This book provides an in-depth exploration of psychological phenomena affecting language learning within a social learning space. Drawing on the literature from identity in second language learning, communities of practice and learner beliefs, in conjunction with other individual difference factors, it uncovers perceptions and assumptions that…

This book highlights the roles of several individual difference (ID) variables on the language learning process, exploring them from both the students' and the teachers' perspectives. It presents the results of a large-scale, mixed-methods investigation which was conducted with secondary school pupils and their teachers in Hungary. The…

This volume is both a state-of-the-art display of current thinking on second language development as a complex system. It is also a tribute to Diane Larsen-Freeman for her decades of intellectual leadership in the academic disciplines of applied linguistics and second language acquisition. The chapters therein range from theoretical expositions to…

The process of matching teaching materials and methods to the student's learning style and ability level in foreign language classes is explored. The Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) model offers a diagnostic process for the identification of style. This process can be applied to the language learning setting as a way of presenting material to…

A study is described which investigated the differences between English-as-a-second-language (ESL) writers and native-English-speaking writers and examined closely a range of ESL writers and their composing processes. The procedures used were those used by Sondra Perl in a study of the composing processes of unskilled college writers (1979).…

This book defines and reviews five central problems in the study of second language acquisition (SLA): (subconscious) transfer, staged development, cross-learner systematicity, incompleteness, and variability. The central thesis of the text is that linguistic knowledge is an autonomous component of SLA, distinct from the socially determined use of…

A discussion of the Linguistic Coding Deficit Hypothesis presents an overview of the theory; describes five prototypes of second-language learners, each illustrated by a distinct language processing profile; and examines how the ability to identify prototypes can help teachers interpret student difficulties and design instruction to address them.…

An examination of second language learning focuses on how universal cognitive processes in language learning and individual differences account for differences in language learning patterns. An introductory section gives background information suggesting that psycholinguistic factors in language learning should receive more attention for two…

A discussion of factors that influence English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learning by native speakers of Chinese focuses on three specific factors (cognitive style, individual differences, and native language interference), and offers classroom solutions. The effect of each of the three factors on ESL comprehension and production is considered,…

A selection of essays in learning styles in English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) instruction includes: "Cultural Differences in Learning Styles" (Gayle L. Nelson); "Difficulties with Cross-Cultural Learning-Styles Assessment" (Patricia A. Eliason); "Gender Differences in Language Learning Styles: What Do They Mean?" (Rebecca L. Oxford); "Cognitive…