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How do students acquire a second language? How can teachers most effectively teach a second language? How do students and teachers develop communication in the language classroom? This book provides an evidence-based approach to effective language teaching to inform day-to-day classroom teaching. Written specifically for a language teacher training programme, this book is an accessible introduction for those who have little to no background in linguistics or second language acquisition. Alessandro G. Benati structures this book around ten key questions that have driven the field of second language learning and language teaching. This provides readers with an understanding of the main ingredients responsible for language learning, and the relation between how theory and research inform best practice. In order to achieve this, students and teachers need to know what language and communication are, and how acquisition of language happens.Pedagogical features in each of the ten units include: call-out boxes highlighting main ideas, further clarification sections to explain key terms, reflection boxes for students to pause and consider reading and its applications throughout, tasks and quizzes at the end of each unit to consolidate learning, and a teacher education evaluation form at the end for readers to reflect on the programme.>
About the author
Alessandro G. Benati is Professor in the School of Education, University College Dublin, Ireland. He has held positions in several British and overseas institutions. He is known for his work in second language acquisition, and he published ground-breaking research on the pedagogical framework called processing instruction. His research on processing instruction has been recently driven by the use of new online measurements (e.g., eye tracking, and self-paced reading). Alessandro has coordinated national and international high-impact research projects which have been influential in determining educational policy and had an impact in providing effective language teacher training programs. He is the author and co-author of several research monographs, peer-reviewed articles in high-ranked journals, and editor and co-editor of book series and scientific journals such as Cambridge Elements in SLA and Instructed Second Language Acquisition. He was a member of the sub-panel for Modern Languages and Linguistics for the Research Excellence Framework for England (REF 2021), AHRC Panel, and he is an Honorary Professor at Your SJ University (UK), University of Hong Kong (China), Adjunct Professor at Macquarie University (Australia), and Visiting Professor at Anaheim University (USA)
