This is the first book devoted to the effects of orthographic forms (spellings) on second language phonology. Written by one of the pioneer researchers in the field, the book provides an authoritative overview of the effects of spellings on the perception, production, awareness, learning and teaching of sounds and spoken words in a second language. Using the findings and implications from a large-scale research project at its centre, the book reveals that English consonants spelled with double letters lead Italian learners and users of English as a second language to perceive, produce, classify, and learn English consonants as geminates (long consonants). Presenting a narrative of a second language research project, and discussing its implications, the book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of orthography, phonology, and speech and language perception. Language teaching practitioners will also find the book useful.

This volume bridges the gap between theory and practice by bringing together well-known and new authors to discuss a topic of mutual interest to second language researchers and teachers alike: input. Reader-friendly chapters offer a range of existing and new perspectives on input in morphology, syntax, phonetics and phonology.

This volume is a collection of 13 chapters, each devoted to a particular issue that is crucial to our understanding of the way learners acquire, learn, and use an L2 sound system. In addition, it spans both theory and application in L2 phonology. The book is divided into three parts, with each section unified by broad thematic content: Part I, “Theoretical Issues and Frameworks in L2 Phonology,” lays the groundwork for examining L2 phonological acquisition. Part II, “Second Language Speech Perception and Production,” examines these two aspects of L2 speech in more detail. Finally, Part III, “Technology, Training, and Curriculum,” bridges the gap between theory and practice. Each chapter examines theoretical frameworks, major research findings (both classic and recent), methodological issues and choices for conducting research in a particular area of L2 phonology, and major implications of the research findings for more general models of language acquisition and/or pedagogy.

This volume explores a variety of aspects of second language speech, with special focus on contributions to the field made by (primarely) generative linguists looking at the sounds and sound systems of second language learners. Second Language Phonology starts off with an overview of second language acquisition research in order to place the study of L2 speech in context. This introductory chapter is followed by an outline of traditional approaches to investigating interlanguage phonology. The third chapter consists of a discussion of relevant aspects of a learning theory that must be included in a treatment of how people learn sound systems. The next three chapters focus on particular aspects of the mental represenation of phonological competence; segments, syllables, and stress, respectively. The penultimate chapter deals with issues related to the mechanisms that govern the changing of interlanguage grammars over time. The volume ends with a summary of the issues raised throughout the text.

Second Language Writing Systems looks at how people learn and use a second language writing system, arguing that they are affected by characteristics of the first and second writing systems, to a certain extent independently of the languages involved. This book for the first time presents the effects of writing systems on second language reading and writing and on second language awareness, and provides a new platform for discussing bilingualism, biliteracy and writing systems.

"This is the first book devoted to the effects of orthographic forms (spellings) on second language phonology. Written by one of the pioneer researchers in the field, the book provides an authoritative overview of the effects of spellings on the perception, production, awareness, learning and teaching of sounds and spoken words in a second language. Using the findings and implications from a large-scale research project at its centre, the book reveals that English consonants spelled with double letters lead Italian learners and users of English as a second language to perceive, produce, classify, and learn English consonants as geminates (long consonants). Presenting a narrative of a second language research project, and discussing its implications, the book will be of interest to scholars and researchers in the fields of orthography, phonology, and speech and language perception. Language teaching practitioners will also find the book useful"--

Alarge-scale investigation on how multilinguals feel about their languages and use them to communicate emotion. Combining quantitative and qualitative approaches, the author looks at the factors that affect multilinguals' self-perceived competence, attitudes, communicative anxiety, language choice and code-switching.