Current Issues in Second Language Acquisition and Development

Book excerpt: This book provides the most updated discussion of the most important issues facing students, scholars, and researchers in second language acquisition research and development. Contents: Current Issues in Second Language Acquisition and Development: An Introduction, Carol A. Blackshire-Belay; Section 1: Language Development and Transfer. Native Language Transfer and Universal Simplification, Robin Sabino; Aspect Transferability (Or: What Gets Lost in the Translation-and Why?), Terence Odlin; Creole Verb Serialization: Transfer or Spontaneity? Frank Byrne; Section 2: Learner Variables in Second Language Acquisition. Contexts for Second Language Acquisition, Elsa Lattey; Language Acquisition, Biography and Bilingualism, Ulrich Steinmuller; Acquisition of Japanese by American Businessmen in Tokyo: How Much and Why? Yoshiko Matsumoto; Section 3: Issues in Interlanguage Development. Abrupt Restructuring Versus Gradual Acquisition, Hanna Pishwa; Variability in Grammatical Analysis: On Recognizing Verbal Markers in Foreign Workers' German, Carol A. Blackshire-Belay; Sketch of an Interlanguage Rule System: Advanced Nonnative German Gender Assignment, Joe Salmons.