Contents

• Introduction and Literature Review 2
• Second language acquisition By Rod Ellis 4
• Handbook of research in second language teaching and learning By Eli Hinkel 5
• Second language acquisition: an introductory course By Susan M. Gass, Larry Selinker 6
• How languages are learned by Patsy M. Lightbown and Nina Spada 8
• The study of second language acquisition by Rod Ellis 10
• The Bilingual Brain: Human Evolution and Second Language Acquisition by L. Kirk Hagen 11
• Comparison of and Issues raised in the above pieces of work 13
• Conclusion 17
• References 19

Description

The field of learning and teaching has grown and gained increased importance since the end of the Second World War similar to many other fields. Although research was carried on in the field much before the Second World War, the style and aim of the research was different (Hinkel, 2005, xvii). It was more inclined in finding ways to create effective methods of teaching for the tutors and similarly for the students, to find effective ways to grasp the ideas taught. The period after 1950s has shifted in finding the very process by which learning and teaching is accomplished i.e. the sequence of events that are responsible for the activities of learning and teaching. Therefore the shift has been toward a more comprehensive body of knowledge with the aim being the same, to find ways to enhance the process of learning and teaching. It has also been recognized over the past decades that the process of learning and teaching is much more complicated than just a sequence of events and involves factors such as reflection in education, cognitive representations, learning enhancement, classroom interaction, students’ personality traits and achievements, teachers’ work, assessment in the classroom and excellence in education (Zajda, 1997, ix). This complex combination of factors and their interaction between themselves demands that the topic requires a considerable amount of research and data. Another important point to be noted is that although the basic factors in learning and teaching will remain the same, there will be some factors that differ based on the subject being taught. The process will be different for technical subjects such as science and mathematics and considerably different for arts and communication. Therefore careful analysis is required for recognizing the processes in each case thereby increasing the knowledge acquired to help in its implementation.