Books

VanPatten, Bill & Benati, Alessandro G., Key terms in second language acquisition. London: Continuum, 2010. Pp. viii + 184. ISBN 978-08-264-9914-1 (pbk).

This book provides a comprehensive overview of all the key terms in SLA which students of linguistics and English language are likely to encounter during their study. The book includes definitions of these terms, as well as accessible summaries of the key theories and thinkers within this area of study. The final section presents a list of crucial readings which not only signposts classic articles for the reader, but also provides a springboard to further study. It is accessibly written, with complicated terms and concepts explained in a way which is easy to understand.

Praulinš, Dace & Moseley, Christopher, Colloquial Latvian: The complete course for beginners (2nd edn.). London: Routledge, 2009. Pp. xxi + 266. ISBN 978-0-415-45480-3 (pbk).

This new edition of Colloquial Latvian has been completely rewritten to make learning Latvian easier and more enjoyable. Specially written by experienced teachers for self-study or class use, the course offers a step-by-step approach to written and spoken Latvian with many interactive exercises for regular practice, clear concise grammar notes, a useful vocabulary and pronunciation guide, together with an answer key and reference section. No prior knowledge of the language is assumed.

Enever, Janet, Moon, Jayne & Raman, Uma (eds.), Young learner English language policy and implementation: International perspectives. Reading: Garnet Education, 2009. Pp. vi + 248. ISBN 978-1-901-09523-4 (pbk).

This publication, resulting from the conference The Way Forward: Learning from International Experience of TEYL held in Bangalore, India, in 2008, responds to concerns that there is often insufficient guidance available to decision-makers at ministry level regarding the policy and practical implications of an early start for English. This collection of twenty-eight papers reflects the insights of a group of academics, policy makers, senior educationalists and practitioners who have been important contributors internationally, regionally or in their own countries, to debates about young learner policy and practice. These papers represent a significant contribution to current thinking on effective young learner language policy formulation, the design of appropriate programmes for implementation, and the sustainable implementation of policy at local and national levels. The first section of this book contains country-specific case studies which provide analyses of a range of policy issues in state school provision for Teaching English to Young Learners (TEYL), including some recommendations for policy makers in planning and shaping their future national provision. The second section includes accounts of innovations, experiments or small-scale projects from the state and private sectors, across a range of countries.

Aronin, Larissa & Hufeisen, Britta (eds.), The exploration of multilingualism: Development of research on L3, multilingualism and multiple language acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins, 2009. Pp. vii + 165. ISBN 978-90-272-8897-4 (hbk).

This volume offers an ontogenetic perspective on L3 research, multilingualism and multiple languages acquisition and a conceptually updated picture of multilingualism studies and third/multiple language acquisition studies. The contributions by prominent scholars of multilingualism present state-of-the-art accounts of the significant aspects in this field. This unique collection of articles adopts a broad-spectrum and synthesized view on the topic. The volume, largely theoretical and classificatory, features main theories, prominent researchers and important research trends. The articles also contain factual and historical material from previous and current decades of research and offer practical information on research resources.

Journals

The ESPecialist. EDUC/PUC-SP, Rua Monte Alegre, 984 – Perdizes Cep 05014-001 – São Paulo – SP, Brazil. ISSN 0102-7077. Vol. 29.1 (2008), pp. 1–138.

In an issue dedicated to the memory of the late John Holmes, who went to Brazil with the British Council to help with the development of the Key English Language Teaching project, five articles display themes of interest in the areas of teacher development, genre studies, and language teaching and learning. Holmes's own paper on a systems approach to evaluation and course design is also reprinted in this issue. Luiz Fernando Gomes & Beatriz Gama Rodrigues (Universidade de Sorocaba, Brazil) present and discuss curriculum change in a language course after the introduction of new technologies. In the third paper, Kelly C. M. Gaignoux (Facultades Integradas Brasil, Belén) & Walkyria Magno e Silva (Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém, Brazil)) conduct a case study to investigate how learning strategies instruction enhances the development of oral production. Keila Rocha Reis de Carvalho (UNISA, LAEL-PUC SP, São Paolo, Brazil) addresses genre analysis theory in her paper discussing the rhetorical organisation of 30 oral presentations in English in the area of pneumology. The issue closes with an article by Mariney Pereira Conceição (Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, Brazil), who reports on the contributions of dictionary use to word retention in a foreign language.

The ESPecialist. EDUC/PUC-SP, Rua Monte Alegre, 984 – Perdizes Cep 05014-001 – São Paulo – SP, Brazil. ISSN 0102-7077. Vol. 29.2 (2008), pp. 139–260.

This issue brings together five papers that address themes related to business English teaching, corporate communication, conciliation hearings in institutional settings, reading comprehension, and the writing of research papers analysed from a contrastive perspective. Orlando Vian Jr. (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil) discusses the application of needs analysis to the teaching of ESP in business settings. Ane Grasiele Gomes de Freitas & Maria Carmen Aires Gomes (Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil) discuss the dissemination of information based on social actions which value the corporate image. Wânia Terezinha Ladeira (Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, Brazil) analyses the discursive topic in talk-in-interaction which is contextualised in conciliation hearings in a claims court. Alicia Pérez de Pereyra, Beatriz Aguilar de Espinosa & Cecilia Tossi (Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina) present a sequence of activities designed for recognition of the ‘problem-solution’ pattern in scientific texts. Finally, Maria Esther W. Moritz (UNISUL, Florianópolis, Brazil), J. L. Meurer & Adriana Kuerten Dellagnelo (UFSC, Florianópolis, Brazil) present a contrastive investigation focused on conclusions of research articles written in L1 Portuguese, L1 English and L2 English.