HOW TO USE CORPORA IN LANGUAGE TEACHING. John McH. Sinclair (Ed.). Amsterdam. Benjamins, 2004. Pp. vi + 306. $114.00 cloth, $42.95 paper.

This is the 12th volume in Benjamins' estimable Studies in corpus linguistics series and has been edited by Sinclair, in many ways the doyen of the field. After an introduction by the editor, the collection is divided into five sections. The first four cover “The Corpus and the Teacher,” “Resources—Corpora,” “Research,” and “Resources—Computing” and contain a total of eleven papers. The final section contains a single long essay by Sinclair, entitled “Prospects.” As these headings indicate, the range of this volume is somewhat broader than a perusal of its title alone might indicate.

THE NEUROBIOLOGY OF LEARNING: PERSPECTIVES FROM SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. John H. Schumann, Sheila E. Crowell, Nancy E. Jones, Namhee Lee, Sara Ann Schuchert, and Lee Alexandra Wood. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2004. Pp. xiii + 212. $59.95 cloth, $34.50 paper.

This volume is an attempt to relate neuroscience research to cognitive metaphors (e.g., auditory loop, Universal Grammar [UG], fossilization) used by SLA researchers and psycholinguists to describe language acquisition. The volume consists of six chapters, originally master's theses and PhD qualifying papers, and an introduction and conclusion by Schumann. The chapters review literature that pertains to the neurobiology of six subtopics: aptitude, motivation, procedural memory, declarative memory, memory consolidation, and attention. In the preface, Schumann suggests that the purpose of the volume is “to promote a neurobiology of language that starts with the brain and moves to behavior” (p. xi), although he acknowledges one page later that “empirical research on the hypothesized mechanisms may be some time off” (p. xii). The volume aims to convince the intended readership, SLA researchers who might know little or no neurobiology, that investing time in the study of the neuroscience of learning is critical to the field's progression.

VOCABULARY IN A SECOND LANGUAGE: SELECTION, ACQUISITION, AND TESTING. Paul Bogaards and Batia Laufer (Eds.). Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2004. Pp. xiv + 233. $126.00 cloth, $42.95 paper.

This volume consists primarily of papers that were presented at the second language vocabulary acquisition colloquium at Leiden University in March 2002 and represents a broad scope of quantitative studies by leading scholars in the field. It is organized under three different themes: “Selection,” “Acquisition,” and “Testing.” In the introduction, the editors briefly describe the contributions and follow with several pages that illustrate how the papers diverge on the conceptualization of central issues (e.g., the basic unit under investigation; aspects of the learning process, learning conditions, and time course of measurement; definitions of the construct of word knowledge). Finally, they add their own insightful perspectives on such issues, as well as helpful suggestions for further exploration, as a stimulus for future research.

SECOND LANGUAGE WRITING RESEARCH: PERSPECTIVES ON THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION. Paul Kei Matsuda and Tony Silva (Eds.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. xv + 254, $79.95 cloth, $29.95 paper.

This collection of articles, edited by Matsuda and Silva, is a valuable resource for both new and established researchers in the field of second language (L2) writing. The main goal of the text is to give readers insight into the messy realities of conducting research in this area by discussing issues that are not included in introductory books on research methodology. The volume is divided into three parts: “Research as Situated Knowledge Construction,” “Conceptualizing L2 Writing Research,” and “Collecting and Analyzing Data.”

A History of English Language Teaching (2nd ed). A. P. R. Howatt (with H. G. Widdowson). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. Pp. xix + 417. £19.20 paper.

This volume, a record of the teaching of English to speakers of other languages from the Renaissance to the present day, starts in 1400, when English was a minority language spoken by a population of no more than 3 million people. The book describes the process of making the language teachable and documents the developments in language teaching theory and practice that led to the emergence of English language teaching (ELT) as an autonomous profession.

SPANISH/ENGLISH CODESWITCHING IN A WRITTEN CORPUS. Laura Callahan. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2004. Pp. viii + 183. $108.00 cloth.

Despite a vast literature on oral codeswitching—the use of more than one language within a single conversation—codeswitching as a written literary practice has remained largely underinvestigated. In redressing this imbalance, Callahan examines Spanish-English codeswitching in literary texts from a grammatical and a discourse function perspective. The analysis of a corpus of 30 novels and shorts stories suggests that there is a “fundamental similarity” between written and spoken codeswitching and that written codeswitching “does not require a separate model of syntactic constraints” (p. 69). Callahan also argues that written codeswitching is far from an artificial literary device; not only does it fulfill the same authentic discourse functions reported for oral codeswitching but its use constitutes authors' strategic “rejection of monolingual English as well as of monolingual Spanish” (p. 145) in a redefined sociolinguistic market.

DISCOURSE IN THE PROFESSIONS: PERSPECTIVES FROM CORPUS LINGUISTICS. Ulla Connor and Thomas A. Upton (Eds.). Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2004. Pp. vi + 334. $119.00 cloth.

Whereas general corpora have been used successfully by linguists and language practitioners for more than 40 years now, corpora that capture the language of particular discourse communities are only recently becoming the focus of attention. The chapters in the present collection, edited by Connor and Upton, respond to the growing research interest in academic and professional discourses and illustrate the profitable use of specialized corpora in linguistics and in the learning and teaching of English for academic purposes (EAP) and English for specific purposes (ESP).

Input Enhancement: From Theory and Research to the Classroom. Wynne Wong. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2005. Pp. xx + 130. $43.44 paper.

This new title in the McGraw-Hill Second language professional series is a highly readable book written primarily for in-service and would-be teachers of second and foreign languages (L2) who have never studied SLA. The book addresses one of the fundamental concepts of current SLA research—input—in the context of its relationship to grammar instruction. It introduces readers to instructional techniques that help L2 learners pay attention to grammatical form while providing them with the input that they need for successful acquisition of their L2s. These techniques are called input enhancement techniques—specifically, input flood, textual enhancement, structured input, and grammar consciousness-raising tasks, which are explained in chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the book, respectively. This main part of the book is preceded by a historical overview of grammar instruction in chapter 1, a brief discussion of SLA research and its relation to classroom teaching in chapter 2, and a concise explanation focused on the concepts of input and input enhancement as used in the field of SLA in chapter 3. Chapter 8 is a concluding chapter in which the author gives caveats, suggestions, and advice for using the input enhancement techniques introduced in the book.

TEACHING ESL COMPOSITION: PURPOSE, PROCESS, AND PRACTICE (2nd ed.). Dana R. Ferris and John S. Hedgcock. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. xiv + 431. $45.00 paper.

This book presents theoretical and practical issues relevant to the teaching of composition to learners of English as a second language (ESL). As the subtitle implies, the book firmly grounds the purpose of teaching ESL composition in past and current research, puts emphasis on the writing process of ESL writers, and pursues pedagogical equilibrium with equal focus on theory and practice. The book approaches broad and general themes in the first few chapters and moves on to more specific pedagogical concerns in the later chapters.

Task-Based Instruction in Foreign Language Education. Betty Lou Leaver and Jane R. Willis (Eds.). Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 2004. Pp. vi + 336. $29.95 paper.

This volume provides in-depth coverage of what is actually meant by task-based instruction (TBI) through a large range of case studies carried out in government schools, private schools, universities, and Web-based programs. Although this book is useful for teachers and administrators who implement such programs in their curricula, it is also useful for preservice teachers, instructors, and publishers trying to integrate and comprehend TBI more extensively.

LANGUAGE ASSESSMENT AND PROGRAMME EVALUATION. Brian K. Lynch. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2003. Pp. ix + 182. $34.00 paper.

In this slim volume, Lynch offers a unique contribution of interest for language educators and of particular utility for students who are new to the domain. By integrating the treatment of assessment and evaluation and by exploring issues in design, development, analysis, and ethics, the volume effectively introduces readers to key concerns in these oft-confounded processes. Additionally, although SLA is not addressed directly, SLA researchers might take interest in Lynch's treatment of paradigms and their role in applied work.

What is Meaning? Fundamentals of Formal Semantics. Paul Portner. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Pp. x + 235. $29.95 paper.

Another textbook on formal semantics? Before you reach for the Tylenol, relax; this is a textbook with a twist: It is an informal textbook on formal semantics. Portner's book is actually a very ambitious endeavor because it sets out to teach the basics of the scientific study of meaning in an accessible and user-friendly way. Readers of SSLA who have struggled with formal semantics as undergraduates, in graduate school, or both will appreciate the challenge. I believe that Portner is mostly successful in his endeavor. As I will explain, he is almost too successful; as a result, the apparent raison d'être of the book is defeated, to an extent. In what follows, I will qualify this claim.

MULTIPLE VOICES IN THE TRANSLATION CLASSROOM. Maria González Davies. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2004. Pp. x + 259. $150.00 cloth, $42.95 paper.

In recent times, translator education has, in general, tried to stay away from SLA. One of the reasons for this lies in the prescriptivist belief that students should have acquired their languages by the time they start their translation education. Yet the reality is that current translation practice throughout the world includes many cases of incomplete language acquisition, especially in immigrant communities, and that translation into a second language is common (Campbell, 1998; McAlester, 1992; Newmark, 1988). Therefore, this volume is, in principle, a relevant publication for the field of SLA.

LANGUAGE, LITERACY, AND POWER IN SCHOOLING. Teresa L. McCarty (Ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum, 2005. Pp. xxvi + 317. $34.50 paper.

The ways in which macro factors of global socioeconomic power shape micro language/literacy interactions in education have increasingly gained attention in applied linguistics research. This volume, which emerged from an American Anthropological Association symposium in 1999, sets out to examine this dialectic through the lens of critical ethnographic research. In her introduction, McCarty draws on the new literacy studies paradigm to challenge dichotomizing discourses—oral versus literate, literate versus illiterate, monolingual versus bilingual—as well as current calls for standardization, homogeneity, and universalist approaches to language and literacy education. Instead, the editor situates the volume within a social practices framework, which emphasizes the multiplicity and variability of literacy practices shaped by context, power, culture, and purpose.

Language Development Across Childhood and Adolescence. Ruth A. Berman (Ed.). Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2004. Pp. xiv + 308. $102.00 cloth.

This volume is the third in the Trends in language acquisition research series by the International Association for the Study of Child Language. It focuses on first language (L1) development in school-age children and adolescents, including both normal and impaired learners. The introductory chapter by Nippold lays out broad questions of later language development—namely (a) what develops (figurative language, low frequency syntactic structures, metalinguistic awareness, etc.) and (b) what drives development (education and literacy, new cognitive abilities, etc.). The 10 chapters that follow describe work in a variety of languages: English, French, Hebrew, Spanish, and Swedish.

THE ACQUISITION OF SPANISH: MORPHOSYNTACTIC DEVELOPMENT IN MONOLINGUAL AND BILINGUAL L1 ACQUISITION AND ADULT L2 ACQUISITION. Silvina A. Montrul. Amsterdam: Benjamins, 2005. Pp. xvi + 413. $150.00 cloth, $49.95 paper.

This book presents and analyzes the morphosyntactic development of Spanish in monolingual and bilingual first language (L1) acquisition and in adult SLA. Based on the principles and parameters model of generative grammar, the book addresses the nature of linguistic knowledge and examines the development of grammatical aspects such as morphology, syntax, and lexical semantics in monolingual, bilingual, and second language (L2) learners. The author argues that the underlying linguistic competence of L1 and L2 speakers is constrained by the nature of the language the learners entertain, as guided by principles of Universal Grammar. Throughout the book, the author considers different approaches concerning the nature and development of linguistic knowledge such as the continuity hypothesis—including both weak and strong versions—(Pinker, 1989), the maturation hypothesis (Radford, 1990), and the no continuity view. The author supports the continuity hypothesis by arguing that principles and parametric options continue to be available throughout the acquisition process in the monolingual, bilingual, and adult grammatical systems. In other words, the author argues that linguistic representation is fundamentally similar among the grammars of child L1, child bilingual, and adult L2 learners, and that all of these are similar to the adult target grammar.

WORLDS OF WRITTEN DISCOURSE: A GENRE-BASED VIEW. Vijay K. Bhatia. New York: Continuum, 2004. Pp. xvii + 228. $49.95 paper.

In this volume, Bhatia discusses multiple aspects of written discourse as produced in the real world by focusing not just on academic genres but on genres from professional and institutional contexts as well. His consideration of disciplinary variation in genres, relationships across genres, appropriation of generic resources as seen in hybrid genres, and the nature of generic integrity has led to an extension of genre theory not “constrained by the nature and design of its applications” (p. xiv) that is discussed here. In addition to this development of genre theory, this well-crafted volume provides a multiperspective, multidimensional model of genre analysis.

NEW INSIGHTS INTO FOREIGN LANGUAGE LEARNING AND TEACHING. Kees van Esch and Oliver St. John (Eds.). Berlin: Peter Lang, 2004. Pp. 239. $47.95 paper.

Although this work constitutes Volume 9 of the series Foreign language teaching in Europe, the reader should take literally neither the latter geographical indication nor the title's claim to novelty. Whereas the first half of the dozen authors are American and the second half European, the topics largely cut across the oceanic divide. As for the topics, they correspond to major themes in the field of second and foreign language education over the span of the last two decades.

What is Morphology? Mark Aronoff and Kirsten Fudeman. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. Pp. xvii + 257. $29.95 paper.

This text introduces its readers to a wide range of morphological properties in multiple languages, including Standard American English and a number of typologically different languages (including Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Ancient Greek, Larike, and Jujamaat Joola). Each chapter is accompanied by examples in addition to morphological problems and exercises that contain data from multiple languages. Chapter 1 provides basic definitions of terminologies in morphology. Chapter 2 examines multiple types and definitions of words and lexemes and the effects of stress and affixation in different languages. Chapter 3 investigates the morphophonemic properties (including allomorphs, reduplication, and vowel harmony) of languages. Chapter 4 discusses different aspects of derivational morphology (including compounding, zero-derivation, and affixation), whereas chapter 6 explores the semantics involved in derivational morphology in different languages. Chapter 7 analyzes different kinds of inflectional morphology, with a focus on how it is different from derivational morphology across languages. Both universal and language-specific morphosyntactic processes in different languages are examined in this chapter, and chapter 8 investigates issues of morphological productivity with emphasis on different constraints on morphological processes observed in different languages.

THE ACQUISITION OF GERMAN MODAL PARTICLES: A CORPUS-BASED APPROACH. Martina Möllering. Bern: Peter Lang, 2004. Pp. 290. $52.95 paper.

Particles of the modal particle type—also referred to as flavoring, toning, or discourse particles—are a phenomenon in the West-Germanic languages that is well known for its descriptive complexity and its considerable demands on second language (L2) learners. High among the descriptive challenges ranks the fact that these particles cannot be adequately captured by structurally oriented theories of language because they cross syntactic, semantic, pragmatic, and discursive domains and nonuniquely express assumptions, intentions, judgments, and affective stances among the partners in communication. Along with real and imagined co-texts, these are highly contextualized and interpreted aspects of the languaging event. High among their acquisitional challenges ranks the fact that, in addition to their culturally and interpersonally situated and dialogic nature, they are formally ambiguous because all belong to other functional classes with divergent distributional and meaning characteristics. Small wonder that their competent use serves as a strong indicator of advanced levels of L2 ability. Small wonder, too, that researchers and instructors of German continue to explore more effective approaches to describing and teaching them.