Applying SLA 

Investigators in the field of SLA are trying to unravel the mysteries of language acquisition, in this case, the acquisition of non-native languages. 

SLA investigators, like their colleagues in first language acquisition research, base their investigations on previous theoretical and experimental studies. These studies may be carried out within their own field (SLA) as well as outside SLA, in various branches of  theoretical and experimental psychology, theoretical linguistics and sociolinguistics.  By virtue of the fact that language itself is complex, SLA has become a broadly-based field and it now involves, for instance:

	studying the complex pragmatic interactions between learners, and between learners and native speakers
	examining how non-native language ability develops, stabilizes and undergoes attrition (forgetting, loss)
	carrying out a highly technical analysis and interpretation of  all aspects of learner language with the help of, amongst other things, current linguistic theory.
	developing theories that are specific to the field of SLA and which aim to account for the many facets of non-native behaviour.
	testing hypotheses to explain second language behavior using standard experimental techniques as well as also techniques specially developed for SLA purposes.

  2. Helping : Applications of SLA Research

As indicated above, the goal of SLA is to understand how learners learn, i.e. the processes underlying non-native language acquisition.. It is, therefore, not the same as research into language teaching. However, despite the fact that SLA is focused on second language development as a phenomenon in its own right  (and not on how it is deliberately facilitated, the firm hope is often voiced by people, even from within the SLA research community, that SLA findings will contribute towards the construction of a much more scientific basis for language instruction.  Helping learners to learn does not require an understanding of  SLA phenomena. However, applied research based on such understanding should be much more efficient and effective. Applied linguists whose particular interest is in facilitating the language learning process should find ways of interpreting relevant SLA research in wa ys that will benefit the language teacher.

SLA, in this light, should become an essential point of reference for:

	those involved in educational activities
	researchers looking at how to facilitate the learning process
	official bodies, e.g. boards of education and ministries responsible for influencing 1 and 2.

An Introductory Bibliography

SLA bibliography for beginners

Vivian Cook's SLA Bibliography   (highly recommended)

An introductory bibliography (1990-)

Below, you will find a few recently published books and readers published over the last decade which give an idea of the mainstream ideas and the variety of research topics within the field of SLA. The shortest and simplest introduction to the field is Lightbown and Spada. This bibliography will be extended.

     General

Bialystok, E., & Hakuta, K. 1994. In Other Words: The Science and  Psychology of  Second-Language Acquisition. New York: BasicBooks.

Braidi, S. 1999, The Acquisition of Second Language Syntax London: Arnold

Cook, V. 1993. Linguistics and Second Language Acquisition. New York:St. Martin's Press.

Ellis, R. 1994. The Study of Second Language Acquisition. Oxford:  Oxford University Press.

Ellis, R. 1997. Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.  [SHORT]

Gass, S., Sorace, A. and Selinker, A. 1998 (1st.ed: 1994) Second Language Learning: Data Analysis. Lawrence Erlbaum

Gass, S.,  and Selinker, L. 1994 Second Language Acquisition: An Introductory Course  Lawrence Erlbaum.

Gass, M. S. (1997). Input, interaction, and the second language learner.  Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Larsen Freeman, D and Long, M. 1991. An Introduction to Second Language Acquisition. London: Longman

Lightbown, P. and Spada, N.1995. How Languages are Learned.  Oxford: Oxford University Press [SHORT]

Mitchell, R. and Myles, F. 1998,  Theories of Second Language Learning. London: Arnold

Preston, D. R. 1989. Sociolinguistics and Second Language Acquisition. Oxford: Basil Blackwell

Ritchie, W. C., & Bhatia, T. K. (Eds.). 1996. Handbook of Second Language Acquisition.

Sharwood Smith, M. 1994. Second Language Acquisition: Theoretical Foundations. London, Longman

Towell, R. and Hawkins R. 1994. Approaches to Second Language Acquisition Clevedon, UK: Multilingual Matters

White, L. 1989. Universal Grammar and Second Language  Acquisition. Amsterdam: John Benjamins

White, L. 2003. Second Language  Acquisition and Universal Grammar. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

        Recent Readers

Brown, H. D., & Gonzo, S. T. 1995. Readings on Second Language Acquisition. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Doughty, C and J. Williams: 1998. Focus-on-Form in Second Language Acquisition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Ellis, N. (ed) 1995. Implicit and Explicit Learning of Languages.  London. Academic Press

Eubank, L., Selinker L. and Sharwood Smith M. 1995. The Current  State of Interlanguage.  Amsterdam: John  Benjamins

     Useful Links for SLA Researchers

Learner Corpus Links*

	ICLE at CECL (by S. Granger)
	The Swedish Component of ICLE (by B. Altenberg)
	The Finnish Component of ICLE (by H. RIngbom)
	The Polish Component of ICLE (PICLE) (by Kaszbuski)
	The Brazilian Component of ICLE (Bricle) (by T. Berber Sardinha)
	Hungarian EFL Learner Corpus University of Pecs, Hungary
	Longman Learners' Corpus (Longman) commercial site.
	Cambridge Learners' Corpus. commercial site.

For more corpus information go to: 

1. Yukio Tono's site (updated)

2. Links at the Brazil Learner Corpus project

3. Linguistic Data Consortium

4. The Centre of English Corpus linguistics