Synopses & Reviews
This volume was conceived as a first book in SLA for advanced undergraduate or introductory masters courses that include education majors, foreign language education majors, and English majors. Its also an excellent resource for practicing teachers.
Both the research and pedagogy in this book are based on the newest research in the field of second language acquisition. It is not the goal of this book to address every SLA theory or teach research methodology. It does however address the myths and questions that non-specialist teacher candidates have about language learning.
Steven Brown is the co-author of the introductory applied linguistics textbook Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation textbook (and workbook).
The myths challenged in this book are:
§ Children learn languages quickly and easily while adults are ineffective in comparison.
§ A true bilingual is someone who speaks two languages perfectly.
§ You can acquire a language simply through listening or reading.
§ Practice makes perfect.
§ Language students learn (and retain) what they are taught.
§ Language learners always benefit from correction.
§ Individual differences are a major, perhaps the major, factor in SLA.
§ Language acquisition is the individual acquisition of grammar.
Review
Steven Brown's *Listening Myths* has won the College English Association of Ohio's 2014andnbsp;Nancy Dasher Award. The qualifications for the award are:
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and#183;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The book must be scholarly.
and#183;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The book must include high-quality research work.
and#183;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The book must provide an original contribution to the field.
and#183;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The author must live and work in Ohio.
and#183;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The book must be peer-reviewed.
and#183;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp;andnbsp; The book must be published by a reputable university press.
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Steve Brown, Professor of English at Youngstown State University, is also the co-author of Second Language Acquisitions Myths (same series) and the recently published Third Edition of Understanding Language Structure, Interaction, and Variation.
Synopsis
In Vocabulary Myths, Keith S. Folse breaks down the teaching of second language vocabulary into eight commonly held myths. In debunking each myth, he introduces the myth with a story based on his 25 years of teaching experience (in the United States and abroad), continues with a presentation of what empirical research has shown on the topic, and finishes with a list of what teachers can do in their classrooms to facilitate true vocabulary acquisition.
The goal of Vocabulary Myths is to foster a paradigm shift that correctly views vocabulary as fundamental in any second language learning process and demonstrates that research supports this goal-that in fact there is a wealth of empirical evidence to support these views. In addition, an important theme is that teachers have overestimated how much vocabulary students really understand, and as a result, the so-called "comprehensible input" is neither comprehensible nor input.
The second language vocabulary acquisition myths reexamined in this book are:
*In learning another language, vocabulary is not as important as grammar or other areas.
*Using word lists to learn L2 vocabulary is unproductive.
*Presenting new vocabulary in semantic sets facilitates learning.
*The use of translations to learn new vocabulary should be discouraged.
*Guessing words from context is an excellent strategy for learning L2 vocabulary.
*The best vocabulary learners make use of one or two really specific vocabulary learning strategies.
*The best dictionary for L2 learners is a monolingual dictionary.
*Teachers, textbooks, and curricula cover L2 vocabulary adequately.
Synopsis
What every ESL teacher should know about teaching vocabulary
Synopsis
This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for pronunciation and speaking teachers in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. Like others in the Myths series, this book combines research with good pedagogical practices.
The book opens with a Prologue by Linda Grant (author of the Well Said textbook series), which reviews the last four decades of pronunciation teaching, the differences between accent and intelligibility, the rudiments of the English sound system, and other factors related to the ways that pronunciation is learned and taught.
The myths challenged in this book are:
§ Once youve been speaking a second language for years, its too late to change your pronunciation. (Derwing and Munro)
§ Pronunciation instruction is not appropriate for beginning-level learners. (Zielinski and Yates)
§ Pronunciation teaching has to establish in the minds of language learners a set of distinct consonant and vowel sounds. (Field)
§ Intonation is hard to teach. (Gilbert)
§ Students would make better progress if they just practiced more. (Grant)
§ Accent reduction and pronunciation instruction are the same thing. (Thomson)
§ Teacher training programs provide adequate preparation in how to teach pronunciation (Murphy).
The book concludes with an Epilogue by Donna M. Brinton, who synthesizes some of the best practices explored in the volume.
Synopsis
This volume was conceived as a "best practices" resource for teachers of ESL listening courses in the way that Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse (and Writing Myths by Joy Reid) is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. It was written to help ensure that teachers of listening are not perpetuating the myths of teaching listening.
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Both the research and pedagogy in this book are based on the newest research in the field of second language acquisition. Steven Brown is the author of the Active Listening textbook series and is a teacher trainer.
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The myths debunked in this book are:
and#167;and#160; Listening is the same as reading.
and#167;and#160; Listening is passive.
and#167;and#160; Listening equals comprehension.
and#167;and#160; Because L1 language ability is effortlessly acquired, L2 listening ability is too.
and#167;and#160; Listening means listening to conversations.
and#167;and#160; Listening is an individual, inside-the-head process.
and#167;and#160; Students should only listen to authentic materials.
and#167;and#160; Listening canand#8217;t be taught.
Synopsis
This volume was conceived as a andquot;best practicesandquot; resource for assessment in the way that
Vocabulary Myths by Keith S. Folse is one for reading and vocabulary teachers. Like others in the
Myths series, this book combines research with good pedagogical practices.
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The book opens with an introduction that reviews many key assessment terms and concepts.
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The myths examined in this book are:
- Assessment is just writing tests and using statistics.
- A comprehensive final exam is the best way to evaluate students.
- Scores on performance assessments are preferable because of their accuracy and authenticity.
- Multiple choice tests are inaccurate measures of language but are easy to write.
- We should test only one skill at a time.
- A testandrsquo;s validity can be determined by looking at it.
- Issues of fairness are not a concern with standardized testing.
- Teachers should never be involved in preparing students for tests.
Implications for teaching and an agenda for research are discussed in a conclusion.and#160;