The Study of Second Language Acquisition, by Rod Ellis. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press, 1994. vii + 824 pp.

Abstract

Oxford, The Study of Second Language Acquisition by Rod UK: Oxford University Press, 1994. vii + 824pp. Scarlett L. Ellis. Reviewed by Robbins University of California, Los Angeles of second language acquisition (SLA) research, now more is expanding rapidly and widening the scope both of its research interests and perspectives (e.g., cognitive, grammatical, neural, pragmatic, and socio-interactive aspects of language learning and use) and of its applicability to other fields (e.g., anthropology, cognitive psychology, second/foreign language teaching, sociology, theoretical linguistics). With three journals devoted primarily to SLA research (e.g., Language Learning, Second Language Research, Studies in Second Language Acquisition) and numerous others regularly publishing articles on the topic (e.g., Applied Language Learning, Applied Linguistics, Issues in Applied Linguistics, TESOL Quarterly), the task of presenting a comprehensive review of the literature on SLA has become a daunting one indeed. Ellis' The Study of Second Language Acquisition is an attempt to accomplish just that task. Ellis claims that the acceptance of SLA as a discipline in its own right depends upon its status as a defined field of inquiry and the existence of a body of research and knowledge related to it (p. 3). With this volume, he sets out to satisfy these defining criteria and thereby to establish SLA as a discipline in its own right. He first delimits the range and scope of the field of SLA research and then comprehensively reviews the existing SLA literature in a logically organized fashion so as to demonstrate the conceptual coherence of this broad, multi-perspective, and somewhat The field than 25 years old, diverse field. The Study of Second Language Acquisition is aimed primarily at future second/foreign language teachers who, Ellis argues, would benefit substantially from knowledge of SLA research. This book can provide teachers with invaluable insights and help them to make their assumptions about SLA explicit and, as a consequence, to more effectively evaluate their pedagogic practices (p. 4). The text is also aimed at introductory level SLA students and SLA researchers in need of a reference text. The text consists of 15 chapters organized into seven parts and is supplemented by an extensive glossary, a bibliography, and author and subject indices. Ellis sets out in Part One to define the field of SLA research by considering the basic questions which it seeks to answer and to Issues in Applied Linguistics ISSN 1050-4273 Vol. 6 No. Regents of the University of California