How do people learn nonnative languages? Is there one part or function of our brains solely dedicated to language processing, or do we apply our general information-processing abilities when learning a new language? In this book, an interdisciplinary collaboration of scholars and researchers presents an overview of the latter approach to adult second language acquisition and brings together, for the first time, a comprehensive picture of the latest research on this subject.

Clearly organized into four distinct but integrated parts, Mind and Context in Adult Second Language Acquisition first provides an introduction to information-processing approaches and the tools for students to understand the data. The next sections explain factors that affect language learning, both internal (attention and awareness, individual differences, and the neural bases of language acquisition) and external (input, interaction, and pedagogical interventions). It concludes by looking at two pedagogical applications: processing instruction and content based instruction.

This important and timely volume is a must-read for students of language learning, second language acquisition, and linguists who want to better understand the information-processing approaches to learning a non-primary language. This book will also be of immense interest to language scholars, program directors, teachers, and administrators in both second language acquisition and cognitive psychology.

Cristina Sanz is a professor in the department of Spanish and Portuguese and codirector of the Center for Brain Basis of Cognition at Georgetown University.

Acknowledgments

IntroductionCristina Sanz

Part 1: THEORY AND METHODOLOGY1. Adult SLA: The interaction between external and internal factorsCristina Sanz

2. Research methodology: Quantitative approachesRusan Chen

3. Research methodology: Qualitative researchRebecca Adams, Akiko Fuji, and Alison Mackey

PART 2: INTERNAL FACTORS 4. Individual differences: Age, sex, working memory, and prior knowledgeHarriet Wood Bowden, Cristina Sanz, and Catherine A. Stafford

5. A cognitive neuroscience perspective on second language acquisition: The declarative/procedural modelMichael T. Ullman

6. Attention and awareness in SLARonald P. Leow and Melissa A. Bowles

Part 3: EXTERNAL FACTORS 7. Input and InteractionAlison Mackey and Rebekha Abbuhl

8. Explicitness in pedagogical interventions: Input, practice, and feedback Cristina Sanz and Kara Morgan-Short

Part 4: PEDAGOGICAL IMPLICATIONS 9. Processing Instruction Bill VanPatten

10. Content-based foreign language instruction Heidi Byrnes Contributors Index