First and Second Language Acquisition
Parallels and Differences

This is the first textbook to systematically compare first and second language acquisition drawing on data from several languages.

Jürgen M. Meisel (Author)

9780521557641, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 7 July 2011

318 pages, 3 b/w illus. 9 tables
24.7 x 17.5 x 1.5 cm, 0.62 kg

'… an excellent textbook on similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition, but also an insightful and provocative synthesis of research on this topic.' Fred Genesee, McGill University

Infants and very young children develop almost miraculously the ability of speech, without apparent effort, without even being taught - as opposed to the teenager or the adult struggling without, it seems, ever being able to reach the same level of proficiency as five year olds in their first language. This useful textbook serves as a guide to different types of language acquisition: monolingual and bilingual first language development and child and adult second language acquisition. Unlike other books, it systematically compares first and second language acquisition, drawing on data from several languages. Research questions and findings from various subfields are helpfully summarized to show students how they are related and how they often complement each other. The essential guide to studying first and second language acquisition, it will be used on courses in linguistics, modern languages and developmental psychology.

1. The quest for the LAD
2. First language development - Universal Grammar as the centerpiece of the human language making capacity
3. Obvious (observable) similarities and differences between first and second language acquisition - developmental sequences
4. The initial state and beyond
5. Developing grammatical knowledge - parameter setting and inductive learning
6. Neural maturation and age - opening and closing windows of opportunities
7. A (tentative) theory of language acquisition - L1, 2L1, and L2.

Subject Areas: Child & developmental psychology [JMC], Psycholinguistics [CFD]