Introducing Second Language AcquisitionWritten for students encountering the topic for the first time, this is aclear and practical introduction to Second Language Acquisition (SLA).

It explains in nontechnical language how a second language is acquired;what the second language learner needs to know; and why some learnersare more successful than others.

The textbook introduces in a step-by-step fashion a range of fundamentalconcepts – such as SLA in adults and children, in formal and informallearning contexts, and in diverse sociocultural settings – and takes aninterdisciplinary approach, encouraging students to consider SLA fromlinguistic, psychological, and social perspectives. Each chapter contains alist of key terms, a summary, and a range of graded exercises suitable forself-testing or class discussion. Providing a solid foundation in SLA, thisbook is set to become the leading introduction to the field for students oflinguistics, psychology, education, and trainee language teachers.

MURIEL SAVILLE-TROIKE is Regent’s Professor of English at the University ofArizona. She has made significant contributions to the fields ofsociolinguistics and applied linguistics, and has previously held posts atTexas A & M University, the University of Texas, Georgetown University,and the University of Illinois. She has previously published TheEthnography of Communication: An Introduction (Third Edition, 2003),Foundations for Teaching English as a Second Language (1976), and A Handbookof Bilingual Education (with Rudolph C. Troike, 1971).

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Cambridge Introductions to Language and LinguisticsThis new textbook series provides students and their teachers with accessible introductions to the majorsubjects encountered within the study of language and linguistics. Assuming no prior knowledge of thesubject, each book is written and designed for ease of use in the classroom or seminar, and is ideal foradoption on a modular course as the core recommended textbook. Each book offers the ideal introductorymaterial for each subject, presenting students with an overview of the main topics encountered in theircourse, and features a glossary of useful terms, chapter previews and summaries, suggestions for furtherreading, and helpful exercises. Each book is accompanied by a supporting website.

Books published in the seriesIntroducing Phonology David OddenIntroducing Speech and Language Processing John ColemanIntroducing Phonetic Science John Maidment and Michael AshbyIntroducing Second Language Acquisition Muriel Saville-Troike

Forthcoming:Introducing Sociolinguistics Miriam MeyerhoffIntroducing Morphology Maggie Tallerman and S. J. HannahsIntroducing Historical Linguistics Brian JosephIntroducing Language Bert Vaux

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IntroducingSecondLanguageAcquisition

MURIEL SAVILLE-TROIKEUniversity of Arizona

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cambridge university pressCambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo

Cambridge University PressThe Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK

Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York

www.cambridge.orgInformation on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521794077

©Muriel Saville-Troike 2006

This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.

First published 2006

Printed in the United Kingdom at the University Press, Cambridge

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN-13 978-0-521-79086-4 hardbackISBN-10 0-521-79086-7 hardbackISBN-13 978-0-521-79407-7 paperbackISBN-10 0-521-79407-2 paperback

Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs forexternal or third-party internet websites referred to in this book, and does not guaranteethat any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate.

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About the book viiAcknowledgments viii

1 Introducing Second Language Acquisition 1What is SLA? 2What is a second language? 3What is a first language? 4Diversity in learning and learners 5Summary 5Activities 6

2 Foundations of Second Language Acquisition 7The world of second languages 8The nature of language learning 12L1 versus L2 learning 16The logical problem of language learning 21Frameworks for SLA 24Summary 29Activities 29Further reading 30

3 The linguistics of Second Language Acquisition 31The nature of language 32Early approaches to SLA 33Universal Grammar 46Functional approaches 52Summary 62Activities 63Further reading 64

4 The psychology of Second Language Acquisition 67Languages and the brain 68Learning processes 73Differences in learners 81The effects of multilingualism 93Summary 94Activities 95Further reading 96

5 Social contexts of Second Language Acquisition 99Communicative competence 100Microsocial factors 101

Contents

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Macrosocial factors 119Summary 130Activities 130Further reading 132

6 Acquiring knowledge for L2 use 133Competence and use 134Academic vs. interpersonal competence 135Components of language knowledge 137Receptive activities 153Productive activities 162Summary 169Activities 170Further reading 171

7 L2 learning and teaching 173Integrating perspectives 174Approaching near-native competence 179Implications for L2 learning and teaching 180Summary 180

Answer guide to questions for self-study 181Glossary 185References 197Index 205

vi CONTENTS

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This book is a brief but comprehensive intro-duction to the field of Second LanguageAcquisition (SLA). The intended audience is pri-marily undergraduate students, but it is alsosuitable for graduate students who have littleor no prior knowledge of linguistics.

My goals in writing this book are threefold:(1) to provide a basic level of knowledge aboutsecond language learning phenomena to stu-dents as part of their general education inhumanities, the social sciences, and education;(2) to stimulate interest in second languagelearning and provide guidance for further read-ing and study; and (3) to offer practical help tosecond language learners and future teachers.

Scope and perspective

I have included a broader range of SLA pheno-mena in this book than is the usual case: thoseinvolved in both adult and child second languagelearning, in both formal (instructed) and infor-mal (natural) contexts of learning, and in diversesociocultural settings. Since my own professionalidentity and commitment are interdisciplinary, Iemphasize the importance of integrating linguis-tic, psychological, and social perspectives on SLAeven as I recognize the differential nature oftheir assumptions and contributions. An efforthas been made to maintain balance among themin quantity and quality of representation.

The focus of this book is on the acquisition ofsecond language “competence,” but this con-struct is broadly considered from differentpoints of view: as “linguistic competence” (inthe sense of underlying grammatical knowl-edge); as “communicative competence” (addingnotions of requisite cultural knowledge andother knowledge which enables appropriateusage); and as knowledge required for partici-pation in communicative activities involvingreading, listening, writing, and speaking.

Design

Each chapter of this book considers three basicquestions: What exactly does the L2 learnercome to know? How does the learner acquirethis knowledge? Why are some learners moresuccessful than others? Chapter 1 introducesthe most basic terms and concepts, beginningwith “What is SLA?” Chapter 2 provides a foun-dational background, ranging from the natureand distribution of multilingualism in theworld to generally accepted notions of contrastsbetween first and second language acquisition.The chapter concludes with a preview of the dif-ferent theoretical frameworks of SLA whichwill be surveyed. Chapters 3 to 5 focus in turnon different disciplinary perspectives: linguis-tic, psychological, and social. Chapter 6 focuseson the competence required for academic andinterpersonal functions, and on the interde-pendence of content, context, and linguisticknowledge. The final chapter briefly summa-rizes and integrates answers to the basic what,how, and why questions that are posed through-out the book.

Each chapter includes a preview of its con-tent and a summary. Chapters 1 to 6 concludewith suggested activities for self-checking ofunderstanding and for class discussion or indi-vidual exploration. Chapters 2 to 6 includeannotated suggestions for further reading oneach major topic in that chapter. Importanttechnical concepts are presented sequentional-ly with key terms listed at the beginning ofchapters and highlighted with explanationsand examples in the text. A comprehensive glos-sary is provided for student reference, and thesubject index allows for integration and rein-forcement of concepts across topics and disci-plinary perspectives. All terms which appear inthe glossary are highlighted in the text,whether or not they are listed as key terms.

About the book

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Any introductory survey of a field is indebted tomany sources, and this is no exception (as therelatively long list of references suggests). I amparticularly grateful to Karen Barto in thepreparation of this work: she developed the sug-gestions for further reading and chapter activi-ties, and she has contributed significantly toother aspects of conceptualization and develop-ment. I am also grateful to colleagues who pro-vided input on earlier drafts (especially RudyTroike, Peter Ecke, Renate Schulz, and MaryWildner-Bassett), although they do not bearresponsibility for my conclusions. My students

at the University of Arizona have been mosthelpful in providing relevant examples and inindicating where clarification in my presenta-tion was necessary. I could not begin to make anenumeration, but I thank them all.

Every effort has been made to secure neces-sary permissions to reproduce copyright mate-rial in this work, though in some cases it hasproved impossible to trace copyright holders. Ifany omissions are brought to our notice, wewill be happy to include appropriate acknowl-edgments on reprinting or in any subsequentedition.

Acknowledgments

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