Books
Oosterhoff, Jenneke A., Basic Dutch: A grammar and workbook. London: Routledge, 2009. Pp. viii + 197. ISBN 978-0-415-77443-7 (pbk).
This book comprises an accessible reference grammar and related exercises in a single volume. The workbook section presents twenty-five individual grammar points in realistic contexts, providing a grammatical approach which will allow students not already familiar with these structures to become accustomed to their use. Grammar points are followed by examples and exercises allowing students to reinforce and consolidate their learning. Suitable for class use or self-study, the volume introduces Dutch culture and people through the medium of the language used today, providing students with the basic tools to express themselves in a wide variety of situations. Features include: useful exercises and a full answer key, grammar tables for easy reference, frequent comparative references to English grammar, an appendix of irregular verbs, and an index of grammatical terms.
Paradis, Michel, Declarative and procedural determinants of second languages. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009. Pp. xii + 219. ISBN 978-90-272-4177-1 (pbk).
This volume is the outcome of the author's observations and puzzlement over seventeen years of teaching English and French as second languages, followed by 30 years of research into the neurolinguistic aspects of bilingualism. It examines, within the framework of a neurolinguistic theory of bilingualism, the crucial and pervasive contributions made by declarative and procedural memory to the appropriation, representation and processing of a second language. This requires careful consideration of a number of concepts associated with issues pertaining to second language research: consciousness, interface, modularity, automaticity, proficiency, accuracy, fluency, intake, ultimate attainment, switching, implicit linguistic competence and explicit metalinguistic knowledge. It is informed by data from a variety of domains, including language pathology, neuroimaging, and practical classroom experience. This book introduces four further proposals within the framework of a neurolinguistic theory of bilingualism: (1) There are two sets of cerebral representations, those that are capable of reaching consciousness and those that are not; implicit grammar is inherently not capable of reaching consciousness. (2) The increased activation observed in neuroimaging studies during the use of a second language is not devoted to the processing of implicit linguistic competence. (3) Intake is doubly implicit. (4) Given the premise that metalinguistic knowledge cannot be converted into implicit competence, there can be no possible interface between the two.
Van den Branden, Kris, Bygate, Martin & Norris, John M. (eds.), Task-based language teaching: A reader. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009. Pp. ix + 512. ISBN 978-90-272-0718-0 (pbk).
Over the past two decades, task-based language teaching (TBLT) has gained considerable momentum in the field of language education. This volume presents a collection of 20 reprinted articles and chapters representative of work that appeared during that period. It introduces readers – graduate students, researchers, teachers – to foundational ideas and themes that have marked the emergence of TBLT. The editors provide a first chapter that locates TBLT within broader discourses of educational practice and research on language learning and teaching. The book then features four sections consisting of important, often difficult to find, writings on major themes: fundamental ideas, approaches, and definitions in TBLT; curriculum, syllabus, and task design; variables affecting task-based language learning and performance; and task-based assessment. In a concluding chapter, the editors challenge simplistic notions of TBLT by reflecting on how this body of work has initiated the possibility of a truly researched language pedagogy, and they highlight critical directions in TBLT research and practice for the future.
Journals
The ESPecialist. EDUC/PUC-SP, Rua Monte Alegre, 984 – Perdizes Cep 05014-001 – São Paulo – SP, Brazil. ISSN . Vol. 29 (2008), special issue, pp. 1–212.
This special issue of the journal received contributions from teachers participating in the 21st National Seminar on English for Specific Purposes and the 9th National Seminar on Specific Purpose Languages (SPL) that took place in Caxias do Sul, Brazil. Their contributions cover themes such as educating teachers of SPL students, instructional material design, instructional texts as a textual genre, course design for SPL classes, Latin teaching through workshops, use of compound terms in German, and the relevance of pragmatics and speech act theory in didactic materials.
ASP – la revue du GERAS. Institut du Monde anglophone, 5, rue de l’École de Médecine, F-75230 Paris cedex 05, France. ISSN . Vol. 55 (2009), pp. 1–113.
This issue contains six papers, five from the 29th Colloquium of GERAS (Groupe d’étude et de recherche en anglais de spécialité) and one from the English specialist workshop at the 49th SAES (Société des anglicistes de l'enseignement supérieur) congress in Orléans. Subjects covered in this issue include journal and magazine discourse, confidentiality in professional email discourse, improving English for academic purposes literacy in Turkey, and the genre of professional-based fiction in the academic community and in the writing of Michael Crichton.
