Anne Burns and Jack C. Richards (eds): THE CAMBRIDGE GUIDE TO LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE

Abstract

This book, a follow-up to the editors’ successful guide to second language (L2) teacher education (Burns and Richards 2009), is a clear and concise introduction to the research and scholarship across 36 topics related to learning English as an L2. Although the title indicates that the focus is on English, because many of the authors discuss L2 learning and second language acquisition (SLA) more generally, the book should find an audience with scholars who are interested in research on learning other languages as well. Also, the book may find a readership with those who might not require the depth of scholarship offered in previous handbooks of SLA (Doughty and Long 2008; Gass and Mackey 2013; Herschensohn and Young-Scholten 2013). The compendium’s 36 chapters are divided into nine sections. Section 1, Learners and Learning English, begins with chapters on learning English as a child, an adolescent, and an adult, respectively. Section 2 focuses on the affective, individual, and social aspects of learning English, such as learner anxiety, motivation, and identity. Section 3 is organized around the social contexts of learning English—from learning through interaction, to learning in the classroom, and to learning beyond the classroom. Section 4 includes chapters on learning English for academic purposes, learning for specific purposes, and learning English for the workplace. Section 5 is organized around learning the systems of English—from pronunciation, to vocabulary, to chunks, and to learning grammar. Section 6 looks at learning the four skills, beginning with listening, followed by speaking, then reading, and, finally, writing. Section 7 focuses on social uses of English, with chapters about learning genres, literacy, pragmatics, and intercultural competence, respectively. Section 8 is about approaches to learning English and includes chapters about learning through tasks, content, translation, textbooks, or a corpus. Section 9, the final section, looks at learning through technology, online learning, and learning through social media.