{"id":698,"date":"2010-06-02T22:00:51","date_gmt":"2010-06-02T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/elanguage.net\/blogs\/booknotices\/?p=698"},"modified":"2010-05-11T14:15:30","modified_gmt":"2010-05-11T12:15:30","slug":"achieving-success-in-second-language-acquisition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/?p=698","title":{"rendered":"Achieving success in second language acquisition"},"content":{"rendered":"
Achieving success in second language acquisition<\/strong>. By Betty Lou Leaver<\/strong>, Madeline Ehrman<\/strong>, and Boris Shekhtman<\/strong>. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. 265. ISBN 052154663X<\/a>. $29.99.<\/div>\n

Reviewed by Iulia Pittman<\/a><\/strong>, Auburn University<\/em><\/p>\n

What was supposed to be volume 2 of Passport to the world: Learning to communicate in a foreign language\u2014<\/em>a book written for students with no foreign language learning experience\u2014became an independent project for a different audience with greater challenges. Achieving success in second language acquisition<\/em> is a thorough guide through the complexities of foreign language learning that offers numerous effective strategies that help the learner overcome the hurdles language learning poses. This book, written in clear and accessible prose, is aimed at teachers and students of a foreign language, teachers of foreign language pedagogy, and independent learners of a foreign language.<\/p>\n

The book is divided into three parts and each part contains several chapters that explore various interrelated topics. Each chapter contains a \u2018Preview\u2019, a \u2018Review\u2019, and exercises that help the reader process the concepts presented. The text is interspersed with case studies that present real-life situations and solutions to them. The three parts are followed by an epilogue with further remarks and suggestions on how to become highly proficient in a foreign language.<\/p>\n

In Part 1, \u2018Learning\u2019 (Chs. 1\u20135), Leaver, Ehrman, and Shekhtman provide insight into the specifics of foreign language learning and equip the reader with tools applicable to learning in general. Ch. 1 (3\u201337) challenges the reader to think about the purpose and duration of studying a foreign language and offers suggestions on how to become a life-long learner. Ch. 2 (38\u201364) presents the roles cognition, memory, aptitude, and metacognition play in foreign language learning. Ch. 3 (65\u201391) is a detailed overview of learning styles and learning strategies. Ch. 4 (92\u2013130) introduces the affective variables in foreign language learning, including anxiety, motivation, defense mechanisms, and personality. Ch. 5 (131\u201346) outlines the array of relationships typical to the foreign language learning experience.<\/p>\n

Part 2, \u2018Language\u2019 (Chs. 6\u20138), starts with Ch. 6 (147\u201371), a chapter that addresses linguistic structures including phonology, morphology, syntax, and vocabulary-building strategies. In Ch. 7 (172\u201382) and Ch. 8 (183\u2013200), the authors unveil the complexities and subtleties of sociolinguistic competence and cultural understanding by addressing issues such as register, turn-taking, and nonverbal means of communication.<\/p>\n

Part 3, \u2018Independence\u2019 (Chs. 9\u201310), looks at learner autonomy and common situations outside the classroom. Ch. 9 (201\u201314) discusses the role of the learner in the learning process and empowers the learner with several self-regulation skills. Finally, Ch. 10 (215\u201333) includes suggestions for managing written and oral communication.<\/p>\n

Despite some minor editorial issues, this book is very informative and well structured. It can certainly be of great use and interest to students and teachers alike. The difficult task of successfully learning a foreign language is laid out clearly, thus increasing students\u2019 language-learning efficiency. Furthermore, although primarily a review for most teachers, this book invites teachers to be more reflective about their methodologies and to adjust their teaching to maximize the amount of learning.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Achieving success in second language acquisition. By Betty Lou Leaver, Madeline Ehrman, and Boris Shekhtman. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Pp. 265. ISBN 052154663X. $29.99. Reviewed by Iulia Pittman, Auburn University What was supposed to be volume 2 of Passport to the world: Learning to communicate in a foreign language\u2014a book written for students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=698"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":699,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions\/699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/journals.linguisticsociety.org\/booknotices\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}