Books

Cai, Zong-qi (ed.), How to read Chinese poetry: A guided anthology. New York: Columbia University Press, 2008. Pp. xxv + 426. ISBN: 978-0-231-13941-0 (pbk); ISBN: 978-0-231-13940-3 (cloth).

In this ‘guided’ anthology, experts lead students through the major genres and eras of Chinese poetry from antiquity to the modern time. The volume is divided into six chronological sections and features more than 140 examples of the best shi, sao, fu, ci, and qu poems. A comprehensive introduction and extensive thematic table of contents highlight the thematic, formal, and prosodic features of Chinese poetry, and each chapter is written by a scholar who specializes in a particular period or genre. Poems are presented in Chinese and English and are accompanied by a tone-marked romanised version, an explanation of Chinese linguistic and poetic conventions, and recommended reading strategies. Sound recordings of the poems are available online free of charge. These unique features facilitate an intense engagement with Chinese poetical texts and help the reader derive aesthetic pleasure and insight from these works as one could from the original.

Dakowska, Maria, Teaching English as a foreign language: A guide for professionals. Warsaw: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 2005. Pp. 292. ISBN 978-83-01-14498-2 (pbk).

This book is addressed to teachers and teacher trainees who wish to become professionals in TEFL (teaching English as a foreign language) and aims to develop their background knowledge of the field, especially understanding the processes of language learning and teaching. With these goals in mind, the manual systematizes the principles and strategies of teaching English as a foreign language. The book opens with a retrospective of the thinking which provides the context for our current understanding of language learning and teaching. The latter covers the key mainstream and alternative methods, the communicative approach and its critique, some developments and shifts of emphasis following these methods at the end of the twentieth century, and the present perspective of language learning and teaching. It focuses on the language learner, his or her cognitive and communicative processes in the sociocultural context, and also stresses the whole-person involvement in the language learning process. The rest of the book outlines the development of communication and learning in childhood and adolescence and is followed by a psycholinguistically-based presentation of teaching the four language skills, illustrated with numerous activities. Each section includes review questions, with a list of terms at the end.

Dalioso, Michele, Early foreign language teaching (Documents in Language Acquisition and Learning 5). Perugia: Guerra Edizioni, 2007. Pp. 62. ISBN: 978-88-557-0068-9 (pbk).

The author – based at the Department of Language Sciences, Ca' Foscari University, Venice, Italy – develops here an epistemological interdisciplinary model of language teaching to young learners, focusing on up-to-eight-year-olds. Arising from considerations of neurosciences and cognitive, psychological, linguistic and educational sciences, the model has three interrelated dimensions: acquisitional, linguistic-cultural and methodological. Strong emphasis is placed on the child's emotions and senses, which should be at the centre of the learning/teaching process and any methodological choices. Given young learners' special cognitive and cultural characteristics and needs, special teaching strategies and techniques are outlined within the ‘humanistic-affective approach’ associated with ongoing language teaching methodology research of the Venetian School. Embedded within playful methodology, specific ‘teaching’ techniques rely on the understanding that second-language acquisition/teaching/learning must be integrated with the child's general cognitive and emotional development. The book clearly presents the guiding scientific assumptions and considerations, and resulting teaching recommendations, and includes a selected bibliography. It will be of interest to both practitioners and researchers in the field of early language teaching, and to those interested in language teaching research conducted in Italy and – to some extent – in language teaching practice in Italian schools.

Jackson, Howard, Key terms in linguistics. London & New York: Continuum, 2007. Pp. vi + 173. ISBN 978-08264-8741-4 (hbk); ISBN 978-08264-8742-1 (pbk).

This reference book explains the terms which students of linguistics and English language are likely to encounter during their undergraduate study. The book is organised according to the modules under which linguistics is studied, starting with explanations of the terms associated with the core areas of phonetics and phonology, morphology and syntax, semantics and pragmatics. The book also looks at more specialised option courses, which may be taken in later years of study, including sociolinguistics, psycholinguistics, applied linguistics, corpus linguistics and discourse analysis. The final section, Schools of Linguistics, outlines the major frameworks within which linguistics is studied and the main terms associated with each of them. The book also points readers towards further publications for more extensive exposition. Accessibly written, the book is another resource choice for students of language and linguistics.

Kenning, Marie-Madeleine, ICT and language learning from print to the mobile phone. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. Pp. x + 215. ISBN 0-230-51707-2 (hbk).

This book addresses two questions: What has been the impact of the evolution of ICT on the experience of the language user/learner historically and today? What can we infer from this, and from an analysis of communication in today's world, about how best to use ICT in language learning? Offering a novel perspective, the book explores the interplay of ICT and language learning from the printing press to the mobile phone. It considers how technological advances, through their impact on communication, language education and language learning itself, affect not only how languages are learnt and taught, but also what kind of language is (or should be) learnt and taught. As well as identifying some recurrent themes and concerns, the approach highlights the multifaceted and complex nature of language study and its evolutionary dimension.

Journals

the ESPecialist, the Center of Resources, Research and Information in Applied Linguistics and Instrumental Language Teaching (CEPRIL), the Catholic University of São Paulo (PUCSP); Revista the ESPecialist, Rua Monte Alegre 984, Perdizes – 05014-001 São Paulo, SP, Brasil. ISSN .

Vol. 28.1 (2007), 116 pp. Carries five peer-refereed articles by researchers based in Brazil and Spain, three in Portuguese and two in English, all with an abstract in English. The articles deal with the learning and the teaching of languages for special purposes, including the language of financial advertising, engineering, education, company human resources environment, and hotel management and administration. Two papers explore reading electronic texts as a pedagogic activity and the use of hypermedia in implicit vocabulary learning, and one compares the teaching of first- and second-language academic writing skills at undergraduate level.