine C. M. Goh

2024. Impact of task type and task complexity on negotiation of meaning in young learners of Chinese as a second language. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching

Bushati, Bora, Gayannée Kedia, Daniela Rotter, Alexander P. Christensen, Georg Krammer, Katja Corcoran & Sabine Schmölzer-Eibinger

2023. Friends as a language learning resource in multilingual primary school classrooms. Social Psychology of Education 26:3 ► pp. 833 ff.

Ha, Xuan Van & Jill C. Murray

2023. Corrective feedback: Beliefs and practices of Vietnamese primary EFL teachers. Language Teaching Research 27:1 ► pp. 137 ff.

Yin, Chia-Hsin

2023. Research Methods for Understanding Child Second Language Development. Applied Linguistics

Carmel, Rivi

2022. Parents’ discourse on English for young learners. Language Teaching Research 26:1 ► pp. 141 ff.

Le Bouthillier, Josée, Renée Bourgoin & Joseph Dicks

2022. L’acquisition de la langue orale par l’entremise de tâches de centres d’apprentissage de littératie dans des classes d’immersion française. The Canadian Modern Language Review 78:2 ► pp. 91 ff.

Martínez, Dunia & Christine Appel

2022. Emotional and social engagement of teenager and young adult students of EFL using MIM (Mobile Instant Messaging). In Intelligent CALL, granular systems and learner data: short papers from EUROCALL 2022, ► pp. 258 ff.

Pinter, Annamaria

2022. Child-centred ethics in second language education. Language Teaching for Young Learners 4:1 ► pp. 4 ff.

SÜER, Sedef

2022. A Content Analysis of English Curriculum Evaluation Studies in Turkey (Between 2005-2021). e-Kafkas Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi 9:2 ► pp. 528 ff.

Mohammad Javad Ahmadian & Michael H. Long

2021. The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching,

Behney, Jennifer & Susan Gass

2021. Interaction,

Mayo, María del Pilar García

2021. Child Interaction in Task-Supported EFL/CLIL Contexts. In The Cambridge Handbook of Task-Based Language Teaching, ► pp. 397 ff.

Routarinne, Sara & Maria Ahlholm

2021. Developing Requests in Multilingual Classroom Interaction: A Case of Second Language Development in Middle Childhood. Applied Linguistics 42:4 ► pp. 765 ff.

Azkarai, Agurtzane, María del Pilar García Mayo & Rhonda Oliver

2020. The effect of task repetition on the patterns of interaction of ESL children. ITL - International Journal of Applied Linguistics 171:1 ► pp. 90 ff.

Costa, Francesca & Elisabet Pladevall-Ballester

2020. Introduction to the Special Issue: Learners’ outcomes and effective strategies in early second language learning. EuroAmerican Journal of Applied Linguistics and Languages 7:1 ► pp. 1 ff.

Gris Roca, Joaquín

2019. Actividades para el aprendizaje del Inglés como Lengua Extranjera en libros de texto de primaria. Cuadernos de Investigación Filológica 46 ► pp. 27 ff.

Waldmann, Christian & Kirk P. H. Sullivan

2019. How the Materiality of Mobile Video Chats Shapes Emergent Language Learning Practices in Early Childhood. In Emergent Practices and Material Conditions in Learning and Teaching with Technologies, ► pp. 217 ff.

Dalle, Teresa & Gabriela Kleckova

2018. Young Learners. In The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, ► pp. 1 ff.

Cekaite, Asta

2017. What Makes a Child a Good Language Learner? Interactional Competence, Identity, and Immersion in a Swedish Classroom. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 37 ► pp. 45 ff.

DeKeyser, Robert M.

2017. Age in Learning and Teaching Grammar. In The TESOL Encyclopedia of English Language Teaching, ► pp. 1 ff.

Oliver, Rhonda & Agurtzane Azkarai

2017. Review of Child Second Language Acquisition (SLA): Examining Theories and Research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 37 ► pp. 62 ff.

Philp, Jenefer, Margaret Borowczyk & Alison Mackey

2017. Exploring the Uniqueness of Child Second Language Acquisition (SLA): Learning, Teaching, Assessment, and Practice. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 37 ► pp. 1 ff.

García Mayo, Maria del Pilar & Ainara Imaz Agirre

2016. Task repetition and its impact on EFL children’s negotiation of meaning strategies and pair dynamics: an exploratory study. The Language Learning Journal 44:4 ► pp. 451 ff.

Butler, Yuko Goto

2015. English language education among young learners in East Asia: A review of current research (2004–2014). Language Teaching 48:3 ► pp. 303 ff.

Butler, Yuko Goto

2022. Learning through digital technologies among pre-primary school children. Language Teaching for Young Learners 4:1 ► pp. 30 ff.

Guo, Karen & Noella Mackenzie

2015. Signs and Codes in Early Childhood: An Investigation of Young Children's Creative Approaches to Communication. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood 40:2 ► pp. 78 ff.

MURPHY, VICTORIA A., ERNESTO MACARO, SONIA ALBA & CLAUDIA CIPOLLA

2015. The influence of learning a second language in primary school on developing first language literacy skills. Applied Psycholinguistics 36:5 ► pp. 1133 ff.

Englezou, Eliana & Elpiniki Fragkouli

2014. Literacy in the early years and English as an additional language: The case of a British international school. Journal of Research in International Education 13:1 ► pp. 46 ff.

Kultti, Anne

2013. Singing as language learning activity in multilingual toddler groups in preschool. Early Child Development and Care 183:12 ► pp. 1955 ff.

Kultti, Anne

2015. Adding learning resources: a study of two toddlers' modes and trajectories of participation in early childhood education. International Journal of Early Years Education 23:2 ► pp. 209 ff.

Trube, Mary Barbara, Rong Yan & Lei Zhang

2013. Young Dual Language Learners in China. In Common Characteristics and Unique Qualities in Preschool Programs [Educating the Young Child, 5], ► pp. 139 ff.

Brumen, Mihaela

2011. The perception of and motivation for foreign language learning in pre‐school. Early Child Development and Care 181:6 ► pp. 717 ff.

[no author supplied]

2009. INDEX OF BOOKS RECEIVED 2009. Journal of Child Language 36:5 ► pp. 1173 ff.

[no author supplied]

2012. References. In Language Teaching Research and Language Pedagogy, ► pp. 349 ff.

[no author supplied]

2023. Child L2 Writers [Trends in Language Acquisition Research, 32],

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 24 october 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.

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