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2014 45: 105RELC JournalMarilyn Lewis

Acquisition ResearchBook Review: Exploring Language Pedagogy Through Second Language

  

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Book Reviews 105

ELLIS Rod, Shintani, NatsukoExploring Language Pedagogy Through Second Language Acquisition Research(London and New York: Routledge, 2013), 388 pp. ISBN 978-0-415-51973-1(pbk).

Reviewed by: Marilyn Lewis, Honorary Research Fellow, DALSL, The University of Auckland.

Like others in the Introductions to Applied Linguistics series, this book addresses two groups of readers. Practising teachers will appreciate it as an in-depth resource, while trainers of pre- or in-service teachers can draw on specific aspects and use the ready-made discussion questions. Each chapter opens with teaching-related matters before turning to SLA theory, reversing the more common order where SLA theory acts as a jumping-off point for applying theoretical truths to classrooms.

Of the five parts, one is an overview and one a final application. ‘Instructed Second Language Acquisition’ is the only chapter in the first part, with 11 principles that suggest lecture headings for a full course. Parts II and III are distinguished as an external and an internal perspective on the links between language teaching and SLA. The former describes or prescribes ‘how teachers can teach’ (p. 29), whereas the latter treats ‘teach-ing as … a series of interactional events’ (p. 29). The single chapter of Part IV deals with learner differences and Part V’s only chapter is ‘Teaching for Learning’. There is an 11 page glossary and the usual detailed index. The probing, final discussion questions in each chapter are a reminder that often in our field there is not just one straightforward answer.

Chapter 2, which covers methods and theories of second language learning, opens with the methods/approaches distinction. Although this might seem familiar to many readers, teacher trainers in a variety of contexts still report requests to be told about ‘the latest methods’. A handy table (p. 33) brings together the three threads of approaches, methods and techniques with a simple definition of each plus their interpretation of the audiolingual method, communicative language teaching and task based language teach-ing, the triumvirate of the twentieth century. More tables add layers of detail. PPP (pre-sent-practice-produce), which is widely promoted, particularly in short ELT training courses, first surfaces here before being dealt with several times later.

Chapter 3, ‘Linguistic Syllabuses and SLA’, will also be useful for course designers. The examples from child as well as from adult learners bring alive the task of choosing and then fleshing out a syllabus which takes note of the way people actually learn a lan-guage. Chapter 4 turns to explicit instruction. Here the table comparing and contrasting deductive and inductive presentations seems particularly helpful. Yet another distinction is addressed in Chapter 5: ‘Comprehension-based and Production-based Approaches to Language Teaching’. PPP resurfaces, as it did in Chapter 4, described this time as aiming ‘to get students to learn the L2 features so thoroughly that they will be able to produce them correctly without thought’ (p. 120).

The last chapter of Part II is ‘Task-based Language Teaching’, an area in which Ellis has published widely. There are summaries, including a list of task types (p. 137), and options for the three phases of a task-based lesson (p. 142), all provided in considerable detail.

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106 RELC Journal 45(1)

As noted, Part III puts the magnifying glass on the internal perspective of language teaching and learning. One issue with a range of views is how much L1 to allow in class-rooms, including a complete ban or allowing it for specific purposes such as managing discipline. In Chapters 7 and 9 this question is addressed, with discussion of teachers’ beliefs and practices not always in parallel. For example, when the teacher uses L1 to maintain discipline, it is clear that the teacher is saying something true, not just quoting part of the lesson. If the L1 is used primarily for ‘real’ communication but the L2 only as part of teaching, could it suggest that for ‘real’ communication L2 has no place? At the start of Chapter 8, ‘Teaching as Interaction’, the authors look at areas that are usually emphasized in teacher guides as being conducive to interaction: teaching speaking, learner involvement, group work and classroom management (p. 194). As throughout the book, authentic extracts from lessons bring the theory alive. Chapter 10, on the conten-tious and frequently examined topic of ‘Corrective Feedback’, concludes Part II.

Chapter 11 about learner differences could stand alone. As happens throughout the book, the combination of theory plus examples makes it a useful update for some and an introduction for others. The final brief chapter is on ‘Teaching for Learning’. Its com-mentary on a list of generalizations about language learning and teaching adds to the message that fresh research topics are never far away. From one example which may encourage some teachers but send others into despair comes the message that classroom learning is simply not enough: students’ learning needs to continue after class.

More than 30 pages of references acknowledge the classics as well as the groundswell of recent research. Thus Richards’ 1971 work on error analysis stands alongside Reinders’ 2012 article on self-access. Also some authors whose earlier books made their mark have refreshed them several times. My two-decade old Lightbown and Spada volume defi-nitely needs to be replaced by the third edition (2006).

Writing a book like this demands extensive reading, original research, reflection on the research of others and, of course, first-hand experience in a range of classrooms. Inevitably, while reading such a wealth of information, one wishes (unrealistically) that it had been available sooner. This comprehensive book will be used and recommended many times.

References

Lightbown P, Spada N (2006) How Languages Are Learned, 3rd Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Reinders H (2012) The end of self-access? From walled garden to public park. ELT World Online 4: 1–5.

Richards J (1971) A non-contrastive approach to error analysis. ELT Journal 25: 204–19.

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